The Ultimate Financial Checklist For Achieving Your Short-Term Goals

Creating a financial checklist is the best way to stay on target when you need to set important short-term goals. Here’s what should be at the top of your list as you sort out your financial affairs this year.

The most important part of your financial checklist should be ensuring you set up a sound, actionable budget that you can live by. Once you’re established and living within your means, your next step should be to work on building up your emergency fund.

There are a lot of items to check off the list as you prepare for your short-term goals in the future, but with a little guidance and direction, you can take control of your financial well-being for good.

The rest of this article will dive into the most important financial checklist items to keep in mind.

Important Financial Checklist Items

1. Creating A Budget

The most important marker of financial health with regard to your short-term goals is a reasonable budget. It’s no good trying to sort out your finances if you don’t track and manage your spending.

To get started, you should keep a log of what you spend in a month, and separate your spending into categories of wants and needs. For example, your monthly rent goes under a ‘need,’ while dining out goes under a ‘want.’

There are a number of great apps to help you out with this, including Mint and EveryDollar to keep you accountable and honest.

When you track your spending, you will start to see where you do well—and other places where you aren’t as sensible in managing your money.

Recognizing poor money habits is the first step to building a budget. Once you’ve got a month’s log of your spending, evaluate where your money goes and make changes as necessary.

One common rule that many financial advisors suggest is the 50/30/20 rule. 50% of your income goes toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings and debts.

2. Building Your Emergency Fund

The second item on your financial checklist should be to build an emergency fund. Over a quarter of Americans have no money set aside for a financial emergency.

Thinking big-picture for your finances isn’t always easy, but it’s important to defer gratification now with things you want to save money for a rainy day.

A robust emergency fund should consist of 3-6 months of living expenses to cover natural disasters, sudden expenses, or unemployment.

Work toward this goal by setting aside money every month—directly from your paycheck if necessary—into a separate savings account that’s never touched except for emergencies.

3. Tackle Your Debt

Debt can be a major impediment to financial goals, both short and long-term. As such, it’s important to tackle your debt sooner rather than later. Left alone, debt continues to pile up, with interest payments and overdue notices costing you more and more over time. You might consider one of these two methods to tackle debt this year:

• The Debt Avalanche – This method entails taking on the biggest debt or the one with the highest interest. Doing so allows you to go down the list from biggest to smallest, allotting more and more money as your burden lightens.
• The Debt Snowball – The debt snowball method involves maximizing payment towards your smallest debt and working your way up. Doing so can relieve the headache of tracking creditors and help you allocate funds to meet larger expenses for your long-term loans.

What To Do About Short-Term Emergencies 

Of course, financial planning is all well and good, but what should you do when an emergency strikes and you do not have an emergency fund set up? A short-term title loan through one of At Home Title Loans’ vendors can be just the resource you need if you own your car outright. Here’s how you can apply:

1. Complete the online request form.
2. Schedule a meeting with a loan associate over the phone.
3. Head to the meeting with your required items and vehicle.
4. Wait for the associate to inspect your car and let you know if you’re approved.
5. If approved, receive your money the same day or the next business day.

What You’ll Need To Apply

To apply with one of At Home Title Loans’ vendors, you’ll need to have the following:

• A valid form of state-issued ID
• Your lien-free car title
• Your car itself for inspection

Apply For Your Short-Term Title Loan Today!

Now that you understand what your short and long-term goals are for your finances, you can start planning for the future with confidence. If a bump in the road leaves you scrambling for money, then a title loan might be exactly what you need to tackle those expenses or bills head-on.

If that sounds like the right option for you, then consider applying for a title loan today! Start with the online form and At Home Title Loans will connect you with a reputable title loan vendor in your area.

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.