Navigate your Financial Journey: Essential Goals for Every Life Stage

Embarking on a financial journey is a lifelong adventure, filled with milestones, challenges, and opportunities. Each stage of life presents unique financial goals, from building a solid foundation in your early years to securing a comfortable retirement. Understanding and setting these goals is crucial to achieving financial stability and peace of mind. Whether you are just starting your career, growing a family, or planning for retirement, this guide will help you navigate the essential financial goals for every life stage, ensuring you stay on track to achieve your dreams and secure your future.

Financial Goals for your 20s

Your 20s are a transformative decade, laying the groundwork for your financial future. This is the time to focus on education, career-building, and establishing sound financial habits. Setting clear financial goals during this stage can pave the way for long-term success and stability. Here are some of the key financial priorities you might focus on during these early adulthood years:

• Education & Skill Building: Save for higher education or vocational training.
• Starting a Career: Focus on building a career and increasing income.
• Emergency Fund: Save 3-6 months’ worth of expenses.
• Debt Management: Pay off student and/or credit card debt.
• Investing Early: Start contributing to superannuation and investments.

Financial goals for young adults in a relationship

Navigating financial goals as a young adult in a relationship can be both exciting and challenging. As you build a life together, setting clear financial priorities is essential for achieving long-term stability and success. Now’s the time you might consider investing, if you’re not already. Even a small amount of money invested each month has the potential to grow into a sizable sum over time. While there are risks, it’s important to consider investment fundamentals (such as diversification, risk tolerance, and time horizon). By prioritising these financial goals, you and your partner can build a solid foundation for a prosperous future together. Consider:

• Home Ownership Save for a deposit or pay off mortgage.
• Family Planning: Budget for children’s education and family needs.
• Career Growth: Increase earnings and job stability.
• Retirement Savings: Optimise superannuation contributions.
• Insurance: Ensure adequate life, health, and disability insurance.

Financial goals for young families

As a young family, establishing a solid financial foundation is crucial to securing a stable and prosperous future. With various priorities to balance, setting clear financial goals will help you navigate this exciting and challenging phase of life. Here are the some of the key financial priorities for young families:

• Building an Emergency Fund: Save 3-6 months’ expenses to cover unexpected events.
• Debt Management: Focus on paying off high-interest debt.
• Home Ownership: Save for a deposit and buying a home that fits your family’s needs. Family Planning: Budget for children’s education and family activities.
• Career Growth: Increase earnings and job stability.
• Retirement Savings: Start or continue to optimise superannuation contributions.
• Insurance: Ensure adequate life, health, and disability insurance to protect your family.
• Estate Planning: Create or update wills and set up guardianship plans for your children.

Mid-Life Financial goals

Reaching mid-life often brings a renewed focus on financial stability and future planning. Retirement planning becomes more pressing as children may begin to leave home. However, this is not the case for everyone. Some will be sandwiched between meeting the needs of their adult children (who might still be living at home) and their ageing parents. This prolonged caring role can affect both mental health and retirement savings.

It is also during this time that individuals tend to focus on establishing a comprehensive estate plan, including drafting a will to ensure their assets are distributed according to their wishes. If you share finances with a spouse or have a complex estate, it may be necessary to engage in detailed discussions with your solicitor to address any legal and financial complexities.

Here are some of the key financial priorities you might want to focus on during these years:

• Retirement Planning: Finalise retirement savings goals.
• Investment Strategy: Adjustments to investment strategies to align with your goals.
• Debt Reduction: Paying off any remaining debt.
• Health Care Planning: Plan for healthcare costs in retirement.
• Estate Planning: Create or update wills and estate plans.

Financial Goals in retirement

Now that you’re retired, it’s essential to focus on careful financial management. Reviewing your estate plans with your children can help ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities, especially if a family member is your executor. Additionally, you might want to consider discussing aged care options and exploring services like the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), which can provide support to help you live safely and independently at home.

Financial goals in your retirement might include:

• Reviewing and adjusting retirement plans as needed.
• Consider your superannuation paid as a lump sum, an account-based pension, or a combination of both.
• Finalising estate plans, including what you intend to do with your home and discussing them with family members.
• Exploring pension options and government benefits eligibility.

Regardless of age, certain habits can support financial well-being. It’s worthwhile to regularly review your financial health and adjust plans accordingly. Also, seeking professional advice for major financial decisions and optimising your financial strategy might provide peace of mind too.

By aligning your financial goals with your life stage, you can build a secure financial future and achieve peace of mind at every age.