Activity 1: Set Your Financial Goals

Welcome to the CA$H Hacks Challenge! For this first activity, you'll have two important actions to take:

1. Decide on a financial goal

We all have financial goals. All of us want to have enough money to take care of our basic needs and those of our families, while also having enough to enjoy some of the pleasures of life.

Select a financial goal to focus on, and the money you save during the challenge will go towards achieving it.

Some examples of financial goals include:

• Increasing retirement savings
• Freeing up money to put toward a debt
• Saving for a dream vacation
• Building a bigger emergency fund
• Buying a home or a car
• Contributing to a child or grandchild’s education
• Starting a business or side hustle

What financial goal do you want to accomplish through the CA$H Hacks Challenge? Write the answer down and keep it in a place where you will see it regularly and be motivated to act, such as on your refrigerator or workspace. Research has shown that those who write down their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.¹

2. Discover your money leaks

Gather your most recent bank and credit card statements to see what you have been spending your money on. Examine your expenses from the last three months and write down how much you spent by category, such as groceries, dining out, entertainment, utilities, transportation, clothing and shopping. (Your bank or credit card company may offer online tools to help you categorize your spending.) Identify categories where you are overspending or would like to cut back. These are areas where you will want to focus your attention.

Once you've set your financial goals and discovered your money leaks, it's time to move to the next activity!  
 

^{1 https://www.dominican.edu/sites/default/files/2020-02/gailmatthews-harvard-goals-researchsummary.pdf}