Once you have your savings goal, be sure to add it into your budget or cash flow budget. For
more information on cash flow budgets, see Module 10: Managing cash flow. For ideas on
finding money to save for your goals, see Module 7: Saving for the unexpected, emergencies,
and goals.
What about revising goals?
Goals aren’t something to set and then forget. You need to keep your goals in sight, and you may
sometimes need to revise them when:
The goal has been achieved The amount of saving every week or month toward the goal exceeds what makes sense
for your family Emergency savings are used and need to be replenished
Your circumstances change (such as when you lose a job or get a new job, start earning
more money, have a new child, have a health emergency, etc.)
Your values change and a goal no longer feels relevantTo revise one of your goals, take a look at what has changed.
If one of your goals has been achieved, it’s time to start the process again and set a new goal.
Think about what you want for yourself and your family and create a new goal.
If the amount of saving every week or month toward the goal exceeds what is possible for you,
think about if you can change either the length of time you have to save or the total savings. Ask
yourself if this goal can wait a bit longer. If it can, adjust the length of time you have to save,
which will bring down the amount of your weekly or monthly savings. If you can’t adjust the
length of time, you can lower the amount of total savings, which will also bring down the
amount of your weekly or monthly savings.
If your Emergency Savings have been used, they’ve done their job. Now it’s time to replenish
them. Create a new goal by figuring out how much Emergency Savings you’d like to have and by
when. Calculate the amount you need to save weekly or monthly and start saving. (See Module
7: Saving for the unexpected, emergencies, and goals for more information on this topic.)