Meeting Your Financial Needs

There are many factors that contribute to achieving your financial aspirations, but income and workplace benefits likely will be your primary source. Analyzing how your career and financial goals intersect can clarify changes necessary to secure your financial future or reinvent yourself professionally.

Your financial needs depend on how you define your own financial well-being. As with anything in life, your financial needs can change over time. As you complete the activities in this section, you may want to think in terms of both current and future financial needs.

What Are Your Financial Goals?

If you haven’t set any financial goals for yourself yet or if you need to revisit your goals, start with SAM’s Money Basics: Spending and Saving course.

SAM’s Budget Worksheet helps clarify your current income and expenses, giving you the foundation to run scenarios for how raising your income or reducing unnecessary spending could change your financial picture. You may find that a few small tweaks in your spending could make monumental gains toward your financial goals.

Rank Your Income

Rank your satisfaction with how well your current income meets your financial goals. Click your answer(s) below to see how you compare with other SAM users. Your replies are anonymous and we do not share or save your personal information. Please see our Privacy Policy and Terms for further information.

Is your current income putting you on track to meet your financial goals? Ask yourself:

• Do you have an emergency fund? How long would you be able to support yourself if you suddenly could not work?
• Do you earn enough to consistently dedicate a portion of your pay to savings?
• Are you currently earning enough to pay down debts each month?
• Do you regularly feel stressed or worried about paying bills?