Long term financial goals

Planning your finances for years in advance can be difficult, especially if you have many responsibilities to meet, such as a mortgage, savings for retirement or achieving financial security. The solution is to prepare yourself in advance, and one of the most important ways to do so is to keep your finances on track and take control of your money. Long-term financial goals are typically associated with major life events that take five years or more to complete. You can schedule them whenever you want, but the sooner you plan, the better prepared you will be.

Short term financial goals

Completing your short-term financial goals often lays the foundation for long term success. These are often things you want to accomplish within a few months and up to a year, such as paying off debt, saving for a holiday or tracking your monthly expenses. A worthy financial objective in and of itself is developing and adhering to a reasonable budget. Without a budget, your efforts to accomplish your goals will fail. A short-term benefit of improving your finances is that it can have a positive impact on your credit rating.

Steps to achieve your financial goals

Firstly, it is important to write down your goals as you’re more likely to achieve them that way. Your goals must be specific, measurable and time sensitive, therefore you must set a deadline that is achievable for you. It is also important to ensure your goals are in line with what you personally want and not what you believe you should achieve.