Episode•January 17, 2023•8 min

The Most Effective Way to Tackle Your Financial Goals | Ep. 193

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your financial goals? Check out this episode for the most effective way to tackle your money goals and get on track to reaching them! You'll learn how to create a plan, set priorities, and make progress toward your targets. Every Tuesday, Tiffany answers one of your submitted questions. To submit a question for an upcoming episode, visit here: https://www.moneytalkwitht.com/asktiffany Connect with Tiffany on Social Media Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Organize SMART goals by timeframe and priority
Split goals into short-term (under 1 year) and long-term (over 1 year)
Order goals by completion timeline or importance within each category
Use this ordered list to adjust your budget for goal progress
2
Balance debt payoff with other financial priorities when possible
Pay minimums on credit cards while building savings to avoid new debt
Small consistent investments (e.g., $25/month in Roth IRA) can compound over time
Avoid waiting until debt-free to invest if your situation allows simultaneous progress
3
Break long-term goals into short-term milestones
Identify stretch goals and create bite-sized steps to reach them
Example: Podcast growth goal supports larger aim of becoming a world-renowned speaker
Debt payoff milestones can feed into a multi-year debt-free target
4
Use your budget as the implementation tool for goals
Direct extra funds toward your current priority goal after minimum payments
Adjust budget categories to accelerate progress on prioritized goals
Track multiple goals simultaneously when finances permit

Intro

In this Tiffany's Take episode, Tiffany continues her January goal-setting series by explaining how to organize and prioritize SMART goals for effective financial progress.
Tiffany Grant is a financial coach and host of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast, providing practical money advice and answering listener questions weekly.

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– Organizing Your SMART Goals

After creating SMART goals, split them into short-term (under 1 year) and long-term (over 1 year) categories. Order goals by completion date or importance within each list.

You should have a list. I always tell my clients to at least do three goals. You want to break them out into short term and long term.

– Aligning Budget with Goals

Use your ordered goal list to adjust your budget. Direct extra funds toward your current priority goal after covering minimum payments.

Whatever money I have left over, whatever money that's extra... that's all going to this goal because that's what I'm prioritizing right now.

– Balancing Multiple Financial Goals

Tiffany advocates working on multiple goals simultaneously when possible, including building savings, paying minimum credit card payments, and investing small amounts.

I also believe in that if the situation allows you to definitely invest while you're doing all those things.

She contrasts this with strict sequential approaches like Dave Ramsey's baby steps, noting the opportunity cost of delayed investing.

– Stretch Goals and Milestone Planning

Include stretch goals in your long-term list and break them into smaller short-term milestones. Example: Tiffany's goal of becoming a world-renowned speaker includes hitting 50,000 podcast listens as a milestone.

One of my big goals is to be a world renowned speaker... at the top of my long, long, long-term goals.

– Next Steps in Goal Implementation

This episode focused on organizing and prioritizing goals. The next episode will dive deeper into budget implementation and tracking progress.

Resources

Topics

goal settingSMART goalsbudgetingdebt payoffinvestingfinancial planningsavingspersonal finance