Set Goals The process of setting goals involves turning your NEEDS into goals.  A goal is a very specific result you intend to work toward.  You can have both long-term and short-term goals.  You can have goals for the day, the week, the year and for your lifetime. Setting Financial Goals Achieving successful financial security starts with organized financial goals. What would you like to do tomorrow?  Believe it or not, you may have just identified a short-term goal.  There are goals to be achieved within the next year or so, such as saving for a vacation or paying off small debts.  Intermediate goals have a time frame of two to five years.  Long-term goals involve financial plans that are more than five years off, such as retirement savings, money for children's university education, or the purchase of a vacation home. For your financial goals, make sure they are SMART S pecific Measurable A ttainable R elevant T ime-related Specific Smart goals are specific enough to suggest action. Example: Save enough money to get a refrigerator, not just save money. Measurable You need to know when you have achieved your goal, or how close you are. Example: A refrigerator costs $600, and you have $300 already saved. Goals which aren't measurable, like "I'd like to have more money" are much harder to achieve - and you don't even know when you get there! Attainable The steps toward reaching your goal need to be reasonable and possible. Example: I know I can save enough money each month to arrive at my goal within one year. Relevant The goal needs to make common sense.  You don't want to struggle or work toward a goal that doesn't fit your need. Example: You don't need to save money for 18 pairs of shoes! Time-related Set a definite target date. Example: The repairman says my refrigerator won't last another year.