Step 2 of the CFP Board 7-Step Financial Planning Process. SMART goals, prioritized and time-bound — the foundation of every plan.
How to use: Document every meaningful financial goal across the 8 categories below. For each, capture a target dollar amount, target date, and priority. Use Critical / Important / Nice-to-have to force ranking. The output is a prioritized goals table, a funding-gap total, and a 2026-2070 timeline that anchors every downstream calculator in the IFR Toolkit.
🌴1. RetirementWhen do you stop trading time for money?
Priority:
🎓2. Education FundingCollege for each child
Priority:
🏠3. Home / Real EstatePrimary residence & investment property
Primary Home Priority:
Investment Property Priority:
✈️4. Major Purchases / LifestyleVacations, cars, weddings, sabbaticals
Next step: Once goals are captured and saved, every downstream calculator in the IFR Toolkit (Cash Flow Worksheet, Retirement Overview, Education Funding, Wealth Building Potential) pulls these targets automatically. The CFP 7-Step Process treats goals as the second step after data gathering — they drive every recommendation that follows.