100 Goals For Marriage to Strengthen Your Relationship

Getting married is a big step. This is something everyone knows — whether they’re married or not. And marriage takes work, from both parties involved.

As with everything, the more effort you put into something, the more fruitful it is, and marriage is no different. How can you go about this? By setting goals, together.

If you are in a serious, long term relationship and marriage is on the horizon, that is also a great time to talk to each other and set goals for your relationship and for your marriage.

Before you’ve even thought about a ring, you should be talking about your goals. If you are married and have not had a conversation yet to set goals, now’s the time to do it and this is how you can start.

Goal setting is a great way for any married couple to build a stronger foundation for happiness and love.

So, ready to dive into the wonderful world of marriage goals? Whether you’re newlyweds or seasoned partners, setting goals can supercharge your relationship and deepen your bond. In this article, we’ll explore 100 goals that can help you build a strong and lasting marriage.

100 Goals For Marriage to Strengthen Your Relationship

Setting goals in marriage is like creating a roadmap for your journey together. It gives you direction, purpose, and a shared vision for your life as a couple.

Whether it’s saving for a dream vacation, improving communication, or simply spending more quality time together, setting goals helps you grow as individuals and as partners. It adds excitement and motivation to your relationship, as you work towards common objectives and celebrate your achievements along the way.

1. 20 Long-Term Couple Goals To Set For a Strong Marriage

When it comes to setting goals together in a marriage for your marriage, the magic really happens. Think of it as planting seeds in your relationship garden—each goal is like a little plant that, with care and attention, grows into something beautiful and strong.

These goals can be big or small, from planning a regular date night to saving for a home, but they all have one thing in common: they’re about nurturing your relationship. By setting goals together, you’re saying, “Hey, we’re in this together, and we’re committed to making our marriage the best it can be.” It’s not just about reaching the goals; it’s about the journey you take together to get there, strengthening your bond along the way.

Examples of goals you might set together:

1. Buy a home together.
2. Start a family and raise children.
3. Travel to a specific destination or visit all seven continents.
4. Achieve a certain level of financial security, such as saving for retirement.
5. Build a successful business or pursue a career goal together.
6. Volunteer or give back to your community in a meaningful way.
7. Improve your health and fitness together by setting wellness goals.
8. Learn a new skill or hobby together, like dancing or cooking.
9. Renovate or remodel your home to create your dream space.
10. Create a family legacy, such as starting a tradition or establishing a charitable foundation.
11. Strengthen your relationship by setting goals for better open communication or conflict resolution.
12. Support each other in personal growth and development goals.
13. Plan for and achieve a significant milestone, like celebrating a milestone anniversary.
14. Create a bucket list of experiences you want to share together.
15. Save for a specific luxury purchase, like a dream car or a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.
16. Focus on environmental sustainability and set goals to reduce your carbon footprint.
17. Develop a plan for lifelong learning, such as pursuing higher education or learning a new language.
18. Build a strong network of friends and family to support your marriage.
19. Cultivate a sense of adventure by setting goals for trying new things together.
20. Focus on spiritual growth and set goals for your spiritual practice or community involvement.

2. 10 Individual Goals You Can Support Each Other In Together

Encouraging your partner to work on their personal goals is like giving them a high-five for their personal growth. It shows that you support them not just as a partner, but as an individual with dreams and aspirations. When each person in a relationship has their own goals, it adds depth and richness to the partnership.

It gives you both the space to grow and evolve, which ultimately strengthens your bond. Plus, cheering each other on creates a positive and uplifting dynamic in your relationship. So, go ahead, be your partner’s biggest cheerleader as they conquer their individual goals—you’ll both reap the rewards!

Examples of individual goals you might set together:

1. Prioritizing self-care
2. Paying off a debt
3. Weight gain or loss goals
4. Fitness goals and milestones
5. Reading goals
6. Specific career goals
7. Completing education
8. Getting a certificate
9. Going to therapy for your mental health
10. Taking a solo trip

3. 10 ‘Big Decision Goals’ to Make Together

There are so many big decisions that you’ll need to make when you get married. Where do you want to live? Will you be a dual income household or one income household? Will you have children? How many children? What religion do we want to raise children in?

All of these questions and more are big ones, and ones that you will need to be aligned on. These are all things you can even talk about before getting married, if you are in that long term relationship. They can be difficult and awkward conversations for sure, but agreeing on the big things will set the foundation to a successful marriage.

