Creating S.M.A.R.T. Financial Goals with Worksheets

S.M.A.R.T. financial goals are essential for effective financial planning and achieving your desired outcomes. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. To help you create S.M.A.R.T. financial goals, you can use worksheets and templates. Let’s explore what makes a goal S.M.A.R.T., provide examples, and share free worksheets to assist you in setting up your goals correctly.

What is a S.M.A.R.T. Financial Goal?

A S.M.A.R.T. financial goal is one that adheres to the following criteria:

• Specific: The goal is well-defined and clear, leaving no room for ambiguity.
• Measurable: You can quantify and track progress toward the goal.
• Attainable: The goal is achievable given your current financial situation and resources.
• Relevant: The goal is relevant to your financial aspirations and circumstances.
• Time-bound: There is a set deadline by which the goal should be achieved.

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Financial Goals

Let’s take a look at regular financial goals and rewrite them to meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria:

1. Regular Goal: I want to save more money.

   S.M.A.R.T. Goal: I will save 10% of each of my paychecks starting next paycheck, for the next 6 months. Doing this will help us to fund our emergency savings and then to save for something that we want. I’ll start eating out less each week, plus call for a discount on our cable tv to start. At the end of six months, we should have an extra $2,880 in savings ($240 from each of 12 paychecks).

2. Regular Goal: I want to save up enough money to pay for our vacation next summer.

   S.M.A.R.T. Goal: I’m going to save up to $1,700 by April 2022 so that we can pay cash for our summer vacation to California. To do this, I’ll set aside $200 each month in our vacation account.

S.M.A.R.T. Financial Goals Worksheets

Here are free worksheets and templates to help you create your own S.M.A.R.T. financial goals:

1. SquawkFox’s SMART Goals Worksheet: This colorful worksheet helps you set your financial goals effectively.
2. ConsumerFinance.gov’s SMART Goals Worksheet: Part of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s toolkit, this worksheet provides helpful guidance for setting and achieving financial goals.
3. ConsumerFinance.Gov’s Finance SMART Goals Worksheet: This worksheet prompts you to write out your short-term and long-term financial goals, along with the necessary resources, deadlines, and steps to achieve them.
4. Christ Church’s 1322 Financial Goals Worksheet: This worksheet helps you brainstorm and clarify your financial goals, specifying details like the goal, timeframe, amount needed, and how you’ll reach it.
5. General S.M.A.R.T. Goals Worksheet: This versatile worksheet can be used for various types of goals, not just financial ones. It breaks down each characteristic of a S.M.A.R.T. goal.
6. AdditionFI’s SMART Goal Worksheet: This one-pager provides space to fill in each element of the SMART goal equation, including a description of the goal, specific cost, measurable monthly amount, attainable method, realistic goal length, and a time-bound timeline.
7. NEFE’s S.M.A.R.T. Goal Worksheet: NEFE offers three worksheets for short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, helping you define goals based on different timeframes.

Choose a worksheet that suits your needs and start turning your financial goals into S.M.A.R.T. goals. Once your goals are well-defined, you can work on maintaining your motivation and using tools like money-saving goal trackers to track your progress. You’ve got this!