You will be able to rank goals on how fixed their date is, the cost of missing it and their size.
When Mei and Daniel sat down to decide which goal came first, the conversation went in circles. Daniel argued for his diploma because it could raise his pay. Mei argued for the car because her parents were getting older. Both were good reasons, and neither of them could say why one should beat the other. After an hour they had agreed on nothing.
What they were missing was a method: a few questions asked the same way of every goal, with the answers written down. This lesson gives you one. It won't make the choices for you, but it turns an argument into a comparison.
For each goal on your sheet, give a score from 1 to 3 on each of three questions.
How fixed is the date? Score 3 if the date can't move without real cost, such as a booked venue or a payment due on collecting 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.
How costly would missing it be? Score 3 if missing the date 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.
How much does it need per month? Score this against what your budget can save. Score 3 if the goal needs more than 40% of your monthly saving, 2 if it needs between 15% and 40%, and 1 if it needs less. These cut-offs are a choice made for this course. You can set your own, as long as you write them down.
Add the first two scores together for a priority score between 2 and 6. Keep the size score separate. It doesn't decide the order, but it tells you whether the goals you put first will leave anything for the rest.
Here is how they scored their goals, using the made-up figures from lesson 8.1 and their saving capacity of S$1,500 a month.
The wedding has a booked venue and a date, so it scores 3 for fixed date. Missing payments could cost deposits, so it scores 3 for cost. Its priority score is 6. At S$850 a month, it needs about 57% of their saving, so its size score is 3.
The home cash part is due on dates set by HDB. It scores 3 and 3, for a priority score of 6. At S$500, it needs a third of their saving, a size score of 2.
Daniel's diploma runs several intakes a year, so it scores 1 for fixed date. A delay would slow a promotion he is hoping for, so it scores 2 for cost. Priority score 3. At S$250, about 17%, its size score is 2.
The car is optional. It scores 1 and 1, a priority score of 2. At about S$333.33, about 22%, its size score is 2.
With the scores in hand, the funding order follows three rules.
First, fund the goals with the highest priority scores in full. Where two tie, put the nearer date first. The wedding and the home both score 6, so both get their full monthly figure: S$850 plus S$500, which is S$1,350.
Second, share what remains among the flexible goals, highest score first. Only S$150 is left. The diploma, with a priority score of 3, gets all of it, though it needs S$250. Lesson 8.3 shows how moving its date fixes the gap.
Third, give optional goals money only after the others are on track. The car gets nothing for now. It isn't dropped; it waits until money frees up.
The size scores explain why the plan is tight. The wedding alone takes more than half their saving. Once it is paid for, things loosen considerably, which is where sequencing comes in.
Write the scores and a one-line reason for each beside the goals on your sheet. "Wedding: venue booked, deposits at risk." "Car: optional, Mei's parents manage with ride-hailing for now."
There are two reasons to bother. The first is that a written method is easier to agree on with a partner. Mei and Daniel disagreed about the car and the diploma, but they could both agree that a booked wedding was more fixed than a car they hadn't chosen yet. Arguing about scores on a single question is much easier than arguing about whole goals.
The second is that the reasons change. In a year, Mei's parents may need more help, and the car's cost of missing may rise to 2 or 3. With the reasons written down, you can see exactly what changed and rescore one line, instead of starting the argument again.
Your own sheet comes next, and the order you end up with is what lesson 8.3, Sequence goals instead of splitting them, works from.
Score your goals with the method and write the order in which you will fund them.
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