How to Set Financial Goals in 2026 That Actually Fit Your Real Life | 496

0:00It is time to set your 2026 financial goals. It's here. Yeah, we can't believe it either, but 2025 is coming to an end and we want to be super intentional and thoughtful about what's 2026 going to look like? Because I love a new beginning and there's not like there's a new month, a new week, there's a new month, but then the next level you guys is a new year. And what can your money, what can you accomplish financially in one year starting in January of 2026? It's exciting to think about. Do you make good money but have nothing to show for it? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you have big dreams for your financial future?

0:35Do you want to get debt-free, but you don't want to live on beans and rice? Or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? Hey, it's okay if you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month. Hey, it's okay if you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? you're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey.

1:05We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages.

1:36And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. Remember, we have a bootcamp coming up. It is going to be December 29th for that week. Every single day, you're going to come on with us live and we're going to show you how to set your year right for 2026. Yeah, we're going to help you get do all the things that we talk about. We're going to do day by day. Vanessa said went a little bit every day for five days. It's after Christmas. So you don't have to be thinking about it during Christmas.

2:07You can just be like maybe doing whatever who knows here, no evil, see, no evil, whatever. And then after Christmas, you can come get your life together with us at our money makeover bootcamp. It's at budgetbesties.com forward slash bootcamp. Okay. Today, let's talk of the future. If you haven't checked out our year in review episode, it is last week. So go check that out because we want you to do that. We want you to wrap up 2025 first and then use this podcast to set goals for 2026. Yeah. And everything that you're going to think about in that podcast is really going to help you be make better decisions and goals and forecast for 2026.

2:41It's exciting. We talked about last time about how the boys are halfway through their junior year, which means they have a year and a half left at home, which is crazy, man. But if we think about all the things that we have planned for 2026, Vanessa. Our budget really has to get its life together. It has to be on point. This reminds me of like my senior year of college when I got a piece of paper for every class of the week. And all I did was like rip off the sheet every week. So like I knew that it was gone. It was complete. It was in the garbage. I burned it. And so I feel like going into 2026, like you said, I'm going to have to have a very clear plan to know exactly what's going on because we do have a lot going on.

3:21Our kids are in sports. Like Shana said, we're doing college visits and they're about to graduate, take all these tests, college applications. And you may be in a different season of your life, but I'm sure everyone is busy. Everyone is just as busy. We all have a lot going on. So we want to make sure we plan right for it. Yeah, and we want to start... Oh, hold on. We don't want to do that. Excitement, off the chain, fun... Okay, quarter century. What? This is not going to happen. We're going to... Okay, okay, okay. What we're not going to do here, we want to talk about your financial goals. We're not woo.

3:50We're not thinking like manifesting energy of depending on the time of where the moon and planets are. Like that is someone else's game. And you can go listen to that podcast because we don't know anything about that. Love them. We want to be very serious because we are very serious. Your money is serious. Your goals are serious. Your future is serious. And we want you to know that your money can align with everything that you have in your heart, all of your dreams. And that's what we're talking about today. Yeah. We want you to tie your money to a goal. So we talk about that with our clients.

4:18one of the first things we do in our sessions is set goals for the few because we want to make sure that your everyday habits, the way that you spend money is matching what you desire, what your vision is for your life. And setting up 2026 is no different. Yeah. So you're going to do the woo dreaming things maybe with someone else, but here we're going to tell you how to - We're going to put it to work. Yeah. We're going to tell you how to afford your woo dreaming things. Okay. So the first thing is, however, is to dream. So it's a blank canvas. 2026, unless it feels like it's all decided for you, like my life, but it's fine.

4:482026 is a blank canvas. What do you want? What are you dreaming about? What do you think is possible? That's where you have to start. Yeah, and get in with your spouse. If you are married, you have an accountability partner, somebody sit down and really look at your life in this next year and see what is possible because you may see it one way, somebody else may see it a different way, and you may not have a lot of maybe not beliefs, but you may have limiting beliefs sometimes over ourselves based on maybe a situation that you're in. Whereas somebody else can come in and go, girl, what I know is that this is what I see happening for you.

5:19And you, sometimes you need that. You need to borrow their belief. You also, what I think about when you say that is whenever Chris and I do this, we have, our brains are totally going to different directions. So it's so important. Like what's important to me or what I'm thinking about is great. And then what he's thinking about, and it pull, it actually is great for me because it pulls me out of that kid centric. Oh, we're adults and we have a real life too. We should probably think about what we want too. So it's great to do it with an accountability partner with your spouse because you have no idea They're really thinking or what weird I want to learn to play the bass guitar is gonna come into your life all of a sudden And so it's good to do it with somebody else and you want to make sure that your goals are just as important to him as his goals Are important to you.