Conversations to have regarding big decisions:

Making big life decisions together is a crucial part of marriage. Here are 10 major decisions you may need to make as a couple:

1. Career Changes: Deciding on job changes, career advancement opportunities, or starting a new business.
2. Financial Planning: Setting long-term financial goals, managing investments, and making major purchases.
3. Family Planning: Discussing if and when to have children, as well as how many.
4. Living Arrangements: Choosing where to live, whether to rent or buy, and how to design your living space.
5. Healthcare Choices: Making decisions about health insurance, medical treatments, and lifestyle changes.
6. Education: Planning for further education, including pursuing advanced degrees or certifications.
7. Retirement Planning: Setting retirement goals, including when and how to retire.
8. Estate Planning: Deciding on wills, trusts, and other end-of-life arrangements.
9. Travel and Major Experiences: Planning for significant trips and experiences, such as sabbaticals or world travel.
10. Relationship Milestones: Discussing and planning for major relationship milestones, such as renewing vows or celebrating anniversaries.

4. 10 Date Night Goals For Connection

Even if you’re married, you should still be dating! Date nights are so important. They give you and your spouse an opportunity to spend quality time together.

Sure, you may already have tons of alone time, especially if you don’t have children. But, odds are that when you go out to a nice dinner or sit down together for a meal you cooked together, the conversation you have will be different than the one you’ll have just sitting on the couch together watching TV.

Plus, putting the effort into a date night, shows that your marriage still continues to be a priority. A weekly date night is great, but if that isn’t feasible, make sure to have a monthly one.

What date night might look like:

1. Brunch on the weekends.
2. Date night on Friday.
3. Watching a movie together.
4. Trying something new together.
5. Doing something together that one of you loves.
6. Trying a new restaurant every week.
7. Going on a picnic.
8. Weekday breakfast.
9. Taking a PTO day together.
10. Trying a new workout class.

5. 10 Financial Stability Goals To Set In Your Marriage

Finances can be a big stress for marriages. Heck, finances are stressful in general. But setting financial goals will not only make sure you are both aligned when it comes to all things money, but it can help you stay on track, too.

Set long term financial goals as well as short term ones. Keep each other updated on how they’re going and how close you are to reaching them. And when you do reach one of your financial goals, be sure to celebrate!

Financial goals you might set:

1. Separate or joint accounts.
2. Saving for a house.
3. Putting money away for an investment property.
4. Saving for retirement.
5. Adding money to your Roth IRA.
6. How you do your taxes.
7. Investment types.
8. Money for travel.
9. Holiday spending.
10. Who will pay for what.

6. 10 Communication Goals To Set Together

Of course you shouldn’t lie to each other, but you should also be honest with each other when it comes to things more than lies. If something is bothering you and you can’t shrug it off, say it. Don’t let it fester. In order to have a happy marriage, you need to build a healthy marriage.

That’ll just result in an explosion happening. By being able to tell your significant other what’s bothering you, and by being receptive when your significant other comes to you, you can have healthy conversations about not so good things, rather than keeping them inside of you and continuing to build and build.

Example goals to enhance communication in your relationship:

1. Active Listening: Practice listening without interrupting and show empathy towards your partner’s feelings.
2. Expressing Needs: Learn to express your needs and desires clearly and respectfully.
3. Conflict Resolution: Develop healthy ways to resolve conflicts, such as using “I” statements and avoiding blame.
4. Regular Check-Ins: Schedule regular times to discuss your relationship, ensuring that both partners feel heard.
5. Non-Verbal Communication: Pay attention to your body language and tone of voice to ensure they match your words.
6. Respecting Differences: Accept and respect each other’s differences in communication styles and perspectives.
7. Setting Boundaries: Establish boundaries around communication to ensure both partners feel comfortable and respected.
8. Avoiding Assumptions: Clarify meanings and intentions to avoid misunderstandings and assumptions.
9. Feedback and Appreciation: Provide constructive feedback and express appreciation for each other regularly.
10. Seeking Support: Be open to seeking professional help or counseling if communication challenges persist.

Evaluate how you communicate, ask each other these questions:

1. Do you like to talk about things right away?
2. Do you need time to calm down?
3. Do you always need to say “sorry”?
4. Will you say things are fine if they’re not?
5. How do you express resentment?
6. What red flags do we need to look out for.
7. Will we talk over text or in person?
8. Do we want to be confronted immediately or let our partner know we need time to talk?
9. How can we not offend each other?
10. How often do we need to check in?

7. 10 Travel/Vacation Goals For Marriage

If you have children, it’s okay to go on vacation just the two of you without children. If you don’t have children, it’s okay to go away just the two of you without anyone else. If finances are tight, you do not need a huge trip, go somewhere local for a night or two.

