Setting financial goals is the foundation in creating a financial plan. Financial goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Timely). All the money you earn and each type of account you hold should have a purpose.

1. Identify 3 financial goals for yourself. They can be short (e.g. less than a year), intermediate (e.g. between 1 to 5 years) or long term (e.g. over 5 years) goals.

2. How much do you need to save to achieve each of the goals you set out and how do you plan on reaching that goal? (i.e Assuming a 2% return on my money, to achieve goal 1 I will need to save $50 bi-weekly for 5 years, to do this I plan on reducing my dining out by ## percent) **Use reasonable rates of return based on your time horizon and identify how you determined the rate of return to use** You need to show that you have a SMART plan to achieve these goals.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.[1]

3. Which type of account (i.e RRSP, TFSA, Cash account, etc.) do you think would serve you best to achieve this goal? Why did you choose this type of account?