15 Tips for Setting Financial Goals You'll Accomplish

You work hard for your money, and chances are you want to accomplish big things with it. This is much easier to do if you have some objectives for yourself.

Unfortunately, many people set financial goals but don't stick to them. This doesn't have to be your fate, though. By following these 15 tips, you can create goals that you're much more likely to achieve so you can improve your financial life over the long run.

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If you aren't actually motivated to accomplish your goals, you're wasting your time and probably won't be successful.

Don't set a financial goal just because of outside pressure. If you don't want to buy a house, for example, aiming to save a down payment for one is a mistake even if society tells you that buying your own place is the American Dream.

Instead of letting peer pressure dictate your objectives, think about what you really hope to accomplish with your money to live the lifestyle you want. If you're excited about your goal, you're more likely to achieve it.

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Chances are good you'll have some financial goals that you want to accomplish that will take decades. You may also have some things you hope to achieve more quickly.

To have the best chance of accomplishing all your objectives, divide your goals into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. This will help you in deciding how to allocate your money and in whether to put it into savings or a brokerage account to be invested.

Although you want short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, you also want to limit how many objectives you set for yourself. Otherwise, you could become overwhelmed and stretched too thin. A few different goals for each of these categories is typically enough.

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It can be really frustrating to set goals that are impossible for you to actually accomplish. In fact, if your objectives seem to be beyond your reach, you're much more likely to give up quickly because you feel achieving your goals will never happen.

To set realistic goals, consider the money you actually have available and the likely return on any investments you'll be making. If you have $200 a month in spare cash, for example, it would make little sense to set a goal of saving $1,000,000 within five years' time.

Vague goals are little more than wishes, since it's impossible to create a road map to achieve them.

If you want to be successful in your objectives, be as detailed and specific as possible. For example, instead of just saying you want to "save more," you could set the goal of saving $200 extra per month by the end of the year.

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Being able to measure your progress and determine if you've actually accomplished your goal is crucial if you want to be successful.

As a result, you'll want to make sure that you define what "success" is for any goal you set. Having an objective metric to strive for makes it very easy to see if you're on track.

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A large goal can seem overwhelming, and it can be hard to see the path from where you're starting to where you want to end up.

As a result, breaking your big goals down into small ones increases your chances of achieving them. If your big goal is to save $1 million for retirement, figure out how much to invest each month or each week to hit that objective by your target date. This will give you something specific to strive for immediately.

Without a deadline, it's far too easy to delay working toward your financial goals -- especially if you have other pressing expenses to worry about.

A deadline will help you to break down your big goal into small ones since you'll know exactly what you need to save in order to accomplish your objective on schedule. It will also make it easier to track your progress and hold yourself accountable.

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Once you know what you need to do to accomplish your goals, you'll want to identify specific actions to take to get you there.

For example, if your goal is to save $1 million for retirement and you've determined you can do it by saving $600 every month, you could make a plan to have $600 automatically transferred to your 401(k) or IRA.

An actionable plan significantly increases your chances of being successful in achieving your goal since you'll be able to start actually working toward it right away.

Writing down your goals helps keep you focused, increases the chances you'll hold yourself accountable, and makes it easier to track your progress toward achieving your objectives.

There are apps you can use to track financial goals, but you can also just use a spreadsheet or even write down your plans on a piece of paper that you keep in your wallet next to your credit cards. That way, you'll be reminded of your goals each time you go to spend.

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Tracking your progress is one of the best ways to make sure you accomplish your goals.

By monitoring how you're doing in fulfilling your plan, you can hold yourself accountable. You're also more likely to stay motivated and can correct course if it turns out that what you're doing isn't likely to be successful in achieving your objectives.

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It can be a long process to accomplish financial goals, especially big ones such as saving a large retirement nest egg.

To make sure you stay motivated and don't lose sight of the big picture, try to find ways to celebrate accomplishments along the way to achieving your objectives.

For example, you could treat yourself to something special once you save your first $10,000 or after you've made 12 months in a row of deposits to your investment accounts. This will help keep you excited about working toward your goals.

If you are in a committed relationship, it's helpful to work toward your goals with your partner so you can support each other and hold each other accountable.

If you don't have a life partner, consider sharing your goals with a friend and having regular check-ins about how you are doing. When you're working toward something and have someone else cheering you on, you're much more likely to stick with your plan.

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If you put your goals last after paying for everything else, you'll likely find there's very little money left to accomplish your objectives.

To avoid this mistake, commit to prioritizing your own plans. You can set up transfers to savings on payday, for example, if you're working toward investing for the future or amassing money for a home down payment. Or if your goal is to pay debt, you could set up automated payments for an amount that's above your minimum.

Finally, if you're tracking your progress and you see you aren't on track, don't be afraid to make changes.

Life doesn't always work out as planned, but if you make adjustments either to your goals or to the actions you're taking to achieve them, you should hopefully be able to end up where you want to be.

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