How Can I Budget for Short-Term Expenses and Long-Term Goals?

The first step in setting long-term goals is to determine how much you spend on short-term expenses. Once you know how much money you need for the here and now, you can assess how much you can put into investing for your future.

Regular monthly expenses such as cable and cell phone bills are easy. But don’t overlook less frequent expenses, like insurance co-pays and vacations.

These lump sums can be prorated over a number of months. For example, if you’re creating your budget in December and you know that a $2,000 insurance premium is due at the end of next October, put aside $200 per month for the next 10 months. This is a good way to take care of occasional expenses large and small, such as family gifts and charitable donations.

After you determine your monthly expenses, including those prorated annual expenses, subtract the total from your monthly income. That’s how much you can devote to meeting your long-term goals.

Defining Long Term

For most of us, a long-term goal is anything that is more than one year in the future and isn’t a routine expense. It could be buying a home, sending a child to college, or saving for retirement.

Your long-term goals should come with a solid cost estimate. Start by writing down several long-term goals along with a best guess of how long it will be before the money will be needed.

A sample list might look something like this:

• College expenses: Child 1 (current age 8); $25,000/year for four years beginning in 10 years
• College expenses: Child 2 (current age 3); $27,000/year for four years beginning in 15 years
• New car purchase: $30,000 in two years ($4,000 upfront + $485/month for five years, assuming a 4.5% interest rate)
• European vacation: $6,000 for a two-week vacation within three years

Once you’ve jotted down your goals, you can use a spreadsheet or other software program to figure out how much you need in total.

The next big step is identifying investments that will help you reach these goals in the time frame that you’ve set while still matching your personal risk tolerance. Historical asset returns can be used to estimate how much the investments will hopefully appreciate in the time frames that you’ve set.

Adjusting Your Budget

Using the spreadsheet, you’ll be able to determine how much you have to save monthly to achieve each of your goals.

If the numbers don’t work, you need to adjust your goals, cut your expenses, or earn more income.

And remember, your circumstances will change. When you get a raise or some new expense comes out of the blue, revise your plan to reflect it. That’s vital to keeping on track to meet your goals.

The Bottom Line

With careful budgeting, anyone can start saving up for their long-term goals. The key to effective budgeting is to get a clear idea of your monthly expenses, and how much money you have to spend. The difference is funds that can be saved for long-term goals, like education, a home, or retirement.