5:57I want to make sure that everyone understand what's going on. So we're all on the same page Yeah, obviously this time of year or maybe if you're waiting like normal people to like the January 1st We're not like that. You're everybody's thinking about goals They're already thinking about resolutions and that's normal growth, new opportunities. All of that I think is very human and normal. And so wanting to get better, wanting to do the next thing, there's nothing wrong with that. It's exciting. And I think that it's perfect for you to be thinking about that right now. Yeah. And let's talk about money really quick as we understand that money makes the world go round.

6:27Like you need money to do things in your life. And so that's why finances is such a very important part of your life and why when it's out of whack, when we don't know what's going on, we feel out of whack in other areas of our life. So whether it's, you're trying to give your time, you, in order to make time, you have to have money. So you're not working, right? If you want to give, that's a financial burden and not necessarily burden, but it's, you need finances to do that. And when you want to travel, if you want to do other things, if you want to put your kids in college and you decide to pay for that, all of that requires money.

6:56So we want to make sure that you are, that all of your goals are connected to your money. Yeah. And even if you're, if one of your goals is to just be more present, just a great goal. love you love that but that even comes at a cost like for us we had to decide with our business okay we want to be able to be present in all of these fun things that we get to do which means we can't be working which means we probably are going to make a little less money theoretically that's the thing and that might be the same for you and so if i'm being present i might not be able to do this other thing which is but just want to be intentional with that choice yeah sometimes you can't have it all and that's okay but it's a give and take and you get to decide that's the fun part here is that you get to decide what that looks like for you and listen money is a tool.

7:33We don't want to be controlled by it. We don't want to hoard it either because that's not going to help us. We want to use it intentionally to be able to support the life that we want. Yeah. And I always think about Scrooge, especially this time of year, like in the beginning of the movie, Scrooge is like hoarding. He's holding on tight. He doesn't want to give up any of his gold point coins. And, but, and that's where we can easily get, especially if we start to think about all these different things that we need our money to do. We want to be on the other side, the end of the movie where Scrooge is, here's all my money.

7:58I'm happy, go lucky, like generous. risk. That's where we want to be. But you know what? We have to get, we have to get organized and get aligned with everything in order to do that. Even him, it took baby steps. Yes. It took a whole movie to get there, guys. And hopefully three ghosts. You don't need that. We're hoping you don't have to do all that to get it, to go from one to the other. Yeah. So the first thing you want to do is just face your money. We don't want to ignore it. We want to see what's actually happening. Yeah. Every, I think the initial reaction is let me just be like an ostrich, put my head in the sand.

8:25I don't want to do that. That sounds terrible. Like my first, One of my clients, remember when she brought wine through the first session, I would rather just not do this. But we promise actually it's going to feel a lot better. Once you put everything in front of you and you can start to, that's how you start to problem solve or get to the next step is by actually facing it. And it does make it feel better. Promise. We promise. Yeah, it really does. That approach, what she's talking about does not bring you peace at all because all you're doing is sitting in the drama of it all because you don't know the numbers.

8:50And so when you actually sit down, look at your numbers on purpose, you tie it directly, you tie your finances to a goal, you treat it like a math problem that can be solved because it really is. It's really that easy. Then you start standing taller. You start looking like your shoulders are back, start smiling a little bit more. You're really confident because you know what's happening with your money. Yeah. And we've seen it over and over. So you just have to take our word for it. That's the truth. That's really how it works. It's not as bad as you think it's going to be to face everything. So let's talk about three different types of financial goals that we have.

9:18We have short, we have midterm and we have longterm, and we're going to go into each one of those and what they mean and give you some examples. Yeah, because this is, we want to be really concrete and tactical here. It's not just this overarching big ideas. There are different ways to think about it. And typically you're only doing one or one or two of these and not all of them if you are doing it. So the first one is a short-term goal. And that's like what we would probably start with our clients. Like right now, what are we doing this month? Like maybe you're thinking January, what are we going to get done in January?

9:46Or maybe you're thinking, what can I finish by December? What can I actually do? And there's some different types of goals that are short term that we like to think about. Yeah. So this is the end of the year where maybe you're getting dividends and bonus checks and commissions and different things like that. And maybe you're asking your parents for cash for Christmas instead of a gift. And so maybe you can take all of that to help you jumpstart these small goals and these wins. So you can check a bunch of boxes off at the end of the year and start your new year off really ready. Yeah. And it's like, what is happening with my money right now.

