Short-term financial goals: 5 examples & how to achieve them

What comes to mind when you hear the term "financial goals"? Maybe it’s your dreams for the long haul: having enough money to retire, paying off a mortgage or putting kids or grandkids through college. But short-term financial goals are important, too. These are personal objectives tied to more immediate needs and expenses.

Short-term financial goals are things you typically can accomplish within a year. Mid-term may take up to three years, and long-term goals, such as saving for retirement, tend to take three years or more.

Here are just a few common short-term financial goals and some tangible steps you can take to achieve them.

The main difference between short-, mid- and long-term financial goals is simply how long you expect them to take.

Your timeline can help you decide which goals to focus on now and which ones you’ll work toward over time.

Debt grows. So the quicker you pay it down, the less money you'll spend on interest. This can help you free up money toward your other financial goals.

For example, let’s say you have a $2,000 credit card balance with a 20% APR and pay it off over 12 months. You'd pay about $185 a month and roughly $223 in interest. If you pay it off in six months instead, your monthly payment would be about $353, but you'd pay only about $118 in interest, saving you around $105. That extra money could then go toward your other financial goals.

Not all debt is bad, but if you're overwhelmed by it, a solid short-term goal is to rein it in. Choose a debt payment plan that you find motivating, effective and realistic. Two of the most common methods can help you get at it from different angles:

• Debt avalanche method. Make the minimum required payments on all your debts each month and apply any extra money you can toward the one with the highest interest rate.
• Debt snowball method. Make all your minimum payments, with any extra money you have going toward the smallest amount of debt first.

The debt avalanche method often saves the most money because you're paying down your highest-interest debt first. However, some people find the debt snowball method to be personally satisfying as they watch account balances zero out.

The goal with budgeting isn't to set and master the perfect budget within weeks. Instead, commit to improving your budget over time until it works for you. Check on it each week or at the end of the month to see which spending categories you're struggling to stick with.

You might find that you need to cut back more in certain places or that you need to adjust to devote more funds to one category over another. Regularly checking in also can help you be more mindful of the purchases you make. Your budget can evolve over time if you pay attention to what's going right and what's going wrong and adjust accordingly.

Don't forget to budget each month for financial goals like paying down debt or buying a home so you can make steady progress toward them. You also may want to factor in some cash for entertainment, like a dinner out or an activity with your family. Since you’re bound to spend on these types of expenses anyway, it helps to budget for them.

It doesn't hurt to save for a rainy day. An emergency fund gives you money to fall back on when something unexpected comes up, whether that’s a major car repair, a medical bill or a loss of income.

Most experts recommend eventually having enough to cover three to six months of your expenses. But you don’t have to get there all at once. If you spend about $3,000 a month, for example, three to six months would mean saving $9,000 to $18,000. Start with an amount you can manage and build from there.

Even a smaller emergency fund can give you something to draw from when an unexpected expense hits, rather than immediately turning to a high-interest credit card or even a lower-interest personal loan.

Not all short-term financial goals have to be debt- or savings-focused. Consider setting a goal to simply learn more about finances. The more informed you are, the more comfortable you'll likely feel when making financial decisions.

Many people don't learn much about how to manage money while in school. So take your financial education into your own hands. Read financial books and articles, enroll in free or low-cost financial courses or reach out to a financial advisor. Not only do financial advisors have a wealth of information to share, but they can help you set a successful path for your short-term goals.

After bills are paid each month, you probably want to have money left over for travel, hobbies and wants. So how can you carve out more of that "fun money"?

Start with little changes. Not using a streaming service as often as you thought you would? Cancel it and direct the monthly fee toward a travel fund instead. Give up one takeout meal a week and put the money aside toward a manicure or a round of golf. And, as windfalls like bonuses or raises come your way, earmark a small portion for discretionary spending.

You don't need to take on all your short-term goals at once. As you accomplish a couple within a matter of weeks or months, you'll free up some money to apply to a different goal or set a whole new one. And it’s fine to have goals that are more personally rewarding: a vacation, a date night, a gift for a person or cause you care about. A solid financial strategy takes into account the things you love.

To set the right short-term financial goal for you, think about which areas of your life cause you stress and which bring you comfort. Maybe credit card debt is a constant source of worry. Paying it down could be a good place to start.

Or maybe you feel better knowing you're building up savings for a down payment on your first home. If so, increasing your contributions to that fund each month could be the perfect short-term goal for you.

A Thrivent financial advisor can help you sort out which short-term financial goals are right for you and your overall financial picture. They also can help you connect what you're working toward now with your longer-term goals.