101 Financial Goals

What are your goals for 2020? The start of a new decade is a great time to stop and have a think about where we are in life, and reflect on our dreams and aspirations for our future.

At the start of a new year and decade, we here at Her Financial Journey encourage you to set goals for the year ahead, in particular financial goals.

Here are 101 potential financial goals for you to consider, depending on where you are in life as we come closer to the end of 2019, and welcome in 2020.

Happy goal-setting!!

1. Set yourself three (or more) financial goals for the year ahead, and set yourself three (or more) financial goals for the decade ahead. Make your goals meaningful to you based on your personal circumstances and values. Write down your chosen goals.
2. If you have multiple superannuation accounts, roll them all over into a single high-performing account.
3. Open a new savings account and auto-transfer a pre-set amount into your new savings account on each payday, then invest the savings at the end of the year or when you have reached a certain value that is right for you.
4. Complete training and further education, or obtain licences and accreditations which will lead to higher income or paid employment.
5. Find a financially successful mentor, hear their stories, learn their lessons and emulate their habits.
6. Write down the year you would like to retire, and the amount of annual income you would like to have during retirement.
7. Give up purchases using After Pay or credit cards.
8. Start planning for a new income stream. This could be via investments or by starting a side business.
9. Outsource tasks which are holding you back from being your utmost productive self.
10. Set yourself a goal to double your income in five (or less) years.
11. Undertake a review of your current superannuation plan to check you’re on the best plan for your personal circumstances, and make any changes to your super to optimise returns. This will likely involve either speaking with a trusted financial adviser or, as a minimum, rolling over to a low-cost fund such as a MySuper account.
12. Select three of your regular discretionary spending habits, and reduce the regularity of these expenses (e.g. if you tend to eat out a few nights a week, reduce this to, say, once or twice a week)
13. Find an accountability partner to meet with each week (or fortnight) to check that your financial goals are on track.
14. Start saving for a home deposit.
15. Conduct market research to assess whether your salary is at market rate, or whether you’re being underpaid.
16. Subscribe to a reputable podcast on financial matters, and listen to episodes as they become available (NB: make sure the presenters are providing independent and general financial advice, and not just out to sell you their product or service).
17. Make a yearly budget to live below your means.
18. Start a new habit to regularly track and categories your spending each week or month so that you’re aware where your money is going.
19. Resist trying to keep up with the “Jones’” by spending money on items which flaunt wealth. You have no idea what the Jones’ story is, and how they got to where they are today.
20. Check your credit rating, and if it’s not where you want it to be then plan what you will do about it.
21. Sell your old stuff instead of adding it to landfill.
22. Set yourself a goal that you’re going to commit to becoming rich, define what rich looks like for you, and set yourself a timeframe to achieve it.
23. Prepare a Will.
24. Start reducing your grocery costs by: Planning for and purchasing ingredients for meals on a weekly basis, Eat less meat and more staples, Buy in-season fruit and vegetables, Purchase home brands instead of glossy packaging.
25. Select an investment Asset Class that interest you, and do as much learning and research as possible in order to become an expert on the particular Asset Class of your choice.
26. Make a plan to achieve a promotion which will lead to a pay rise.
27. Purchase or borrow four (or more) books per year on personal finance, and read them. Choose best-sellers, award winning authors, or classics (such as “Think and Grow Rich”).
28. Calculate your net worth, and commit this number to memory.
29. Plan out how you intend to double your net worth, and by when.
30. Plan out how you intend to quadruple your net worth, and by when.
31. Plan for a rainy day. Emergencies can come in the form of illness or redundancy, but also may be due to unfortunate incidences requiring major expenditure (e.g. emergency home repairs, unavoidable medical expenses). Planning for a rainy day could be through an emergency fund or insurance coverage.
32. Check your bank statements regularly for fraudulent transactions.
33. Work out a plan on how to turn your hobby or passion project into a source of income.
34. Dare to have a number of really terrifying financial goals for the upcoming decade that will require you to push your boundaries to their limits.
