How To Set (And Keep!) Quarterly Financial Goals

Yearly financial goals can feel too far off. Monthly goals feel too small time. Quarterly financial goals let you dream big and act now.


Did you make any financial New Year's resolutions for 2017? Now that January is over, how many have you kept?

It's been a while since I've made a formal list of goals for the new year, but that doesn't mean I'm not eager to make changes to my life and finances. There are many great books and blog posts on habit change, but one thing they all seem to agree on is that you'll be more successful if you break your goals into smaller, manageable steps.

When it comes to your finances, making changes isn't always about new habits; often it's a specific debt payoff amount or emergency fund goal.

With a focus on different goals at different times of the year, you can figure out in advance when you're most likely to be able to make an extra debt payment or take a vacation. Visualizing the year ahead also saves you from forgetting those "surprise" seasonal expenses like a deposit on your child's preschool tuition or your car inspection. In this article I'll use my own financial goals as an example to show you how to identify your objectives, assign them to the right quarter, and stay motivated to follow through.

Write down all of your financial hopes and dreams

No matter how far-off it sounds, whether you aspire to early retirement or a pile of cash to fund your entrepreneurial ideas, get it all on paper. We'll filter the list for achievability in the next step.

Here are some of my goals, as an example:

• Pay off multiple kinds of debts (credit cards, car payment, student loans, mortgage).
• Grow our emergency fund.
• Save for travel.
• Add to our two kids' college funds.
• Create a budget and stick to it.
• Increase my freelance income.
• Reduce my family's spending on food (both groceries and convenience food).
• Sell unneeded stuff on Craiglist.
• Pay preschool tuition for two kids next year.
• And as for "maybe someday, maybe never" kind of wild dream, I'd love to have the cash to open my own bookstore franchise. 

Notice that my list has a nice mix of short-term goals I can achieve in one quarter, and longer term goals I could make progress with during the year. What does your list look like? You can always add more later. 

What can you realistically accomplish this year?

Set yourself up to succeed by identifying goals you have a good chance of reaching within a three-month to one-year period. Chances are you can't pay off the entirety of your student loans by December 31st, but you could make an extra year-end payment with any cash you receive as a holiday gift or work bonus.

Likewise, reducing your spending in certain areas may be more realistic than setting a large debt payoff or savings goal. Cutting out that "daily latte" is an overused example, but the point is still useful. Set a goal like packing your own lunch or drinking the office coffee at least three days out of the week and you'll be rewarded with a quick win that can boost your motivation for harder goals.

Match goals with appropriate seasons

Some objectives naturally correlate with a specific time of the year. For example, most people take a vacation over the summer. Other periods, like the holiday season, bring additional expenses. And if you freelance or hold a second job on the side, your income probably fluctuates throughout the year. As an adjunct professor and freelance writer, the fall is my most prosperous time. In the summer I work less and experience more financial nail-biting. Here's how I would divide my earlier goals into smaller achievements and new habits for the first quarter of 2017.

First Quarter (January, February, March)

• Make extra payments on my car loan. With only $2,000 left, this is the "lowest hanging fruit" of your debts. And since I've picked up some extra freelance work lately, it's a realistic goal. I can allocate my extra income to making bigger payments on the loan, possibly even paying it off by the end of March.
• Reduce food spending by eliminating Friday night takeout. Getting dinner to go on Fridays had become a habit, but there are usually plenty of leftovers in the fridge that we could eat instead. So this is an easy way to save money. As I dug into a reheated pasta dish last Friday, I felt healthier and virtuous. I also chose Friday as a day to change my takeout habit so that my husband and I could have a restaurant date on Saturday or Sunday without guilt. It's always better to spend money on an enjoyable experience instead of a habitual convenience. 
• Grow our emergency fund. I'll start this habit now by setting up a monthly auto transfer from checking to savings. Even if I have to turn the transfer off during the leaner summer months, I'll be off to a good start, which will make me less anxious over the summer and provide motivation to return to the habit in September. 

What will you work on in each month of your four quarters? Some goals may continue throughout the year, broken into four smaller objectives. Other goals will be started and completed in one three-month chunk, and still others will repeat annually, like saving for travel and holiday spending. 

Create accountability to keep yourself on track

If you only share your goals with yourself, it's easy to give up in the face of setbacks and temptations. So share your quarterly financial goals with friends and family members -- bring it up the next time you're out for dinner, email and text people about it, or post your goals on your blog or social media profiles. The fear of embarrassment will keep you accountable and on track when you knowing that someone might ask about it or notice your positive or negative progress.