How to achieve your financial goals


We all wish we could have a bit more spending money in our lives, right? Whether we’re saving up for something big (like a house) or just want to be able to buy things as and when we want or need them. In order to be able to achieve this, we have to have financial goals in place. Again, they could be big or small, but we do need to have them. Once you’ve set a specific financial goal, you then need to work out how you’re going to hit it. These are our top tips for achieving your financial goals.

Work out where your money is going

First up, it’s vitally important to work out where your money is actually going before you start planning to hit that financial goal. There are plenty of different ways you can do this, from going through all of your bank statements and sorting everything into categories onto a spreadsheet through to using an app that does all that for you! Another good idea is to have a day of zero spending, where you don’t spend a single cent. This will help you see where you usually spend your money throughout the day; especially when you’re missing that morning latte.

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Swap and stash

Once you have worked out where all of your money is going, it’s time to make some swaps. This could be something small, such as making that beloved morning latte at home, or it could be something larger, such as ditching the car and relying on public transport instead. Once you have made those swaps, work out exactly how much you’re saving over the course of the month. Now, stash away the difference! So, if making a coffee at home saves you $25 a week then put that $100 toward your financial goal. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your savings rack up if you stash away the money from your swaps.

Save and celebrate

Now that you’ve got money you can stash away from your swaps, it’s time to open up a high-interest savings account that doesn’t let you touch it until you need the money! This is particularly useful for long-term goals, such as saving up for a house. The longer you can lock the money away, the higher the interest rate you’ll likely get from the bank. Set up a way of tracking how much is being tucked away on a spreadsheet or a savings app. Now, turn your savings goal into bite sized chunks that you can work toward. Every time you hit one of those milestones, treat yourself with something small – don’t blow your entire savings on congratulating yourself! Research shows that we’re far more likely to keep motivated if we turn our bigger goal into smaller ones.

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Try growing your income

If you’ve made all the swaps you can and you’re still not getting anywhere near your financial goal, then perhaps it’s time to start bringing in more money. Look at evening or weekend jobs, or learn a new skill that you can use to start a side hustle. Make sure you put all of those extra earnings into your savings account, so that you don’t end up just spending what you earn again, too!

These top tips should make it easier to achieve your financial goals, but it’s going to involve some hard work and discipline. Give them a go and see how you get on.

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