Setting Your Financial Goals with DebtQuest USA

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Six Steps to Setting Financial Goals

Step 1: Prioritize. Know your priorities and ask yourself what matters most to you. List your priorities and determine which are practical and urgent and which are capricious and unimportant ones.

Step 2: Categorize. Categorize your list into three, those that are achievable shortly (short term financial goals), the ones that will take a little longer (medium-term financial goals), and those that need ample time to attain (long term financial goals).

Step 3: SMART-goal strategy. After sorting out the list, make sure that you have set SMART goals – Specific goals are well-expressed and clear on what needs to be done. Measurable goals enable you to see whether the goal was achieved or not. Achievable goals are realistic goals. Relevant goals are goals significant to your life, and Time-based goals confine goals in a specific time frame.

Step 4: Budgeting goals. Make a realistic budget plan. It is imperative to evaluate your financial capacity. Keep track of your incomes and all your expenditures, then work it to address your budgeting goals. Remember to strictly follow your budget.

Step 5: Save. There will always be a handful of leftover dollars if you stick to your budget plan. Whatever amount is left, save it in a separate account designated to address the top things in your list of priorities and the next ones after they are met.

Step 6. Check. Check your progress regularly. This is not a one-week task but a lifetime task.

Examples of Financial Goals

What are some financial goals examples? Here is a list of financial goals from short-term to long-term that is suggested by experts to help you in achieving a comfortable life without money troubles.

Financial goals are categorized into three types, short term financial goals, medium-term financial goals, and long-term financial goals.

Short-Term Financial Goals

Short term financial goals are goals that are within reach and can be achieved in a year or two. These smaller and short-term money goals help motivate you to tackle and accomplish the bigger and long-term ones in the future. Short term financial goals are the best examples of financial goals for students because it is easier for the younger ones to develop smart money habits with incentives at the end of the line. Below is a list of short-term financial goals.

1. Building an Emergency Fund

Creating an emergency fund is one of the most important short-term financial goals. An emergency fund is used for unforeseen expenses, including medical expenses or car repairs. It is recommended to have 3 to 6 months of salary worth of emergency funds. Having sufficient emergency funds will prevent you from turning to debt whenever something unexpected occurs.

2. Replacing Broken/Old Amenities

Your financial goals don’t necessarily require you to live a stingy life, enduring broken or old stuff in your home. Sometimes old appliances charge you higher electricity rates than the new ones, while damaged or defected appliances may bring more danger to your home – thus forcing you to pay more for medical aid. Your short-term financial goals should include replacing and/or repairing damaged objects in order for you to live a more comfortable life.

3. Cut Spending

Always start small; this way, cutting down your spending will be one of your greatest financial goals. One of the many ways to accomplish this financial goal is to cut down your monthly expenses. Although this might seem small and insignificant at first, after a long while, their cumulative effect will be huge.

There are loads of ways to cut down your expense. For instance, you can use public transportation instead of buying a car that depreciates in value. Or try carpooling to work to lessen your transportation expenses. You can also invest in solar-powered appliances to reduce your energy bills. Other ways include saving money on food by cooking and packing your own meals at home instead of eating out, buying nonperishable items in bulk, or even starting your own vegetable garden. Prioritize your needs over your wants.

Medium-term Financial Goals

Medium-term financial goals prepare you for all the ventures that you want to take on between the present time and the future. These financial goals occur once you’ve successfully secured a stable job, and prior to your retirement period. These financial goals may take about 3 to 5 years to attain and is more expensive than short-term financial goals. Some of these medium-term goal examples are in the following:

1. Paying Down Credit Card Debt

Paying down your credit card debt is one of the major struggles of a lot of people, especially of an average American household with $6,849 in credit card debt. It is no secret that getting out of credit card debt will surely relieve your anxiety.

DebtQuest USA offers credit card debt relief, which is a strategy to fully or partially reorganize or forgive your debt to outside creditors. This can be done by reducing your principal outstanding balance, or by cutting your interest rate and extending the term of the loan for a longer period of time. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that your debt will be gone in a snap. What DebtQuest USA offers is assistance and guidance to slowly lessen the weight of your credit card debts.

2. Paying Off Loans

Being able to pay off your student loan will surely lift a great weight off of your shoulders. Experts suggest that for you to pay off student loans fast, you need to pay more than the minimum or pay half of your payment biweekly instead of making one full monthly payment. This way, you’ll owe less interest, and your repayment schedule will decrease quickly.

Being free from your auto loan is also one great financial goal to accomplish. Like any other loan, interest on an auto loan adds up quickly, so it is better for you to pay it off early. As your balance decreases, your interest also decreases – which benefits you in the long run since you can save money on interest.

