New Year's Eve is still a few weeks away, but it's never too early to start thinking about 2025 and beyond!
While you may resolve to "save more" and "spend less," there's one thing that can make your resolutions realities: Set a goal!
Why is setting a goal so important?
Setting a specific goal can help you keep motivated and gives you a way to measure your progress. With a clear financial goal in mind, you'll be able to make clear decisions about your spending and saving, and track how you're doing compared to your goal. You can even give yourself some rewards along the way — when you hit 25% of your goal, you can treat yourself to something to celebrate the milestone. (Just don't make that treat so expensive that it sets you back!)
In addition to setting a financial goal, you'll want to make sure your goal is SMART!
- Specific: Instead of just "save more," create a specific goal like "save $1,000 for a vacation" or "save $5,000 for a downpayment on a car."
- Measurable: The goal should be measurable by defining a clear benchmark to access progress.
- Achievable: The goal should be realistic. We'd all love to have $10 million in the bank by year's end, but that's nearly impossible for most of us without winning MegaMillions.
- Relevant: The goal you set should be relevant to your current situation — in other words, be sure you have a "why" behind setting your goal.
- Time-bound: The goal should have a deadline.
Tools and Apps to Help
Setting a goal is great, but the trick is following through on it. Need some help? Here are a few recommendations:
For your financial goals, there's no better place to start than a financial app! CommonWealth One's MoneyTools, available within online banking, is a good place to start. It allows you to create budgets, receive alerts, establish and track goals, monitor spending and even identify ways to save more money.
There are other apps, too, that can help you achieve your goals. You may need to experiment with a few apps to find the one that's right for you, but apps that "gamify" goals are popular. They turn meeting your goals into fun, competitive or badge-earning quests. Look up YNAB or Credit Karma. You can even bet on yourself through apps like Stickk.
We're excited to help you plan your goals — and hit all the milestones — in 2025. Here's to a happy, healthy, profitable new year!
