As a creative, finances may not always come intuitively. However, it's definitely important to understand your situation, as your finances will impact all parts of your life. As we've all heard, it's the #1 reason most couples fight and get divorced over, and the stress from finances can affect your mental health. To be able to move forward in your personal life and in business, it can be extremely helpful to set short-term and long-term financial goals, to help secure your future and take some control. If you don’t have any awareness or goals, you may spend more money than you want to. Life and business do not come without risks and challenges. Setting goals, monitoring your progress and adapting your strategies where necessary, will give you the best chances in life. 

If you are a creative person who needs to set some goals, here are some top tips in this contributed/collaborative post, to help you get started. 

#1 Start with small, short-term goals

You should begin by setting yourself some small, short-term goals that are easy to achieve. This will help you to build confidence in yourself, and momentum. This will also give you great insight into how you work best, your strengths and your weaknesses. This will help you on your way to achieving larger goals. 

#2 Think about what you want in life 

Your goals can be relevant to your personal, and professional life, as they will all be linked with your finances. You are going to want to make more money from your business, which requires goals. You are going to need that money to make the investments you desire in your personal life, such as buying a house, traveling, or raising a family.

#3 Track your income and spending

You have to understand your current circumstances, to move forward. Knowledge about your current financial situation is key to setting the right goals and achieving them efficiently. The best way you can do this is by reviewing your finances and even tracking your spending for a short period. You can use a spreadsheet to note down your habits and behaviors. You can then establish a budget that you are comfortable with. This will also provide you with an opportunity to see where you are falling into bad habits, and where you can make improvements to reach your goals quicker. 

#4 Set SMART goals

To help you reach your goals quicker, you should use the SMART acronym. This is a criterion that you can follow when setting your goals, to ensure they are clear and concise. SMART stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable 
• Achievable
• Relevant 
• Timebound 

This criterion makes you think in more detail about the goal you want to reach. For example, if you want to move house, you would say that you are looking to rent a 1 bedroom apartment located in your local town that costs 1,000 dollars per month. You will then work through the criteria to guide you accordingly. 

#5 Protect yourself 

Money is important, so you must ensure you are protected. When aiming for goals such as moving, you want to ensure that you set yourself up with an emergency fund and the relevant insurance policies. This will keep your money safe,and ease your mind. 

Setting goals to help you reach your financial goals is a great way to get there quicker, and easier.