How to make future aspirations more attainable and less stressful

Saving can bring you a level of financial freedom that transforms your life. By putting money away regularly, you can create a financial cushion that can support you through emergencies, help you achieve significant milestones or provide peace of mind.

A dedicated savings pot can be the foundation for achieving your dreams, whether buying a home, embarking on a dream holiday or ensuring a comfortable retirement. Saving empowers you to take control of your finances, making future aspirations more attainable and less stressful.

However, to truly harness the power of saving, it is essential to set clear money goals and develop a plan to stay on track. Setting specific, realistic goals can provide direction and motivation, turning abstract aspirations into achievable targets. This involves defining what you are saving for, how much you need to save and establishing a timeline to reach your objectives.

How to set your goals

First things first, think about what saving goals you’re aiming for. Here are a few considerations. Write down your goals. Physically writing out what you want to achieve can help you see the bigger picture of your aspirations and make it feel more real. Are you saving for your family, retirement, holidays, a house, an emergency fund or a car? Remember to keep in mind what brings you joy and purpose, too.

Make your goals specific and realistic

General statements like ‘I want to save more’ or ‘I need to spend less’ are too vague to stick to. They make it too easy to create many ‘exceptions’ that knock you off track. Setting specific goals could help you work towards achieving a clear, fixed target. For example, ‘I want to save £6,000 in the next six months’ or ‘I want to halve how much I spend on takeaways for the rest of the year.’ It’s also important to ensure your goals are realistic and achievable – setting goals that you’re unlikely to reach because they are too ambitious could be disheartening and demotivating.

Split your goals into short and long-term

A short-term saving goal could be building up a rainy-day fund to pay your bills if you lose your job. A longer-term goal may be saving up a deposit for a house or reviewing your monthly pension contributions, depending on when you want to retire. You don’t have to wait to complete your short-term goals before starting your longer-term ones. Think about how your goals would fit in with living a longer, multi-stage life.

Talking about long-term goals

As we start to live longer, saving for your later years might be something you want to give serious thought to. For example, are your retirement savings right for you, and what lifestyle do you have in mind after work? Or do you need to put some money aside for healthcare? The dynamics of how we live are changing, too. We’re moving away from the traditional three-stage ‘education, employment, retirement’ model to living more varied and flexible multi-stage lives. Our age no longer defines life’s stages but rather our decisions about how to spend our time. You might choose to attend university in your 40s or decide not to retire.

What to do if you have too many goals

Sometimes, setting too many goals can be overwhelming and hinder your progress. If you have a long list of goals and need help to meet them right now, you could add these to your long-term plan. You might decide to start saving for something in a few years rather than right now. It all depends on what’s most important to you and the money goals you’d like to achieve first.

How to meet your goals

So you’ve written down your money goals, but how do you achieve them? Begin with the end in mind. Planning is important to stay on track. Work back from there once you’ve chosen the financial goals you want to achieve. Decide where you want to be financially, set a future date and track back to where you are today. Setting milestones along the way might help, especially for those long-term goals.

Consider which goals you need to achieve first

You might have many money goals, but some need your attention first. It’s essential to recognise those and separate out what’s important from what’s urgent. Debts can often be a pressing money issue and are something to stay on top of. Understanding how much you need to save each month is crucial. As mentioned, you want to make sure your goals are achievable. So, think about when you want to achieve your goal and how much money you’ll need to save each month to meet it.

Choose where you’re going to save your money

It’s a good idea to consider where you’ll put your savings. There are a range of different savings accounts – so research which ones are best suited to your needs and goals. If you’re considering investing, bear in mind that the value of an investment can fall as well as rise and isn’t guaranteed. You could get back less than you invest. We can help you review your options.

Staying on track to achieve your goals

Now you’ve started saving towards your money goals, here are some things to consider to help you stay on track. Be proactive. Getting started is just the beginning; it’s important to stay on top of your goals and the milestones you’ve set. Not only will this help you achieve them, but it could also prevent bigger problems from building up. To help you stay on track, you could consider setting up a standing order so the money is automatically allocated to your savings pot. And if it helps, mark off a countdown on your calendar to keep you motivated as you get closer to your goal.

Review your goals

Things change, and so can your goals. As we start to live longer multi-stage lives, you might find that you need to adapt what you’re saving for or working towards due to a change in your circumstances. Like reviewing your budget, you might find checking in on your goals mid-way through the year useful.

Be cautious

Achieving your money goals can require patience. Being realistic about how long reaching each milestone might take is a crucial part of meeting your targets – and there are times when you might want to give up. Whatever your money goals, the first step is to start. Whether it’s starting small, make sure your targets are achievable based on how much you can afford each week or month.

To discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please contact us. Further information can also be found at gov.uk.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until age 55 (57 from April 2028 unless the plan has a protected pension age). The value of your investments (and any income from them) can down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Your pension income could also be affected by the interest rates at the time you take your benefits.