Short-term goals could be paying off credit card debt or creating an emergency fund, while long-term goals could be saving for retirement or investing in real estrani meaning in hindiate. The SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—must be used in order to set these goals successfully. utilizing the SMART criteria. One could, for example, set a goal to save $10,000 for a down payment on a house within three years rather than just stating that they want to save money.