10:17And this is important because when you set up our budget system, you're going to, things are going to get on autopilot, but that doesn't mean you need to take off the gas pedal. I was just talking to a client about this the other day or yesterday, just because things are going smoothly. You still have to be aggressive to do your goals. Otherwise life is just going to pass by. Time is going to be to pass by. Right? So for them, they could keep saving money, which is what they want to do. Or I hope they hear this, or they could pay off the two credit cards that I want them to pay off. Anyway. So this is what's happening with my money right now.

10:43So it might be like, especially if you have some extra dough that's coming in, like Vanessa was mentioning, maybe you're going to pay off this one credit card. That's my goal this month. This credit card is gone. Maybe that's one. Yeah. And maybe it's okay. I'm finally going to get my bank account set up. I'm going to find the bank. I've been listening to you, girl. Yeah. I'm going to find the bank that does what I want it to do. And I'm going to open the accounts and I'm going to get everything set up. Another one that's actually fun is sometimes it takes a minute to get the bills account set up, even though you probably have an account that you use for bills.

11:12Sometimes it's, I got to get this bill from this credit card, from PayPal, from over here. And then I also have to move the spending out. And I've noticed that one sometimes for people takes some intention is to start using their spending accounts. You know what else takes intention, Shana? What? Taking the bill's debit card out of your wallet. I just told somebody that yesterday. They said, listen, they said, we are having trouble still using the debit card for our bills. And I said, I have a solution. Take it out of your wallet. Done. Hold. I'm always like, and how are we having a problem doing that?

11:42And they're like, oh. But to your point, Vanessa, it could take a minute. There's a couple different things that you want to do if that's a goal, which is a wonderful goal, which is get Amazon. Take it off of there. Take it out of PayPal. Take it out of your wallet. Take it out of Apple Cash. All of those. Venmo, all of them. Venmo, all of them. Make it impossible to use. Start making yourself use the spending accounts. And if the spending accounts aren't working, it's because that budget needs to be fixed, not the bills. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, another one, it may be, hey, I'm actually gonna budget for spending money for myself for the first time.

12:14Maybe you've been so scared and nervous to do that because you're not really sure if you can afford it, which, hey, by the way, you need to make a budget. But once you do that, get that money out and maybe this is the first time you're gonna do that for yourself, so it's fun. And here's a big one that you could do this month that should be, if you have not already done this, it should be your number one goal to do this month, which is to start using your budget system. You can get our budget system, but you need to be on a budget. You need to get everything out on paper. If you haven't already one piece of paper, all your income, all your debts, all your bills, all your spending that you want to do and all the savings that you have in mind, all of that is the first goal that you should have.

12:48So you can really know what's going on with your money. And if you haven't heard us before, maybe you're tuning in for the very first time. A budget is not restrictive. It's not the B word. It's not taboo. It allows you the freedom and the permission to spend and our budget system does it all for you. So budgetbesties.com forward slash budget. Just want to throw that in there. if you haven't heard it before. Yeah, it's literally the number one thing that you can do for a financial goal if you haven't already done it. It's super important. All right, budget besties, it's time for some real talk.

13:13You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. Yeah, it's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck to paycheck feel.

13:46If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need right now. Yeah, so head on over to budgetbesties.com forward slash budget and grab yours. Now back to today's show. Okay. So then let's talk about some medium goals. So a lot of times we are stuck in that like immediate month, like this week, this month, this page, what is happening, but let's think, okay, over the next six months to year, maybe two years at the, like at the most, what can I accomplish in that amount of time?

14:20Yeah. I think that sometimes the time, that timeframe is hard for people because they're stuck in there right now. Cause they have their head in the sand or they're like someday when I retire, when I'm 79, that's what I want to accomplish. And it's like, no, there's a whole life in between that that we want you to look at. And so that, like she said, six months to two years, depending on where you are in your life. I think that's different for everyone. We really want to look at, okay, what can, what steps can I put into place then? So that way it does make my long-term goals happen. Yeah. And so as you're dreaming about next year, you might be like, okay, where do I, what do I want to have accomplished?

14:53What do I want to have done? Where do I want to be next December when I'm thinking about this? Like I want to be like, yeah, good job. I did blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's what we want to think. I have a whole year ahead of me. What do I want to do? So maybe for you, that is getting completely debt-free. I have a couple of clients that will happen in 2026. They will get completely debt-free, which is super exciting. It's a great goal. And it's more realistic because it may take you a minute and that's okay because it's worth it. Yeah, it is worth it. And hey, maybe you're able to set up your savings buckets, right?

