How to Save for Multiple Financial Goals

When you’re evaluating your plans for the future, it can be difficult to balance accomplishing your goals with maintaining a budget. We’re here to offer tips that can help you save the money you need to make your dreams of the future come true.

Click to find what you’re looking for:

• What are financial goals to save for?
• Saving for multiple financial goals using different strategies
• Try the 50/30/20 budgeting rule
• Set up automatic savings
• Build an emergency fund
• Where to save money for multiple goals at the same time
• Personal Savings Account
• Money Market Account (MMA)
• Certificates of Deposit
• Investment Portfolios
• Retirement Savings Accounts

What are financial goals to save for?

Financial goals are unique because no two people have the same budgets or the same plans for the future. Your goals can vary greatly depending on your circumstances, and are likely to change as you age. If you’re single and want to save up enough money to afford an apartment without roommates, your financial journey will look quite different than a family of four saving up the cash for a beach vacation.

To start planning your financial future, consider what you want to accomplish in the next five, 10, and 15 years. What goals to do you think are realistic for each time frame? What steps will you take to make progress every week, month, or year? How will you handle possible setbacks? Having these considerations in mind can help you stay on track and maintain long-term savings goals.

To help you get started, multiple goals you could begin saving for include:

• Putting a down payment on a house. If you’re no longer interested in renting, saving up the money for your first home can be an exciting time.
• Paying off a mortgage. Once you finally have your own home, keeping up with mortgage payments is key to building your financial future.
• Paying off debt. Student loans, credit card bills, and other debt can feel like an endless burden, but saving over time can help you accomplish the goal of becoming debt-free.
• Buying a new car. If you’ve always dreamt of having a polished new vehicle in the garage, saving up can help make it a reality.
• Planning for retirement. Starting a savings plan as early as possible can help keep you comfortable in retirement.
• Going on vacation. Whether it’s a road trip to a national park or an excursion out of the country, vacations can be an adventure you and your family will never forget. Be prepared to cover expenses like transportation, food and entertainment before traveling. 
• Paying for a wedding. Venues, flowers, catering, and other wedding expenses can add up quickly. Making a savings plan with your future spouse can help cover costs and avoid debt.
• Paying for college. Your children have big dreams too, and it’s never too early to start saving for their education.

No matter what you want your future to hold, a robust savings plan can help you accomplish your goals both big and small.

Saving for multiple financial goals using different strategies

Once you have multiple financial goals mapped out, it’s time to develop a strategy that can help you start saving money. First, evaluate your current income, expenses, and budget to get a big-picture look at your finances.

Next, look for areas in your budget where you can start cutting back and adding to savings. Allocating even a few dollars every week from your paycheck to your savings can make a big difference over time. You can even make a game out of your savings at home.

Designate piggy banks or glass jars for your simultaneous savings goals—like a trip to Hawaii and adopting a puppy—and start saving spare change in them. Once the piggy bank or jar fills up, count out your savings, take it to the bank, and start saving anew until you fulfill your goal. This way, the whole family can get involved in saving money and getting one step closer to meeting your goals.

Once you have a solid understanding of your finances, your goals, and how much you want to save, try a few new budgeting strategies to help boost your savings.

Try the 50/30/20 budgeting rule

The 50/30/20 rule is a way to break down your income into three specific percentages by allocating 50% to necessities, 30% to nonessential items, and 20% to savings and financial goals. This budgeting technique can help you visualize your spending and saving categories, while keeping you on track with your finances. If you try to contribute 20% of your income to savings every month, you could make significant progress on multiple goals at once.

Set up automatic savings

If it is available to you, take the opportunity to set up automatic savings. Whether you’re saving for the trip of a lifetime, or just putting money away for a rainy day, automatic savings tools can help you calculate easy amounts to save on a weekly or monthly basis and show you how the money you’ve saved is stacking up against your goals. Automated tools are also useful for keeping track of your savings progress and helping you reach milestones toward your final goals.

As a Huntington customer, you have access to digital tools that can do just that.

• Money Scout^® analyzes your spending habits, income, and upcoming expenses to find money you're not using in your checking account—from $5 to $50—then moves it to your savings, automatically^†.
• Savings Goal Getter℠ can help you calculate easy amounts to save on a weekly or monthly basis and show you how the money you’ve saved is stacking up against your goals.

Build an emergency fund

If you don’t have one yet, consider building an emergency fund to help cover unexpected costs like car accidents and medical emergencies. An emergency fund is a beneficial savings tool because it can help you cover expensive future costs that would otherwise cut into your monthly budget or into your savings for other goals.

Where to save money for multiple goals at the same time

After you’ve planned multiple savings goals and adjusted your budget, you need to decide where you’re going to keep your savings. We’re here to help you navigate some of your savings options and decide which course of action is right for you.

Personal Savings Account

You can open a personal savings account at your bank or credit union to help you grow your savings through interest. If you’re interested in a personal savings account, you can open an account with Huntington today.

Money Market Account (MMA)

Money Market Accounts (MMAs) are a type of savings account that is FDIC insured up to applicable limits and earns interest. While interest rates may vary based on your region and balance, an MMA allows you easy access to your money, the opportunity to earn interest, and involves less risk than investing your savings in places like the stock market.

MMAs can help you save for multiple goals, but if one of your goals is saving for retirement, you may want to open a Money Market IRA. All investments have some level of risk, but bank Money Market IRAs are considered a lower-risk investment and offer competitive interest rates for your contributions. A Money Market Cash IRA with Huntington can be started with as little as $1, with our competitive rates kicking in when you reach a balance of $2,500, and there's no monthly fee for the account.

Certificates of Deposit

Certificates of Deposit (CDs) can help you reach short to mid-range saving goals. CDs are FDIC insured up to applicable limits, they may earn higher interest than traditional savings accounts, and you have a fixed interest rate for the term of the CD.

Investment Portfolios

Depending on your goals and appetite for risk, investing your savings can help you reach long-term savings goals because your investments do the work for you while you’re focusing on day-to-day tasks. Investments you might consider include:

• Stocks
• Mutual Funds
• Taxable and Tax-Free Bonds
• Asset Allocation Accounts
• Fixed and Variable Annuities
• Options Trading

Your investment choices are unique to your financial needs, goals, and risk tolerance. A diversified investment portfolio can help you grow your savings and manage your wealth in a structured way. For more information about investing wisely and protecting your assets, speak with a financial advisor today.

Retirement Savings Accounts

If one of your savings goals includes a fund for retirement, a dedicated retirement savings account might be just what you need to help achieve your goal. Consider your short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals for retirement.

Do you plan to live in the same home, or would you rather retire to an out-of-state beach house? Are you interested in domestic or foreign travel after retirement? What considerations should you make for your healthcare costs? Anticipating your needs can help you set realistic savings goals for your retirement and help you decide which retirement savings account might be right for you.

If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, you should consider contributing to it as soon as possible to help grow your retirement fund. Especially if your employer offers a contribution match to a certain percent, you have the opportunity to possibly save more money much faster than you would without a 401k.

You could also consider an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) to help manage and protect your retirement savings. IRAs can offer tax advantages and diversified investments that can help grow your balance and compound your savings over time.

It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task to start saving money for multiple goals. Whether you’re dreaming of retiring in a cabin by the lake, purchasing a new car, or paying off student loan debt, you can start saving today to make your financial future a reality.