35. Review your superannuation plan, and make sure you’re across the fees you’re paying. Lowering even a single percentage of fees can make a very big difference to your end superannuation result.
36. If you received an end-of-year salary increase or bonus, save this increased amount and invest it. You won’t miss what you’ve never had!
37. Work out how much money you will need to put your kids through school. Make sure your calculations account for inflation, noting that some schools increase their fees regularly by an amount which exceeds CPI.
38. Work out a strategy on how you will pay for your children’s schooling.
39. Work harder than everyone else in your team, and make yourself indispensable at work.
40. If you’re partnered, and your partner looks after your financial affairs as a couple, make it your goal to understand everything your partner knows about your finances, or, as a minimum, establish a plan on what to do if your partner was to be deceased.
41. If you’re partnered, and you know your partner isn’t as financially capable as they would need to be if you were to become deceased, then make a plan to educate them on the things they would need to know. Re-visit their understanding every year.
42. Put a plan in place to pay back personal loans and car loans as soon as possible, and don’t renew novated leases. Non-investment possessions should only ever be purchased with money you own.
43. Look at your financial goals every morning to keep them front of mind.
44. If you’re a smoker, stop wasting your money on cigarettes.
45. Think deeply and identify the fundamental reasons why you want to be financially successful (N.B. “to be rich” isn’t a fundamental reason). What do you intend to do with your money once you have achieved your goals? Once you have identified your reasons for seeking financial success, write them down and place them in a prominent location where you can see them every day for inspiration. Some examples might be: To give my kids all the opportunities that money can buy, To have a sense of agency, To be able to serve and contribute to my community, To have the financial freedom to choose my path.
46. During Tax Return season, thoroughly review tax laws relating to the Claiming of Deductions to ensure you’re aware of all deductions entitled to you.
47. Set yourself a goal that you are going to become financially literate and take control of your financial situation.
48. Check if you own any unclaimed money.
49. Take homemade food to work more often instead of buying. Make purchasing a barista-made coffee a treat rather than a daily activity.
50. Find out the best way for you to invest this year based on your personal circumstances, and make that investment. The best way for you to invest this year might be to just wait.
51. Attend educational seminars and workshops on personal finance and wealth creation. Although check that the presenters are not just there to advise you to purchase their particular products and services.
52. Make a plan to live as far below your means as possible, and invest the remainder of your money.
53. Stop gambling or playing the lottery.
54. Talk about your financial goals with your family and friends. It’s more likely you will keep your goals, and your friends can support you along the way.
55. Find a mentee and encourage them to pursue financial success. Your mentor/mentee relationship doesn’t have to be a formal one. It will be good for them, and rewarding for you, and it may motivate you to get further ahead financially.
56. Set yourself a goal that you will work towards multiple income streams.
57. Review all your service providers at least annually to check you have the best deals available to you. This includes gas, electricity, car insurance, home and content insurance, health insurance, phone plans, internet plans, etc. If you’re in Victoria, you can use the Compare Energy website.
58. Set a goal to donate money to a favourite charity (or three), and set up a monthly auto payment.
59. Apply for a higher paying job, even if you think you may not get it.
60. Open up bank accounts for your children, and teach them how to save.
61. Assess how you are tracking against your budget on a weekly or monthly basis throughout the year, and if needs be, adjust your budget.
62. Take time out regularly, whether it be monthly or quarterly, to talk with your partner about your financial goals, and find out what their financial goals are. See where your goals align and start working toward your common goals.
63. Set up reminders to pay invoices on time, or set up autopayment via direct debit, particularly those which will result in late payment charges or affect your credit rating.
64. If you’ve previously tried to stick to a budget and failed, make it a goal to never give up and always give it another go.
