Know What to Do Next
Financial freedom is the destination.
Our Member Promise is our commitment to help you save more, eliminate debt, build wealth, and live generously.
Money Milestones provide a clear path forward.
You don’t have to solve everything at once. Start with where you are today, focus on your next step, and keep moving toward greater financial freedom.
Nine Milestones. One Clear Path Forward.
Everyone’s financial life looks different.
You may be starting at Milestone 1. You may already have several milestones behind you. Or you may be working toward more than one goal at the same time. The important thing is knowing where you stand and what deserves your attention next.
Each milestone is designed to strengthen your financial life and move you toward greater confidence, greater flexibility, and greater freedom to choose.
Money Milestone 1
Save $1,000 for an emergency
Sensible Saver
Create your first layer of financial security.
Unexpected expenses are part of life. A car repair, home repair, medical bill, or other surprise can quickly become debt when you don’t have money set aside.
Start by building a $1,000 emergency fund.
It’s not financial freedom—but it is an important first step. Having money available for the unexpected can create breathing room, protect your progress, and help you begin taking greater control of your financial life.
Money Milestone 2
Maximize your company's 401(k)/403(b) match
Match Maximizer
Take advantage of money your employer may already be offering you.
If your employer matches contributions to a 401(k), 403(b), or similar retirement plan, contribute enough to receive the full match whenever you can.
An employer match can help you begin building long-term wealth while you continue strengthening the rest of your financial life.
The sooner you begin, the more time your money has to work for you.
Money Milestone 3
Pay off all debt except your house
Debt Destroyer
Free up the money that debt is taking from your future.
Every monthly debt payment commits part of your income before you ever have the opportunity to decide what to do with it.
Eliminating credit card debt, auto loans, personal loans, and other non-mortgage debt can give you more breathing room—and more control over the money you earn.
As your debt disappears, more of your income becomes available to save, invest, give, and use for what matters most to you.
Money Milestone 4
Save 3 to 6 months of expenses
Just-In-Case Ace
Turn your starter emergency fund into lasting financial resilience.
Once your non-mortgage debt is gone, strengthen your financial foundation by building an emergency fund that can cover three to six months of essential expenses.
A fully funded emergency reserve can help you navigate a job change, major repair, medical expense, or other unexpected event without undoing the progress you’ve made.
You’re not just saving money.
You’re creating greater stability and greater flexibility.
Money Milestone 5
Connect with an advisor
Wealth Builder
Bring your financial decisions together into a larger plan.
As your financial foundation becomes stronger, your decisions often become more complex.
A financial professional can help you look beyond individual accounts and consider how retirement, investments, insurance, taxes, estate planning, and your other long-term priorities work together.
This is an opportunity to ask questions, clarify your goals, and make sure your financial strategy supports the life you want to build.
Money Milestone 6
Set goals and save for them
Goal Getter
Start using your financial strength to create more choices.
Once you’ve built a strong foundation, saving can become about more than preparing for the unexpected. It can help you prepare for what you want to happen.
A home. Education. Travel. A career change. A major purchase. Helping your family. Starting something new. Your goals are personal. Identify what matters most to you, decide what it will take, and begin intentionally setting money aside for it.
Money Milestone 7
Invest 15% of your income
Wealth Accelerator
Consistently build wealth for the future.
Saving creates security. Investing can help create long-term growth.
Work toward investing at least 15% of your income for retirement and other long-term priorities while making sure your strategy reflects your circumstances, goals, and time horizon. Consistent investing over time can build the resources that create greater independence—and expand the choices available to you later in life.
Money Milestone 8
Pay off your home as quickly as possible
Home-Free Hero
Remove one of your largest remaining financial obligations.
For many people, a mortgage is the largest monthly payment they will ever have. Paying off your home can significantly reduce your required expenses and give you even greater control over how you use your income.
Without a mortgage payment, money that once had to go toward your home can instead support your goals, investments, generosity, family, experiences—or whatever you decide comes next.
Money Milestone 9
Donate your time, talent, and treasure
Living Generously
Live generously and use your financial strength to make a difference.
Generosity doesn’t have to wait until the end of your financial journey. But as your financial strength grows, so can your ability to help others.
Give your time. Share your talents. Support the people you love. Strengthen your community. Contribute to organizations and causes that matter to you. Financial freedom gives you greater freedom to choose.
Living generously gives you the opportunity to use that freedom with purpose.
Your Financial Journey Is Personal
The milestones provide a roadmap—not a definition of what your life should look like.
You may move through them differently than someone else. You may already have accomplished several. Your goals may change along the way. That’s okay.
What matters is understanding where you are, knowing what deserves your attention now, and continuing to make progress.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to know your next step.
Wherever You Are Today, There Is a Next Step.
Every good financial decision can move you toward greater confidence, greater flexibility, and greater freedom to choose what comes next.