Personal Finance For Dummies, 7th Edition

Chapter 4

Establishing and Achieving Goals

In This Chapter

Defining what matters most to you

Setting and prioritizing your financial goals

Saving for unexpected expenses, a real-estate purchase, a small business, or educational needs

Estimating what you need for retirement and making up for lost time

In my work as a financial counselor, I always asked new clients what their short- and long-term personal and financial goals were. Most people reported that reflecting on this question was incredibly valuable, because they hadn’t considered it for a long time — if ever.

In this chapter, I help you dream about what you want to get out of life. Although my expertise is in personal finance, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t get you to consider your nonfinancial goals and how money fits into the rest of your life goals. So before I jump into how to establish and save toward common financial goals, I discuss how to think about making and saving money, as well as how to best fit your financial goals into the rest of your life.

Creating Your Own Definition of “Wealth”

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