Striving toward financial goals is vital in order to improve your finances and live the life you want. But most Americans have more than one financial goal they need to reach, ranging from paying off debt to saving for retirement. How can you successfully meet all your varied goals? Here are five tips anyone can apply.

1. Limit the Number of Goals 

When you first begin a financial health journey, you may have many things you want — or need — to work on. But taking on too much, especially when starting out, increases the likelihood of failure. So write a list of financial goals to consider, then prioritize them. Choose between two and four goals to begin with, then add more later.

2. Consult With a Professional

A financial planner is your ally in goal setting, crafting a plan to reach them, and staying on course. And financial planners are increasingly accessible even to the ordinary consumer with modest resources. They will analyze your goals, use industry tools to find milestones, and help you assess the options to reach these. 

3. Create Three Tiers of Goals

Reaching multiple goals with the same time frames and deadlines can be especially daunting. You may find better success by working on goals with three tiers of time horizons. Select a short-term goal with a timeline of one to two years. Add a mid-term goal with a time frame of three to five years. Then, finish up with a longer-term goal whose deadline is five to ten years or more. 

4. Automate What You Can

Modern automation tools are a great resource for tricky saving. Use direct deposit to contribute money each paycheck to all your goals. Use your financial institution's online portal to create recurring automatic transfers. Or consider an app or bank tool which rounds up transactions or does similar behind-the-scenes contributions. The more you take out of your hands, the easier all your goals will work for themselves. 

5. Make Goals Realistic

Managing multiple priorities is hard enough as it is. If you've set unrealistic expectations, this will only be more frustrating and less successful. Work with your financial planner to ensure your goals are attainable and realistic. You might even start with intentionally-low goals so you achieve early wins and a morale boost. As you learn and improve, set more optimistic and ambitious goals. 

Where to Start

Ready to start setting your own multiple financial goals and reaching them? Begin by making an appointment with a financial planner in your state today. 

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