15:22So maybe you're like, I don't have debt or I already paid off my debt. And now I'm excited to the next two years to get all of my savings buckets up and running like the dreamy ones, not the need ones, but the dreamy ones, the way that I want them. So that way I can make sure that I am budgeting monthly for what my life looks like. Yeah. And it takes a little bit longer, honestly, to get the savings bucket set up. It doesn't take just one month necessarily because you have to brainstorm which ones you want. You have to brainstorm how much you need. Then you have to double, triple check that because let's be honest, the first brainstorm maybe didn't work.

15:52Then you have to set up the accounts and then you're going to have to start the automatic transfer. So it just might take a minute, which is totally fine. And you might know a couple of those really concretely, but maybe the other ones you don't. Just that's why this one might take some time to get it all set up and need the money too. And maybe Shana, like by them paying off the debt, allowed them to dream more. And now they can add more things in their savings buckets that they weren't able to add before. So it's just, it's so fun to be able to do that. Yeah. And I think another one that we think about, this is probably going to be in everybody's thinking medium term goals is what trips are we taking next year?

16:25That's a really big one. And whether you're planning something for summer or spring break, or maybe there's a wedding in the family or whatever it is, it's going to cost you money. So we're going to start thinking about that. I think that this is really important because a lot of people underestimate what vacations they're taking. And I know some places of employment require you to put those in really soon, like really early in the year. So this is a great time to just plan out. And maybe you know that your niece is getting married in two years. And this is where those two-year goals would come into place.

16:52things that you already know that are going to happen that you can now take two years to plan for instead of one year because trying to save five thousand dollars for something that maybe have a destination wedding or whatever over one year is really hard versus if you're saving over for two years it's a little more doable i was just laughing at the five thousand dollars because my brother-in-law just went to portugal for a destination wedding and that was not a drop in the bucket compared to what he had to spend and he did not have five years to save up for it because they just got engaged and told everybody.

17:21So super fun. That was a right now goal. Yeah, super fun. But the other thing that I think about is I had an annual session with my dear past client and she, this is a client that they just like to do everything. They're going to have babies or to move. They're going to get promoted. They're going to do all the things at one time. And so she is going to move again next year. So we were starting her moving savings bucket. Right. And what do we always say? Whatever you think it's going to cost, double it. And that's what we would like you to save because that's just the reality of how it's going to go down.

17:49But if you have some big life event, maybe you're going to have a baby, maybe you're moving, maybe you're changing jobs, like whatever it is, we want to start to think about what that means financially and what we need to do in our budget to help it happen. Yeah. Maybe you're having a baby, but you want to try to fund your maternity leave. Like how long do I want to take off? What does that mean for our finances? How can we save for that ahead of time so that way I can be home and be fully present and not worry about our money. Yeah. And maybe this is a year where you want to pay all of your big bills yourself, like your property taxes or your, let's say the one, your home insurance, all of that.

18:22Maybe you want to pay it yourself. So you're going to start saving and being intentional about that because you want to have the money saved up making you money instead of the escrow company or whoever doing it for you. So there's, or maybe there's other big annual bills that you want to start being in charge of, right? You want to be what we call be your own bank. And you want to have these accounts with lots of money in them and you're ready to pay bills, maybe that's you. And that's a great goal. I'm going to personally speak to this for our business because for years I've wanted to take our monthly subscriptions and move them to the annual plans because you get discounts that way.

18:51And even for personal ones, you get discounts with auto insurance and things like that. And you don't have to pay for them every month. And you don't have to pay for them monthly. Yes. Which is less accounting on my part for the bookkeeping part. So anyways, I've wanted to do this for years. This was the year we finally able to make that happen. And it's so nice to see our business budget with so many less lines in it because everything is now an annual bill. And we were, like I said, able to save money in the long run. So I just want to say pat ourselves on the back. That was something we achieved.

19:16And that was a very big goal for me. And it took us years. Yeah. Then I think about the personal budgets out there and how much simpler some of you and who you are. I love you when you have every single bill line item full. Yeah. Yep. You could have that less clunky if you have annual bills and you can clean up your monthly budget. And then like Vanessa said, end up saving money. We did have somebody who was saying in the Facebook group that they re-quoted their insurances and all that stuff, which would also clean up your budget, make it a little less spending. So all kinds of medium term goals, but think about for you in six months to about that two year mark, what are you thinking about?

19:52What are you hoping for? And again, like we mentioned before, what is your spouse hoping for? This is also a good question. You might ask your kids as well, because they might be wanting to go get their pilot's license or go to a really fancy volleyball ball camp. You don't know. You just ask to see how you can serve them with your money and then just put that into your plan. So when we say bring the kids in on the conversation, we mean everything. Finances for the year in review, for the goals, like just bring them all in and get everyone on the same page. Yes. It's a great plan. Okay. So then the last type of goals is the long term goals.