Your personal financial goals should be catered to your circumstances. It’s likely that you’re ready to start a family or working towards the goal of having a home as part of your financial New Year’s resolutions. The things you want in your future depend on sticking with your financial goals. Learning how to set financial goals is essential for your success in life.

1. Emergency Fund

While it’s painful to consider, you could lose your job at any moment. Nobody ever plans on losing their job, but you can save money to cushion yourself in case of this kind of traumatic event. It can take up to 6 months to find a new job and get settled into the new position. so your emergency fund should cover 6 months of your current salary.

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2. Start Thinking Retirement

As you’re considering that emergency fund, it’s time to start thinking about your retirement. Whether you’re in your 30s or closing in on 50, it’s never too late to start saving. You won’t save for your entire retirement in 2017 alone, but you should begin the process. Even if it’s only a little every month, the interest will build over time.

3. Pay Down Debt

When you have credit card debt, you’re paying extra each month on the interest alone. If you’re only making minimum payments, your money owed each month is actually increasing even when you haven’t made any purchases. It’ll take dedication as well as some sacrifice, but in the long run, it’ll make it easier to save money when you have reduced or eliminated your debt. The only debt you should have is the one that belongs to your home, and once you pay off other debts, you can start increasing your payments to your mortgage company too.

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4. Estate Planning

Death is another painful consideration in your life, but if you have family, it’s important that you’re planning for their future. You’ll want to control how your children will be cared for if something were to happen to you and your spouse. Any money or assets will need to be distributed properly, which means you’ll need to have a will in place. You might want to have a living will that tells family what your wishes are if you’re in a coma. It’ll need to designate someone as the medical proxy to make your decisions as you’ll be incapable of making them.

5. Life Insurance

This is the time to begin thinking about setting financial goals like providing for the future of your family too. All of these personal finance goals are the foundation, which will help you build a solid base for your family’s future. Life insurance is a monthly expense that can pay out to your family if you die tomorrow, next week or in 10 years.

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6. Credit Score

Paying off your debt and making smart money decisions will increase your credit score. A high credit score will get you better deals on loans in the future. This is vital if you plan on purchasing a home soon. This is the year to start paying down that debt and working to increase your credit score. You can do that by paying bills on time and removing old accounts from your credit report. If you owe companies for past accounts, they’ll be on your credit report causing your score to be lowered.

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7. Financial Planner or Accountant

There are times when your finances can become rather complicated, and you’ll need an income tax calculator. When you have income from more than one source, a mortgage, savings accounts for retirement, college savings and life insurance, you might need to hire a financial planner or accountant to help you plan for the future. A financial professional will ensure that you’re not leaving money behind with a failure to take deductions you’re owed or by overpaying your taxes.

8. Budgeting

When you create a weekly and monthly budget, you’re able to stick to your financial resolutions. It will take some sacrifices at times, but your financial future would be bleak if you owed on loans, had a low credit score or didn’t save for unexpected disasters.

When you are setting personal financial goals like saving for emergencies, paying down your debt and putting money away for retirement, you’re building a great foundation for your family or yourself that will keep you financially safe in the years to come.