Going away together gives you both time to rejuvenate and relax, together. Ourselves on vacation tend to be different than ourselves as home. Plus, it’s fun and gives you new memories to share!

Vacation goals:

1. A place neither of you has been before.
2. A place 5,000 miles away from home.
3. Somewhere you always thought you wouldn’t be able to afford.
4. Somewhere you don’t know the language.
5. A place each one of you loves.
6. Somewhere from your childhood.
7. A repeat place.
8. A place you want to take your kids someday.
9. Location you’ve always dreamed of.
10. Somewhere you might want to live some day.

8. Compliments To Keep The Spark Alive

It’s so easy for people to make negative comments about little things, but for some reason, it’s not as easy for us to compliment the little things. Make little, positive compliments here and there to celebrate your significant other and the little things.

Remind them of how much they’re kicking butt personally, professionally, and in the marriage. If they put on a new shirt that you like, tell them that. Do you know each other’s love language? If not, take a quiz online and talk about it, because knowing how to express things in a way that the other person understand is hugely important.

Little things to compliment:

1. A haircut.
2. An outfit.
3. Something new.
4. Something they worked on.
5. Their dedication.
6. Their knowledge and mind.
7. Your partner’s creativity.
8. Their cooking.
9. Their pick of something.
10. Their happiness.

9. Express Gratitude Frequently.

It may seem like it’s OK not to thank your significant other for doing things around the house — it is half of their responsibility too — but don’t you feel a bit happier when you’re thanked for doing something? Whether it’s a new relationship or you share many years of marriage between you, gratitude is always necessary.

If your partner did the dishes or emptied the dishwasher, thank them. If they stopped to pick up food on the way home, thank them. A little thank you really does go a long way.

While it isn’t always necessary, you can purchase gifts that show how much you care for each other. For example, couples could select a beautiful ring, necklace, or bracelet from Diamondère made of their partner’s birthstone.

Ways to exchange gratitude:

1. Say it! A “thank you” goes a long way.
2. Ask them what they need done and take care of it.
3. Step in and help before they ask for it.
4. Be specific when you share what you’re grateful for.
5. Take a moment everyday for both of you to express gratitude everyday.
6. Write down 3 things you’re grateful for about your partner each day.
7. Acknowledge the small things they do.
8. Ask them what they need from you.
9. Intentionally exchange something with each other.
10. Practice gratitude together.

10. Make Time For Intimacy: 10 Intimacy and Connection Goals For a Stronger Marriage

Intimacy is an important part of marriage for many. If it was a big part of your pre-marriage days, don’t let it become obsolete post marriage. It’s so easy to forget how important it used to be when you’re exhausted with everything you need to do each day and don’t have much time for yourself.

But find time for it. Talk with your significant other about how you want to make time for it and figure out a way to keep it alive.

Examples of intimacy goals you might set:

Focusing on intimacy and connection can deepen your bond with your partner. Here are 10 goals to enhance intimacy and connection in your relationship:

1. Regular Date Nights: Schedule dedicated time for just the two of you to reconnect and have fun together.
2. Open and Honest Communication: Commit to being transparent with each other, sharing your thoughts, feelings, and needs openly.
3. Physical Affection: Increase physical touch, such as hugs, kisses, and cuddling, to foster closeness.
4. Quality Time: Spend quality time together without distractions, focusing on each other and your relationship.
5. Shared Goals and Dreams: Identify common goals and work towards them together, strengthening your bond.
6. Surprise Gestures: Plan surprises for each other to keep the relationship exciting and show appreciation.
7. Emotional Support: Be there for each other during challenging times, providing comfort and understanding.
8. Shared Interests: Explore and develop shared interests or hobbies to deepen your connection.
9. Intimacy Building Exercises: Engage in exercises or activities designed to increase emotional and physical intimacy.
10. Sexual Exploration: Communicate openly about your sexual desires and explore new ways to enhance your sexual connection.

Always remember what you love about each other. 

Fights happen. Disagreements happen. You will get annoyed with each other — that happens in all relationships and can get heightened during marriage.

But the important thing is to always make sure you remember what you love about each other. If you exchanged vows when you got married, remember the vows you said and that your partner said.

Anytime you fight, remember that marriage is hard work, and it takes hard work to keep it strong. It’s easy to get distracted by the here and now, which is why it’s so important for you both to remember the bigger picture. There will be hard times, but the best things in life are worth fighting for.

The great thing about setting daily goals, relationship goals, and smart goals will all help your marriage relationship and offer amazing things for both you of you for your growth, and happiness. These will help you be best friends with your partner during the tough times because you can lean on each other, and help you look forward to the next year of adventures to come.

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