Set Your Fourth Quarter Personal Finance Goals
Believe it or not, we’re actually about three quarters of the way through it. And that means it’s time to get your sights set on the last quarter of the year!
One of the best quarters of year, if you ask us. Pumpkins, family dinners, apple picking, harvesting from the garden…probably other, non-food-related things…and on top of that, it tends to be lovely outside, at least here in Philadelphia.
It’s also one of the most important quarters to navigate through very intentionally, at least when it comes to your budget. Things just tend to come up. Expenses are high, between back to school, holidays, winterizing, and everything else. And it’s your last chance to meet the financial goals you set for this year!
Set Your Fourth Quarter Life Goals
Picture yourself in five years: What is your ideal life? Think about who you will be with, what you will be doing, and where you will be. How will you feel? What will you be proud of?
Now, what are the major steps toward that point? Assign each a specific date over the next five years. For instance, if one of your long-term goals is to fund your child's college education, set a target date based on their age and academic plans. What will you need to get done in one year and two years to reach your five-year target?
Break it down even further: what will you need to get done in the next three months? For example, consider these potential quarterly goals.
Do you have any home or car repairs you want to get done before winter?
Do you tend to spend a lot on Christmas, if you celebrate, or another big event this quarter?
What else would it be awesome if you could achieve by the end of the year?
Thinking about the shorter term, did you set yourself some annual goals? They are a great place to start too. What will you need to do this quarter to stay on track?
Keep both timeframes in mind as you set your fourth quarter personal finance goals.
Free Fourth Quarter Goals Tracker
We made you a tracker! Click here for a free PDF goal tracker for the fourth quarter. Print a copy, fill in your goals—don’t forget the target completion dates!—and post it somewhere you will see it. Mark off the sections as you go.
How to Use a Goal Tracker
Here’s how to use a visual goal tracker:
Set your goal. See below for more on effective goal setting.
Print your goal tracker printable. Write your goal on it.
Finish a section—each section represents 1/10 of your goal—and color it in with colored pencil or marker.
As you get started, think about what you could do to set yourself up for success, and implement it. For example:
Set calendar reminders or alarms on your phone reminding you to do the activity, transfer the money, etc.
Hang your goal tracker template somewhere you can see it regularly.
Reward yourself when you reach a certain milestone. Decide where—and what the reward will be—in advance.
Do something to build momentum at the beginning (or whenever you need a boost). Have a yard sale, work an extra project, or the like.
Get your space in order. Set up a dedicated exercise space, financial planning notebook, or the like. Make it as easy as possible to follow through, whatever that means for your goal.
Find an accountability partner to do it alongside you. Or, let your friends know about your goal so they can cheer you on.
Consider the impact of your financial decisions on your long-term goals and adjust your tracker accordingly.
FOurth Quarter Financial Goals
Choose three to five financial goals you want to achieve before January 1.
(If you choose more than three, you’ll want to print out the goal tracker twice.)
You can do a lot in three months, so don’t overwhelm yourself, but don’t aim too low either!
Can you do finish off your big annual financial goal or goals?
What major expenses are you going to have in the coming months? Can you put money aside for them?
Can you add to your emergency fund, add to your targeted savings funds, pay down debt, save for a down payment, and/or add to your investments?
Now the fun part: Set up a tracker. You can use our quarterly goal tracker (download it here), use another quarterly goal template of your choice, or simply draw one in a notebook. (Check out the goal and habit tracker options available for download on our Etsy site!) Throughout the quarter, use a colored pencil or marker to color in your progress on each goal.
Now, you only have three months, so make a plan. What can you divert from your regularly budgeted income to apply to these goals? Can you take on side projects? Can you save money (even temporarily) somewhere to contribute? Can you sell unwanted clutter?
Whatever that plan is, get to it. Three months sounds like a lot, but it goes quickly.
How to Set an Achievable Financial Goal
Goal-setting is something of an art. If you’ve written down dreams only to find the paper months later and laugh, don’t worry. It takes some practice! Setting achievable financial goals is crucial for maintaining your overall financial health.
Let’s take a look at some financial goals examples and how to set them.
Anatomy of a Goal
As soon as you start goal-setting, you will probably run across someone in the business or personal development worlds talking about SMART goals. (Here's more about SMART goals from Forbes.)
SMART usually stands for:
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Relevant
T: Time-bound
There are a few variations on this acronym out there, with people arguing about what’s the most effective and everything. Here’s a very quick intro.
Specific/Measurable
What is your big-picture goal for your financial life? Think about it, and then start refining it to be as specific as possible. Use measurable numbers that you can track. For instance, you might set a goal to grow your investment portfolio by a certain percentage over the next quarter.
