When it comes to people’s top financial goals for 2021, Country Financial’s 2020 Security Index Report found that controlling spending, saving for an emergency, paying down credit card debt or student loan debt, and saving for retirement were among top goals.
Short-term goals focus on achieving more immediate results, such as funding next summer’s trip or buying a new car. In contrast, long-term goals might require several years or more of preparation.
Once you know your goals, drafting a monthly budget becomes more manageable. Document up to three months’ worth of expenses and then break the list down into fixed costs, variable costs, necessary costs and discretionary costs.
To dedicate more money toward building wealth and saving for your goals, you’ll likely need to pay off some debt first. You can use your discretionary income as a tool for minimizing your debt load.
The avalanche method prioritizes high-interest debts by ranking the interest rates from greatest to least. Then, regularly pay the minimum on each of your debts, and put any leftover funds towards the one with the highest interest rate.