Among the common goals for young adults are the following:
- Making major purchases: You need to plan for major purchases. So if you have a future purchase in mind for a car, living-room furniture, vacations, and so on, you need to save toward that.
- Owning a business: Many people want to pursue the dream of starting and running their own business. The primary reason that most people continue just to dream is that they lack the money (and a specific plan) to leave their job. Although many businesses don't require gobs of start-up cash, almost all require that you withstand a substantial reduction in your income during the early years.
- Buying a home: Renting and dealing with landlords can be a financial and emotional drag, so most folks aspire to buy and own their own home. Real estate has a pretty solid track record as a long-term investment. Sure, there are downturns just as there are in the stock market, but buying during such times may be good because real estate is more affordable then.
- Starting a family/educating kids: Having children leads some parents to cut back on work, which requires planning for living on a reduced income and facing higher expenses. And, if you have kids or are planning to have kids, you may want to help them get a college education. Unfortunately, that can cost a truckload of dough. Although you may never be in a position to cover all that cost, you'd probably like to be able to pay for a portion of it.
- Retiring: Retiring is a catchall term for discontinuing full-time work, or perhaps not even working for pay at all. While your retirement may still be many years away, planning ahead for retirement is important. You may enjoy working and thus may not have given retirement much thought, but most people eventually do want to retire, and you want to be prepared.