My 6-Step Financial Goal Setting Framework

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Stop listening to people tell you what financial goals you need to have done by the time you’re 20, 30, 40, whatever. Follow this personal financial goal-setting framework to figure out what goals are right for you and when you need to accomplish them.

Everyone gets serious about their finances at different times

Everyone has different priorities and that means not everyone is able to or even should meet standard financial goals at one set time.

But you do need financial goals, they’re essential.

Without a written path you’re not going anywhere and even if your goals should be different you won’t know it. You’ll sit around feeling guilty that you’re not meeting some arbitrary definition of financial success. 

Stop it!

I’ve got a 6 step framework that will help you make your own financial goals and I have the whole framework in a free download that you can get by clicking the link in the description. I also have an amazing planner for the framework too and everyone who downloads the guide will get it for half price.

Start long-term

Find your why and plan 10, 5, and 1-year goals.

My 10-year goal was fostering, in 5 years I wanted to have a house where I could do that.

Know that these will change but you have to have them written down in order to move at the right pace

We got a house 2 years later and hopefully be fostering in the next year or 2 so that 10-year plan turned into 6 years.

Make a list of what you need to get to your goals

Establish where you want to be financially at 1, 5, and 10 years to feel like your goal is accomplished.

I knew we’d need: Emergency fund, Pay off debt, and passive income

You may need: $X in retirement, a certain car, etc

Get real with your reality

What’s your income, expenses?

How are your finances trending?

Use personal capital to track the trend.

Make a plan for how to get from here to there

How are you going to get to your 1, 5, and 10-year goals? Do you need to

Make $X more per month?

Cut $X?

Get a Raise or new job? (keeping up with inflation isn’t good enough)

Make monthly and quarterly goals

Now really focus in on your 1-year goal.

What actions are you going to take each month to get to each goal?

Don’t commit to more than 3 per month.

Schedule in a Goal Hour 

This is a non-negotiable hour every week that you do one of the 3 things on your monthly goals list.