Time-bound
Draw yourself a timeline. Where do you want to be in five and in ten years? To get there, where do you want to be in one year? To get there, where do you want to be in the next quarter (three months) of the year?
Relevant
Are your goals going to help you achieve your big-picture dream? And—this is important—do they rely on YOU? That is, you can set a goal to apply for a new job, but you can’t make a goal to get a new job, because that relies on someone else hiring you.
Attainable
It’s okay to push yourself a little, but is your goal actually possible? And is it possible on the timeline you’ve specified? On the other hand, don’t make it too easy. You wouldn’t want to be bored!
Let’s see how this looks in practice using some financial goals examples.
Long Term Financial Goals Examples
These goals typically take more than five years. When (and where) do you want to retire, for example? Setting specific retirement goals can help you stay on track with your savings.
Let’s say you want to retire early. That’s a great big-picture idea, but we need specifics. Exactly when do you want to retire, and exactly how much money will you need? Consider how much retirement income you will need to maintain your desired lifestyle. You can get start with an online calculator (here’s one), but talk to a financial advisor too. If you’re still pretty far out, some people use 25 times their annual expenses.
Goal: I will retire in March of 2041 with 1.3 million dollars in retirement savings.
Specific/measurable? Yes—that dollar amount is a literal number we can measure.
Time-bound? Yes.
Relevant and attainable? That’s for you to decide: Do you want this goal (and why)? Can you do it, realistically?
Let’s do it again!
Goal: I will pay off my $125,000 mortgage by April 1, 2031.
Goal: I will save $40,000 for my child’s college tuition my the time they graduate from high school in May of 2033.
Once you’ve decided on your goal, you can start planning to achieve it—and that looks different for every goal and every person.
Medium Term Financial Goals Examples
Once you have your long-term goals automated and underway, you may find yourself looking at a huge range of mid term financial goals. These are the ones that take more than a year but generally less than five(ish) years. Consider increasing your contributions to retirement accounts like a 401(k) or IRA as part of your medium-term financial goals.
Goal: I will pay off my $4,560 student loan in full by June of 2027.
Goal: I will pay the $26,780 balance on my car loan by April 1, 2028.
Goal: I will put $15,000 in a high-yield savings account as my three-month emergency fund by June 2027.
Goal: I will invest a total of $10,000 in index funds by March of 2029.
Goal: I will save $12,000 for a down payment on a house by September 15, 2027.
Goal: I will save $18,500 for a wedding by March 1, 2027.
Medium-term goals are a little dangerous. If you’re anything like us, you’ve automated your long-term goals as much as possible and focus mainly on your short-term goals.
So, why not break it down further? Count the number of quarters left before your target date. Divide the dollar amount you need by the number of quarters to get the amount you need to come up with each quarter, and make that a short-term goal.
Speaking of which…
Short Term Financial Goals Examples
Short-term financial goals typically take a year or less. We really love setting quarterly goals, which take about three months. Managing your cash flow effectively is crucial for achieving your short-term financial goals.
Goal: I will save $1,000 for an emergency fund by December 31, 2025.
Goal: I will save $1,200 for a ceiling repair by June 15, 2025.
Goal: I will save $5,000 for my child’s tuition by the due date, July 7, 2025.
Goal: I will save $1,500 for a vacation by August 15, 2025.
Goal: I will pay off my $2,540 credit card Debt by October 1, 2025.
Don’t forget to include partial progress on those medium-term goals we talked about above. For example:
Goal: I will pay $570 toward my student loan by July 1, 2025. (That’s $4,560 divided by 8 quarters.)
Goal: I will pay $2,678 toward my car loan by July 1, 2025 (That’s $26,780 divided by 10 quarters.)
Not all short-term goals need a tracker! You can also use check boxes when setting financial goals. That’s still measurable, even though it’s not a dollar amount.
Goal: I will write and finalize my will by June 1, 2025.
Goal: I will file my taxes by May 17, 2025.
Goal: I will increase the percentage of my paycheck that is deducted for my 401k by 1% on or before April 15, 2025.
Goal: I will read three books on personal finance by September 1, 2025.
Goal: I will check my credit report by May 1, 2025.
Goal: I will have a no-spend weekend in May of 2025.
What do all these financial goals examples have in common? They are specific, they are measurable—whether trackable by dollar or by to-do list check box—and they have deadlines.
They’re also hypothetical, so we don’t know if they’re realistic for you. Set your own realistic, and good luck achieving them!