There is definitely no place like home. But you can’t call it your home yet if you haven’t finished paying off your mortgage. DebtQuest USA offers manageable mortgage payments to help consumers be free from debts due to mortgage loans.

3. Getting Insurance

Insurance will protect you financially if anything unexpected should happen. There are four types of insurance, and experts say you need to have them all. But you don’t need to purchase them all at once. Your situation will determine which kind you need most.

Health insurance is one of the most important types. A study conducted from 2013 to 2016 revealed that 66.5% of all bankruptcies were filed due to medical issues and bills. This proves the fact that securing health insurance should be one of your top financial goals. Moreover, having health insurance will optimize your medical care, thus leading to better health outcomes. Plus, the benefits of securing health insurance compensate for the costs of miscellaneous services. Purchasing life insurance should also be included in your medium-term financial goals as this safeguard you and your family from any debts that you leave behind.

Long-Term Financial Goals

These financial goals may take the longest time for you to achieve and may happen after retirement. These are financial goals that enable you to have a comfortable retirement without money troubles. Since you are saving for an unforeseeable future, these financial goals will take about 5 to 10 years or more.

1. Homeownership

Purchasing your own house is definitely a long-term financial goal and is one of the biggest financial goals to aim for. Saving for your future home will help you save even more money than getting a mortgage loan. Buying a house is certainly a costly and major commitment; that is why it is in the long-term financial goals. After all, it is not just about buying a house; it is more about establishing a home.

2. Building Your Own Family

This is also undeniably one of the biggest long-term financial goals. Expenses do not stop once you start your own family. It is never too early to start saving up for your marriage, for the birth of your children as well, as their education. Once your family starts growing, the money will always be tight and may seem like never enough. Thus, it is important to start securing your family’s financial life because as soon as you have your own family, saving money will not always be your top priority.

3. Traveling

Saving for your future travel is included in the long-term financial goals and is one of everyone’s personal financial goals example. These may include your dream family vacation, a European tour, a summer getaway with friends, or a solo trip to the Bahamas. But traveling is definitely expensive, which means you need to save up for your future travel plans big time.

On the other hand, there’s also traveling on a budget which is less expensive than the other travels. Activities like these enhance your life by expanding your worldview. There’s no use to saving without enjoying what you’ve saved up. A reward like this will never harm you nor your pocket as long as you remember to spend no more than what you have in your bank account.

4. Retirement Fund

When you’ve finally reached your limit, and you can no longer endure the labor, you will leave the workforce. By that time, you should have already achieved financial independence. It is good to know that you will retire comfortably with enough money to spend for the rest of your life. Having adequate retirement fund secures you from stress, allowing you to accomplish more financial goals that you have set long before your retirement. There is nothing more fulfilling than enjoying your retirement to the fullest without money hindering you from all the joys.

How to Achieve Your Financial Goals

In general, the first step in achieving your goals is putting it on paper. There’s a big chance you won’t do them unless you write them. Writing down your financial goals is the first step in putting those goals into action. This helps create a clear visualization of your financial goals and motivates you to accomplish all the necessary tasks to achieve these goals. This way, you will also be able to distinguish which ones are short-term, mid-term, and long-term financial goals.

Before taking out money from your pocket, evaluate how you came up with that financial decision. Is this your top priority as of the moment? Is this aligned with the financial goals that you set? Will this help you achieve your financial goals? Ask these questions first before doing anything else.

If you answered “yes” to all the questions above, you might wonder: What comes next? How will I make these money goals a reality? Start budgeting. This way, you are directing your financial goals to the right path by knowing where your money goes.

Keep track of your expenses. It is ideal for you to manage and keep your very own “My Financial Goals” journal and back it up with documents for future references. This way, you know where your money goes. You will also gain control over your financial goals by redirecting your money every time it strays away from your budgeting goals.

Reevaluate your goals regularly. As you change, your goals can change too, and that is totally fine. You do not need to cross out the ones you deem difficult and challenging to accomplish. You also do not need to keep pushing on an outdated goal just for the sake of not feeling like a failure. Realizing that you are on a different route than you once thought you were taking is not a failure; it means you are growing, and you are becoming more self-aware. You can always change your goals so they fit what you are, where you are, and where you’re heading.

If you are still having difficulties assessing your financial decisions, ask for help. DebtQuest USA offers client services to consumers. Our company is composed of skilled and licensed representatives always available to lend their expertise. Let us help you with your financial journeys, including achieving your financial goals.

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Setting Your Financial Goals with DebtQuest USA

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There’s nothing more satisfying than feeling financially secure about your future. You can do whatever you want, whether it be traveling, investing, or building your own family - so long as you have achieved your financial goals.

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DebtQuest USA

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DebtQuest USA

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