Financial Goals for Students: How to Set and Achieve Them

Setting financial goals when you're young is a great way to position yourself to attain them. As a student, you might not have much money and you may feel like it’s not worth it to set financial goals. But building the habit of setting, working toward and achieving financial goals can put you on a path to bigger goals after you graduate.

Short-Term Financial Goals for Students

Short-term goals are goals you can generally achieve in a year or less. For students, those might include things like:

• Paying a certain amount toward tuition to reduce the need for student loans
• Buying a new computer or phone
• Building an emergency fund to cover things like an unexpected car repair or medical bill
• Taking a weekend trip with friends or family
• Moving to a new apartment

Mid-Term Financial Goals for Students

These are goals you aim to reach in about one to five years. For mid-term financial goals, examples for students include things like:

• Saving up for an internship or a study abroad program
• Buying a used car
• Covering test and application fees for graduate school
• Paying for a wedding
• Taking a vacation

Long-Term Financial Goals for Students

These goals will likely take you more than five years to reach. Your long-term goals could be:

• Saving for a down payment on a home
• Investing money for retirement
• Paying off student loans
• Buying a new car
• Taking a dream vacation

How to Set Your Financial Goals

You may have so many financial goals you want to achieve that it’s hard to know where to start. Think about what’s most important to you and your future. What do you value most in your life? How can you use your financial goals to center your life around your values?

If education is at the top of your list, you might prioritize saving to cover the costs of applying to graduate school. If spending time with family and friends is a core value, you may want to save for long weekends or vacations with them.

How to Reach Your Financial Goals

These steps can help you achieve your goals.

Create a Budget

If you don’t have a budget, that’s a good place to begin. Track your income and expenses to see how much money you have and how you’re spending it. You may want to use an app like Rocket Money to organize your finances. 

Choose a Goal

Next, pick a financial goal to work toward. You may want to pick a short-term goal to start, since these smaller goals are easier to reach. As you work toward your smaller goal, you’ll learn what helps you save and how you can apply the lessons you learn to bigger goals.

As an example, let’s suppose your goal is to buy a new phone. You’ve researched the one you want and expect it will cost $500. Next, it’s time to take action.

Make Decisions

Now that you know what your budget looks like and you’ve chosen a goal, ask yourself how soon you hope to reach your goal and how much you can save toward it.

Maybe your budget leaves you $50 per month for savings. You’ll reach your goal in 10 months. If you want to get your new phone sooner, look for ways to trim your expenses or supplement your income. Saving even another $10 per month would get you to your goal almost two months sooner.

Learn From Setbacks

As you save, don’t let setbacks derail your progress. Maybe you had unexpected bills one month, or maybe you made some bad spending decisions. Use the information to help make better choices as you go forward. 

Talk to a Financial Advisor

When it comes to financial planning for students, it’s never too soon to reach out for advice. Whether you’re looking for ways to trim your budget or starting to plan for your future, talking with a Farm Bureau financial advisor can help you meet your goals.