How it works

The Freedom 30 program is designed to provide a schedule of weekly money well-being mini-projects to complete on your way to greater financial freedom by the end of the year.

The approach is simple: You set aside 30 minutes each week to perform a specific task aimed at improving your financial standing. The tasks will be laid out for you in themed months, so all you need to do is follow the instructions. Make sure to choose a time each week in which you can really put all distractions aside and focus intently. Try to create as calm and pleasant an atmosphere as possible to make the process go smoothly.

Week 2 Project: Get more specific

Now that your goals are in place, it’s time to find out how much it’ll cost. Use this time to research the targeted monetary amount for each goal. For instance, if one of your goals is to save for your child’s college expenses, examine how much tuition and other costs are projected to be in the year when your young one is slated to start their higher education. It can be challenging to land on an exact figure simply because many variables are involved: will your child attend a private or public school, how much will they get in scholarships or other financial aid, how much can your child contribute from a job, etc.

Don’t worry about being perfect with your projection. The main thing at this point is to have a general idea of what will be required for each of your goals. You can always adjust the monetary requirements for each goal as more information becomes available. The key at this point is understanding what constitutes meaningful contributions toward your targets.

Your next step is calculating how much you’ll need to contribute each month toward your goals to stay on track. The simple version of this exercise is to divide the total amount you’ll need for your goal by the number of months until the anticipated achievement. Remember that for goals with a longer timeframe, you may be able to harness the power of time to add a little interest or investment growth to the amount you’re setting aside out of your monthly income.

Takeaway: Alongside your goals and timeframes, you should come out of this week’s efforts with a specific amount you want to save every month for each goal.

For next week: If you haven’t already, consider putting together a spreadsheet or written chart of your goals with several columns for filling out specific information for each objective.