65. Plan out the rewards that you will treat yourself with, if you’re able to achieve your financial goals or interim financial goals.
66. Set yourself a goal to learn about financial investments.
67. Thoroughly review your past expenditure and find areas where expenses could be reduced with minimal impact (e.g. purchasing home brand groceries instead of branded food, discontinue subscriptions you don’t actually use, etc)
68. Check if your super is on target for retirement.
69. Review your home loan to check you’re on the best deal and interest rate available to you for your home loan or investment loan. You can use a reputable mortgage broker to help you with this.
70. Learn, understand and become fully competent with the following finance-related terms and concepts: Compound interest, Inflation, Today’s dollars and future dollars, The basic elements of an individual tax return, Asset classes, Capital Gains Tax, Interest, Expected returns.
71. Avoid bad financial influencers like TV ads, store catalogues, ad subscriptions, etc, which are solely developed to tempt you to buy their products even if you don’t need them.
72. Write down your financial goals for the year and decade, and track your progress at least monthly. If needed adjust your goals each time you review them.
73. Ask your employer to make a nominated amount of pre-tax contribution from your salary into your superannuation account each paycheck.
74. As far as possible, buy second-hand goods instead of new. Not only will this be good for you financially, but you’ll also be contributing to saving our planet!
75. When establishing financial goals, and when considering investing, undertake to chase increasing your net worth over increasing your income.
76. Read about the psychology of wealth creation. A suggested book is “Rich Habits, Poor Habits” by Michael Yardney and Tom Corley.
77. Set up an effective and efficient record keeping system to enable you to keep accurate records of your financial matters.
78. Review and if needed adjust your financial goals at least four times per year, as well as when there are notable life changes.
79. If you have only just started out in your journey to financial success, make it a goal that you will not compare your chapter 1 to other people’s chapter 10, and then get disheartened.
80. Undertake to become financially successful, so you can be the best version of yourself thereby best placed to serve others including your family, friends and community.
81. Make sure you have nominated your superannuation beneficiaries.
82. If you’re paying too much rent, explore your options for moving into a more cost-effective home, and then take action.
83. Undertake to set up a financial legacy for your family, work out what this will look like, and how you will achieve it.
84. Have a conversation with your manager about the skillsets you need to develop in order to be promoted, then start working towards it.
85. Develop a list of Money Affirmations and start each day by stating your money affirmations.
86. Limit the time you spent shopping, including online shopping.
87. Encourage your friends to join you on your journey to financial success.
88. Investigate the Financially Independent Retire Early (FIRE) movement, and decide whether this path is for you, and if so, then start your FIRE journey.
89. Write down in large, prominent font what you want your net worth to be by the end of the decade, and stick this number onto your fridge. Look at it every day.
90. Find lost super.
91. Make a plan and budget to slash your yearly expenditure by 25% or more.
92. Find a network of likeminded people who also want to be financially successful, and regularly meet with them.
93. Find a trusted financial adviser and work with them toward financial success.
94. Undertake to stop coveting other people’s financial success. Instead be happy for them, learn from their successes, and if appropriate emulate their journey to success.
95. Reduce your credit card limit and set up Overdraft protection on your bank accounts.
96. Identify the fees in your life and eliminate them, such as ATM fees, online booking fees, credit card surcharge fees, international transfer fees, etc.
97. Plan your purchases and minimise spontaneous shopping. This could be by waiting at least 24 hours before making an unplanned purchase.
98. Create a financial vision board which portrays what you are trying to achieve financially. Place your vision board in a prominent spot where you will see it every day and become inspired by your goals every day.
99. Find out as much as you can about the richest people in the world, including how they acquired their wealth, their lifestyle, their choices, their philosophy on life, and their advice to others.
100. Live like you’re poor, even as you start earning a higher salary and accumulating more wealth. Don’t upsize your life in line with your higher income and higher net worth.
101. Subscribe to herfinancialjourney.com to make sure you never miss an article.