Finance & Career

Financial Goal Setting Worksheets

1 min read
Husband and Wife Doing Financial Planning

Do you have a financial goal? With careful planning, any goal can be achieved. Use these worksheets to identify financial goals and steps to achieve them within one year.

Setting realistic financial goals is a vital part of being on schedule to achieve any objective. Start by setting a short-term goal to build your confidence. Seeing success will drive you to set other achievable goals. Goal setting can also encourage you to set intermediate and long-term goals after seeing initial success. You never know what you can achieve until you actually set a goal. If you do the work, you will see results.

“You can’t know where you are going until you really know where you are right now. That means setting up a budget,” says Lauren Zangardi Haynes, a fiduciary and fee-only financial planner.

Woman hands using calculator and writing on a deskSetting up a spending plan or budget is a necessity if you plan to achieve any goal. A budget helps guide you in the right direction to achieve success. Goal setting is key to your overall achievement. Putting in the work upfront will have a huge impact on the result of achieving planned goals.

Remember to think SMART when setting goals.

  • S—Specific
  • M—Measurable
  • A—Action oriented
  • R—Reachable
  • T—Timebound

Example of a SMART goal: I will save $20 each month for 6 months by making coffee at home rather than going to the coffee shop twice per month. By doing so I will save $120 to spend for my daughter’s birthday gift.

 

Worksheet 1. Financial Goal Setting (One Year) Sample

Note: In column A, list the top three goals that you would like to achieve within 1 year. Next, in column B, number the most important goal first followed by the second and third goal. Then, refer to examples to complete columns C–H.

(A)
Financial Goals		(B)
Priority		(C)
Amount of Money Required		(D)
Target Start Date		(E)
Target Finish Date		(F)
# of Months Needed to Achieve Goal		(G)
Monthly Total		(H)
Total Saved within Time Span (F X G)
Short-Term Goals (Within 3 Months)
Purchase $200 DVD Player1$200.00January 1March 313$69.00($69.00 x 3 mo.) $207.00
Reduce purchase of chips from gas station ($1.50/day)3($1.50 x 7 days) x 4 wks.
$42.00/mo. x 3 mo.		$126.00
Limit purchase of energy drink to 1 per week ($3.25)3($3.25 x 4 wks.)
$13.00/mo. x 3 mo.		$39.00
Save $.50 per day from loose change for concert ticket3($0.50 x 7 days)x 4wks
$14.00 x 3 mo.		$42.00
Intermediate Goals (3 to 6 Months)
Save $600 to replace car tires2
1.
2.
3.
Long-Term Goals ( 6 to 12 Months)
Save 1,500 for Wedding Anniversary Trip3
1.
2.
3.

 

Worksheet 1. Financial Goal Setting (One Year)

Note: In column A, list the top three goals that you would like to achieve within 1 year. Next, in column B, number the most important goal first followed by the second and third goal. Then, refer to examples to complete columns C–H.

(A)
Financial Goals		(B)
Priority		(C)
Amount of Money Required		(D)
Target Start Date		(E)
Target Finish Date		(F)
# of Months Needed to Achieve Goal		(G)
Monthly Total		(H)
Total Saved within Time Span (F X G)
Short-Term Goals (Within 3 Months)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Intermediate Goals (3 to 6 Months)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Long-Term Goals ( 6 to 12 Months)
1.
2.
3.
4.

 

Download a PDF of Financial Goal Setting Worksheets, FCS-2468.

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