CREDIT: JESSICA KLAVER
Learn how to buy that watch you've been dying for the responsible way.

Welcome back to your final term of the school year. Make 2015 the year that you set some financial goals for yourself and for your future. To start, just take a couple minutes to calculate your net worth. You do this by listing all your assets in a chart and your debts in another. You then subtract your total liabilities – like debts – from your total assets. The difference is your net worth. It is important to know where you are before you can figure out where you want to be. Listed below are a few examples of financial goals that you can start saving for and an easy calculation to help you reach them.

The calculation

Determine the amount you are trying to save and the timeframe that you want to complete it in. Take that amount and divide it by the number of years, months, weeks or days to determine how much you need to save to keep yourself on track. There are some examples shown below although this calculation can be used for anything.

Buy a Michael Kors watch

Here is the calculation to purchase a $350 Michael Kors watch in one year.

$350/12 = $29.17 per month

$350/52 = $6.73 per week

$350/365 = $0.96 per day

You would only need to save $0.96 per day to buy a $350 Michael Kors watch in one year.

Go on an all-inclusive trip to Cuba  

A seven- to eight-day all-inclusive trip to Cuba costs approximately $2,500. Here’s how much you need to save in order to take that trip on next year’s spring break.

$2,500/58 = $43.10 per week

$2,500/407 = $6.14 per day

If you bring your lunch to school every day and set aside the money that you save, you will be able to take that awesome spring break trip you’ve been dreaming of.

Buy a car

You could also save up to purchase a $10,000 car in five years – in cash.

$10,000/5 = $2,000 per year

$10,000/60 = $166.67 per month

$10,000/260 = $38.46 per week

$10,000/1,825 = $5.48 per day

For the same price as your daily Starbucks you could purchase a $10,000 car in cash by re-allocating that money to savings.

You can grow these savings even faster if you place them into a high interest savings account such as a tax-free savings account (TFSA) or invest them. Sometimes it may feel like saving money is a futile attempt, but once you start to see that balance grow, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment and enjoy the benefits. Happy New Year and happy savings.