Mariel Segarra

You could almost plot them out on a calendar.

On this episode of Life Kit, we're going to walk through that calendar with you.

We'll talk about the super practical stuff.

You know, here's when to check on your tax withholdings and your investment accounts.

But we'll also go beyond the number crunching.

OK, we're going to start with an exercise.

It comes from Brent Weiss, who co-founded a financial advice company called Facet and has a whole bunch of letters after his name.

He tells his clients to pick a time horizon, say three years, five years or 10 years from now, and then ask themselves.

Because money really is a means to an end.

That end might be security and safety, pleasure, freedom.

It might be a move to another country or the chance to start a business.

Brent says your financial goals should get you closer to whatever it is that you want.

And then you can create the goals, like I need to pay off my student loans, or max out my retirement investments, or save up for a down payment on a house.

Speaking of savings, make sure you're getting a competitive interest rate on the money you keep in the bank.

I talked to NPR reporter Arzu Rezvani about this for another episode of Life Kit.

She says, take a look at your savings account.

Right now, some banks are offering between 3% and 4% interest.

And when you pick one, just make sure that your money is insured by the federal government.

Look for the acronym FDIC or NCUA insured.

Anyway, setting financial goals is a great annual practice, and you can pick any time of year to do it.