You will be able to rank goals by how fixed the date is, what missing it would cost, and how big the goal is.
Take the sheet with your savings goals on it and add three columns beside each goal: date, cost and size. Each goal gets a score from 1 to 3 in each column, and the scores show you which goal to fund first.
Without a method, deciding which goal comes first tends to go in circles, because each person has good reasons and no way to weigh one against another. Mei and Daniel sat down to decide which of their goals came first. Daniel argued for his diploma because it could raise his pay, and Mei argued for the car because her parents are getting older. After an hour they had agreed on nothing, because both reasons were good and neither of them could say why one should beat the other.
The fix is to ask the same few questions of every goal, in the same way, and write the answers down. The method won't make the choices for you, but it turns an argument into a comparison.
The date score is about how fixed the date is. Score 3 if it can't move without real cost, such as a booked venue or a payment due when you collect a flat's keys. Score 2 if it could move by a few months. Score 1 if it could move by a year or more, or if the goal is optional.
The cost score is about what missing the date would cost you. Score 3 if it means losing money already paid, losing the thing itself, or having to borrow. Score 2 if it means a real but recoverable setback, such as a delayed promotion. Score 1 if it mainly means waiting longer for something you want.
The size score is about how much the goal needs each month compared with what your budget can save. Score 3 if it needs more than 40% of your monthly saving, 2 if it needs between 15% and 40%, and 1 if it needs less than 15%. The 40% and 15% cut-offs are a choice made for this course, and you can set your own as long as you write them down.
Add the date and cost scores to get the priority score, which ranges from 2 to 6 and decides the funding order. Keep the size score in its own column. It doesn't decide the order, but it shows whether the goals you fund first will leave anything for the rest.
Mei and Daniel can save S$1,500 a month (an example figure from lesson 8.1, as are all their amounts below).
Their wedding has a booked venue and date, and their deposits are at risk if it moves, so it scores 3 for date and 3 for cost, a priority of 6. It needs S$850 a month, about 57% of their saving, so the wedding alone takes more than half of what they save and its size score is 3.
The cash part of their home payment is due on dates HDB sets, so it also scores 3 and 3, a priority of 6. It needs S$500 a month, a third of their saving, for a size score of 2.
Daniel's diploma has several intakes a year, so its date score is 1. A delay would slow a promotion he hopes for, so its cost score is 2 and its priority is 3. It needs S$250 a month, about 17%, for a size score of 2.
The car is optional, so it scores 1 and 1, a priority of 2. It needs about S$333.33 a month, about 22%, for a size score of 2.
First, fund the goals with the highest priority scores in full. Where two tie, the one with the nearer date goes first. Second, share what remains among the flexible goals, highest score first. Third, give optional goals money only after the others are on track. An optional goal that gets nothing isn't dropped, and stays on the sheet waiting until money frees up.
Mei and Daniel's wedding and home both score 6, so both are funded in full. S$850 plus S$500 is S$1,350, which leaves S$150 of their S$1,500. The diploma, at 3, gets the whole S$150 against the S$250 it needs, and the car gets S$0 for now.
The size scores explain why their plan is tight. Once a large goal like the wedding is paid for, the budget loosens considerably, and that is where sequencing comes in. Lesson 8.3, Sequence goals instead of splitting them, shows how moving the diploma's date fixes its funding gap.
Next to each goal's scores, write a one-line reason. Mei and Daniel wrote lines such as "Wedding: venue booked, deposits at risk." and "Car: optional, Mei's parents manage with ride-hailing for now."
A written method is easier to agree on with a partner, because arguing about the score on a single question is much easier than arguing about whole goals. Mei and Daniel still disagree about the car and the diploma, but they both agree that a booked wedding is more fixed than a car they haven't chosen yet.
The reasons also change over time. In a year, Mei's parents may need more help, and the car's cost score could rise from 1 to 2 or 3. With the reasons on paper, Mei and Daniel can see exactly what changed and rescore that one line instead of starting the argument again.
Now score each goal on your own sheet for date, cost and size, add the date and cost scores to get its priority score, and put the goals in order using the three rules. Write the scores and a one-line reason beside each goal. The order you end up with is what lesson 8.3, Sequence goals instead of splitting them, works from.
Score each of your goals with the method, then write down the order you will fund them in.
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