Plan To Save

• Budgeting
• Insurance
• Debt Reduction
• Savings
  • Compounding Growth
  • Successful Savings
  • Leverage
  • Plan To Save
• Before You Invest
• Investments
• Retirement Planning
• Estate Planning

Calculators

• KiwiSaver Account Calculator for Employees
• Residential Property Investment Calculator

Useful Resources

• KiwiSaver Tools and Information
• Follow the Secrets to Wealth
• Get the newsletter direct to your inbox each month
• Independent life insurance information

• Introduction
• Identify your savings goals
• How much do you need to save?
• The required actions
• Conclusion

The required actions

Now you need to work out the actions required to realise your goals. To give your financial plan energy and lift off, assign some action to each of your goals.

Let's take a simple example: the Zolas, a family with an average household income, would like to save $20,000 over the next four years for a deposit on their first home. They need to save $5,000 a year. Their target is, therefore, to save $100 per week.

The question is, what actions will be required to achieve that? The Zolas currently save only $20 per week. The Zolas will need to identify ways to find the extra $80 per week they require to achieve the financial dream of owning their own home. A set of actions the Zolas might follow include identifying ways to

• Reduce their weekly expenditure,
• Save more effectively, and
• Reduce their outstanding debt.

Your own list of goals may be more aggressive than the Zolas', but will probably be similar: long-term commitment and actions to find ways to bridge the gap between your current savings programme and your financial goals.

This is the most crucial part of your savings plan. If you're seeking assistance in achieving your weekly saving goals, please review our tools, tips and tricks, on A Guide to Becoming a Successful Saver.