Flex Your Finances: Make Your Goals Clear

Goals give you purpose and help you plan for your future.

If your goal is to earn a college education, you know you’ll need to study, save for tuition, and carefully choose a major. If your goal is to lose weight, you know you need to eat healthfully, get some exercise, and plan to get a good night’s rest. Setting goals for your finances is just as important as setting goals in these other aspects of your life. A clear goal helps you identify the steps you need to take to be successful.

Do you stress about money?

Identify exactly what has your worried. Do you feel like your debt takes up your whole paycheck? Are you worried you’ll never be able to retire comfortably? Is your family changing or growing and you’re not sure how to pay for it? Identifying which aspects of your finances need work will help you set your goals. Focus on the most important goal first, but don’t lose sight of the others. Here are some common financials goals for individuals and families. Discuss what your financial goals might be as a family so everyone is working toward achieving those goals. With everyone on board it will be easier to stay on track.

Base your budget around your goals.

Make choices that support the goals you have identified. If you need help making a plan to achieve your goals, don’t be afraid to ask for it. This is especially true for credit union members. Centra, Centra Foundation, and Centra Financial Services are all here to serve as resources for you. Your local Centra lender can help you manage your debt and increase your savings. Centra Foundation helps ten students pay for college each year. Centra Financial Services (CFS) will review your financial picture to help you plan for retirement and other major life events.