This Is Why You Can’t Stick to Your Savings Goals

Have you ever tried to dig yourself out of debt, only to crash and burn a few months later? Or maybe you put hard work into building a budget so you could start saving money. You get into the swing of it — maybe buy a new planner or craft a meticulous spreadsheet — then a few weeks later, the novelty wears off and you’re back to where you started.

When this happens, it’s easy to blame yourself. I lack willpower. I have no discipline. I am simply bad at money. 

I’ve been there before, and as a financial educator, I’ve watched many of my clients fall into this trap. I’m here to tell you, the reason you can’t stick to your money goals is probably not because you don’t want to. It’s because you’re not building the right habits. When a financial strategy relies entirely on your self-discipline, there’s a good chance it’s going to fall apart when life gets busy.

When I wrote my book Money Out Loud, I shared what I’ve learned teaching thousands of people how to build sustainable money habits. Our money goals should be tailored to us — personal and fun — but traditional financial advice rarely leaves room for flexibility. We stick to the habits we enjoy — and you deserve to enjoy your relationship with money. So I’ve come up with a few methods that have helped my clients develop a healthy money mindset over the years.

Read more: I Write About Savings for a Living. 7 Insider Tips I Share With My Friends

1. Answer these 4 questions

It’s not enough to tell yourself, “I’m going to save money,” or “I’m going to spend less.” To make a money goal stick, it’s important to dig into the psychology behind the goal. An easy way to do this is by answering these four questions:

1. What are you saving for?
2. Where will you store your money?
3. How will you save for this goal?
4. Why is the goal important to you?

Here’s an example: Let’s say you want to go to Greece next year and need to save $4,000 to avoid using your credit card to finance the trip. You do the math and realize you’ll need to save $400 a month to save in time for the trip. Now it’s time to plug in the what, where, how and why.

• What = A trip to Greece.
• Where = A high-yield savings account set up specifically for your vacation savings.
• How = You’ll set up a savings rule to move $200 from your checking account to your vacation fund twice a month.
• Why = You’ve been planning this trip to see your family who lives in Greece and don’t want to go into debt doing it.

When you spell it out this way, you’re able to clarify why this goal is significant to you and you can help curb yourself from leaning on bad habits like turning to a credit card if you don’t stick to your savings plan. Revisit these questions and your goal throughout your savings journey — you might find the answers have changed, and that’s OK. 

You can use this process for any money goal you have, including paying off debt, saving for holiday gifts or even building an emergency fund. 

2. Stack money tasks into other habits 

If you’re finding it hard to make room to build financial habits, try tackling your money tasks onto existing habits. This is called habit stacking, and it’s been psychologically proven to help you create lasting habits. 

Pick something you already do regularly and combine a money task with it. For example, before I open Instagram in the morning, I open my budgeting app to review the previous day’s transactions. If you work out regularly, add a money task to your routine. For example, before you hop on your Peloton, make sure all of your bills for the week are paid.

It’s easier than building a new habit, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you get into the swing of it.

3. Rethink your bank account names

Scrolling through two checking accounts and five savings accounts to find the right one isn’t just time-consuming — it’s boring. 

You may already nickname your accounts, but I’d recommend you get specific with your account names. Something generic like “Vacation fund” or “Business savings” may be accurate, but it’s not fun.

Instead, think of how you’ll feel when you accomplish your goal and use that to help you name your bank accounts. For example, if you’re planning to start your own business and build a cushion so you can leave your 9-to-5 job, naming your account “I Quit!” can be more motivating than “business savings.” 

Saving for a specific trip? That Greece vacation fund might become your “Santorini and bikini” fund. Paying down credit card debt? Change your debt repayment savings account name to something like, “I’m free!” Every time you add money to these accounts, you’ll get a hit of your future success.

4. Find a money buddy

You may feel isolated when you’re focused on money goals — especially if you’re avoiding going out to eat or to events while you’re paying down debt. A great way to stay on track is to find someone to keep you accountable. This could be a friend, family member or trusted colleague. Look for someone with money skills you admire or someone going through a similar situation. If you’re hoping to pay down credit card debt by the new year, see if anyone in your circle has the same goal. You can cheer each other on and help one another stay accountable.

I recommend scheduling regular check-ins with your money buddy to stay on track. You could set up a weekly Zoom call or coffee date to chat about your goals and progress.

5. Gamify hitting your goals

Let’s say you’re planning this Santorini trip, but your friends have other savings goals. I know it’s stressful to think about saving up enough for an emergency fund, vacation or the holidays. Why not make your savings goal fun with a game? 

For example, maybe you and your friends avoid eating out for a month together to stash more money in your savings accounts. You may hold each other accountable by exchanging meal prep ideas, sharing how much money you transfer to your savings each week and even rewarding yourself with a group dinner when you all reach your individual goals. There are several savings challenges you can try together and you may feel less isolated since you’re working toward your goal with your friends. How Much Do High Schoolers Know About Personal Finance? Not Enough

You can find different savings challenges and connect with like-minded people on social media too. Look for challenges like “no-spend-november” that you can participate in with other people around the world who have the same goal.

6. Create fun ways to track your goals

Moving money from one account to another each paycheck isn’t very exciting. If your goal feels out of reach, it can also feel like the little steps you’re taking each week aren’t pushing you forward. If you find yourself in this situation, get creative with your goal tracking.

If you’re someone who needs help visualizing goals, like me, charts and trackers with different colors can help. You even take this a step further. For example, when I wanted to adopt a dog, I was overwhelmed about saving the total cost I’d need for pet care and supplies. So I created a physical savings chart, in the shape of an actual dog (like this one), and colored in a bit of it every time I put money toward this goal. I did this every day, so I could see myself slowly getting closer to my goal. It doesn’t matter if it felt silly — it worked. 

Not everyone is motivated the same way. You might prefer a robust spreadsheet where you see your savings getting higher and your debt getting lower. Or you might want to involve your kids or spouse to make reaching goals even more meaningful and fun for the whole family. 

Make your money work for you

We’re going to have to deal with money for the rest of our lives — why not have fun with it? Make managing your money as easy and fun as you can. That way, no matter how tired or unmotivated you are, you’ll have a plan that doesn’t feel hard to stick to. If you make a mistake, give yourself grace and get back to it. Your future self will thank you.

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