Managing Money Pt. 1: Setting Financial Goals

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Everyone loves spending money, but not everyone loves managing money.

That doesn’t mean that managing money isn’t still beneficial for all of us.

For a lot of us, once we got into recovery, we definitely weren’t where we wanted to be financially. With a little help and discipline, we can get to a better spot! It just takes learning a few skills like keeping track of your income, expenses, and spending, and living within your budget. These skills can be simple for some while others might need time to really apply them. That’s okay! Not all of us were taught money management skills growing up or while in school; pair the lack of skills with an addiction that feeds off instant gratification, and you’ve got yourself quite the mess.

A huge part of making better choices with money is setting goals. Setting financial goals allows us to be intentional with money and work toward a better financial future. When we start defining what our financial goals are, it’s important to look at our priorities and what’s important to us. We might also want to consider vacations, going out to eat, saving money for a rainy day or retirement, etc. Next, we need to figure out realistic goals based on our income. Or maybe we need to find a job that supports the financial goals we’ve set. Let’s look at how we can set short term, intermediate and long-term goals.

Published

11/21/2022

Category

Recovery Tools

Author

Christine Paul

#1

Setting short-term goals.

Setting financial goals can feel overwhelming when you’re looking too far into the future. You imagine all the possibilities and things you can and probably should work towards. You see the drastic difference between now and then and get discouraged. Start by setting goals that can be met within the next week, month, or year. Start an emergency fund to help you in the near future when something unexpected happens. Set a goal to reduce your credit card debt within the next year. Make a goal that you can achieve soon and give you that motivation boost.

#2

Setting intermediate goals.

After you set yourself up for motivation and financial protection with your short-term goals, it’s time to look at intermediate goals. These are goals that can be met within the next few years. They’re the goals that should really excite you. You can set a goal to buy your first house or new car. You can also work toward taking a vacation. Saving money to just spend away at a vacation might seem contrary to productivity but you’d be surprised how empowering and motivating it is to work towards such a large reward. You’ll find that not only does the vacation itself refresh you, but the ability to achieve it through financial goals will too.

#3

Setting long-term goals.

Once you set yourself up well in the next few months and you’re excited about that new shiny thing coming to you in the next couple years, it’s time for the long-term goals. And now that we’ve built the connection between where we are now and where we want to be, those daunting long-term goals appear more attainable. Long-term goals are your accomplishments in the next few decades. You can aim to pay off the loan of that new car in six years. You can put money away for a college or retirement fund. These are things that might not excite or motivate you, but are good and important things to work toward.

“It is human nature to want it and want it now; it is also a sign of immaturity. Being willing to delay pleasure for a greater result is a sign of maturity.”

Dave Ramsey

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Setting financial goals is beneficial for everyone, not just people who love doing it.
  • You might need to shrink your spending to fit your goals or find a job that supports your goals.
  • Short-term goals are ones within the next year that motivate you to make more and bigger goals.
  • Intermediate goals are ones within the next few years that get you excited, make you hopeful.
  • Long-term goals take decades. They don’t excite or motivate you, but they’re very important.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Set at least three short-term goals and one intermediate goal for yourself this week. Take action on at least one of those goals. Read Managing Money Pt. 2 this week as well. Try creating a budget that supports one or more of your goals.

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Setting financial goals is beneficial for everyone, not just people who love doing it.
  • You might need to shrink your spending to fit your goals or find a job that supports your goals.
  • Short-term goals are ones within the next year that motivate you to make more and bigger goals.
  • Intermediate goals are ones within the next few years that get you excited, make you hopeful.
  • Long-term goals take decades. They don’t excite or motivate you, but they’re very important.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Set at least three short-term goals and one intermediate goal for yourself this week. Take action on at least one of those goals. Read Managing Money Pt. 2 this week as well. Try creating a budget that supports one or more of your goals.

Credit where credit is due

This article was inspired by Life in Balance presented by Hazelden Foundation. If you would like to check out additional recovery articles, videos, and podcast episodes, check us out at artisticrecovery.org.

Christine Paul

Christine is the Director of Peer Services at Three20 Recovery. She is a Certified Addiction Peer Recovery coach and holds a degree in Psychology. She has worked in the treatment and recovery field for over 5 years. She brings personal and professional experience. She is passionate about recovery and helping to bridge the gaps for those seeking it.

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Not all of us were taught money management skills growing up or while in school; pair the lack of skills with an addiction that feeds off instant gratification, and you’ve got yourself quite the mess.

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