Are you feeling stuck in limbo, wanting to start saving, or needing to make a big purchase, but do not know how? You are in no way alone. This feeling is common, especially if you believe you could achieve such success with the right knowledge.
This article will help bridge the gap from initial savings to meeting your intermediate financial goals. As you read on, you will discover how to make good use of specific objectives and targets. So, learn how to propel yourself toward financial triumph today.
Setting a Savings Target
Establishing a clear target can often be the cornerstone of sensible financial planning. It allows you to have a quantifiable goal you can work toward.
Well-defined targets should often include SMART criteria. These ensure that any goal you create is:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
In making SMART goals, you create methods to assess your progress toward personal financial objectives. This will help you adjust your habits in both the short and long term to help you succeed.
Defining Sensible Financial Objectives
Setting unachievable goals is a waste of time, as you cannot use them to work out where you went wrong if things fail. As such, try to consider everything you know about your current situation. This includes:
- Current income
- Expenses
- Foreseeable financial changes
Intermediate goals typically span one to five years. This allows them to fit into an actionable amount of time while allowing a small amount of flexibility.
As you attempt to achieve them, though, make sure to review and adjust the targets you have. There is nothing wrong with making small changes if it helps you in the long run.
Examples of Intermediate Financial Goals
If you are unsure of what we mean by intermediate financial goals, they can mean any sort of mid-range expense that you need to save for. These often include common life goals, such as:
- Saving for a down payment for a home
- Investing in further education
- Building a fund for a wedding or anniversary
- Planning for a significant purchase such as a vehicle
- Setting aside money for a future small business
Each of these is unlikely to be achievable without significant investment. They are rarely out of reach, though, and a little help might be all you need to get there.
Tracking Progress Toward Success
There are several different ways you can ensure you succeed at your financial goals. A financial advisor can help you break down any such objective into more manageable bite-size chunks. They can offer you support and give good tips on how to have the best mindset when it comes to your intermediate savings.
You might also consider one of the following:
Create milestones. By setting specific savings goals along the path, you can celebrate each one without losing sight of the end objective.
Gamify your experience. Gamification is a very useful tool that encourages the use of “game-like” systems to help you succeed. Creating a simple visual representation of your progress, such as a chart or graph, is one of the easiest ways to do this.
Being honest with yourself. You might fall behind in your goals at one point or another. If this occurs, be ready to adjust your plan to compensate and ensure the target is still achievable.
Leveraging Smart Saving Tips
There are several ways to make saving easier for you without needing to get too involved in the details. These include:
Automating your saving process. Create an account where a portion of your finances are automatically deposited as savings. This prevents the human element from stopping the savings from going where they need to.
Cut unnecessary expenses. We cannot define what is unnecessary for you. Regardless, you are likely to know where there are a few services or luxuries you can reduce to make it easier to save.
How Can Loans Help?
If you need the capital to bridge the gap between your savings and the payment for a project, a loan is a great tool to investigate. They can act as a strategic method of increasing your funds now in exchange for repaying it over time.
Often, loans act as investments in your future, especially when used for education, a home, or a vehicle. These can help guide you to better opportunities in the future as they act as career steps or boosts in status. In some cases, an emergency loan can also prevent any impact on your savings, protecting your ongoing financial planning.
Financial Planning Tools and Resources
Some of the following are extra tools available that you can turn to when you need help handling your finances. Using these resources, you improve your chances of maintaining financial stability. At the same time, you can still plan to meet your intermediate savings goals.
Financial Planning Professionals
There are many different types of financial planners available to help you, depending on your circumstances. If you aim to meet your investment plans early or ensure you reach your goals, though, consider seeking out a loan advisor.
They can offer wise counsel when it comes to financing something faster than your savings would cover. A finance expert can also help guide you if you need to pay off debts with a recovery loan. With their help, you can do this with the knowledge you are making sensible decisions.
Repayment Calculators
Sometimes you only need the raw numbers and you can handle it yourself. Repayment calculators can guide you if you want to pay for a project early with a loan and then work out how you want to handle long-term costs.
Note that you will often need information from a loan provider before using one of these, though, and they rarely incorporate fees. As such, you might be better off going to the source.
Finding the Right Financial Planning Expert
In understanding the above, you cross the threshold toward succeeding at your next financial milestone. Still, there is a lot more to learn before you meet your intermediate financial goals. This is where Money Ladder can help.
Our personalized consumer loans and lending expertise can ensure your goals are an achievable reality. So, do not let uncertainty dictate your finances. Contact Money Ladder and take the reins into a secure future.