Saving money isn’t always an easy process. This is especially true for those who aren’t accustomed to managing their money well. Thankfully, you can reach your 2021 savings goals with a few easy tips. Consider the following to help you get started:
1. Set Aside an Income Stream for Savings
It’s often stated that the average millionaire has at least seven income streams. If you’re solely reliant on only one, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, become intentional about creating multiple income streams in order to experience financial stability and financial freedom much sooner. As it relates to your savings goals, you’ll want to create an income stream that directly feeds into your savings account. Whether you get a part-time job as a dog walker, sell items on eBay, or trade in the stock market, set it up so that your earnings are directly deposited into your savings account. It’ll become easier for that balance to grow when you’re not even touching it.
2. Make it Inconvenient to Access
One of the issues that many people have involves a lack of discipline. If they run out of money in their checking account (due to overspending), it’s easy to open the banking account and transfer funds from the savings account. While this might be seemingly innocent, it is a great way to chip away at your progress and sabotage your efforts. Instead, set up a savings account with a completely different banking institution. When your savings account is really easy to access, it’s much easier to lose more money. Instead, make it inconvenient to access the funds in your savings account.
While you can use direct deposit features to put money into the account, you’ll need to make it so that you’ll have to drive to the bank, fill out a slip and present the proper identification in order to get the money. By the time you go through all of those steps, you’ll remember why you’re saving in the first place and stop. This also protects you from quickly transferring money to your checking account when you see a sale at the mall.
3. Make Your Goals Realistic
If you really want to hit the mark with your 2021 savings goals, you need to track your savings goals in real-time. You can use our free Online Goal Tracker tool to help you track them: FREE GOAL TRACKER TOOL
Get Started With a Free Debt Analysis
We make it easy on mobile or desktop. FREE with no obligations.
While it’s nice to say that you’d like to save $10,000 by the end of the month, you need to consider if that’s actually realistic or not. Break your goals down into daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Track your progress as the days and weeks progress. If you need to readjust your methods or your savings goals, don’t be afraid to be realistic and readjust. Oftentimes, people overestimate what they can do in a year. Yet, they severely underestimate what they can get done with intentional tracking and progress.
4. Create a Daily Reminder of Your Vision
As you track your savings goals, there might come a time where you’re unexpectedly set back. You might end up in a position where you have to refocus and readjust. While this can be incredibly disappointing, don’t forget why you started. Don’t let your setbacks throw you off of your course. One of the best ways to remember why you started is by creating a visual reminder of your goals and vision. Consider creating a vision board. If you don’t want to do a physical vision board, consider making a digital one with platforms like Pinterest. Think about why you’ve decided to save more in 2021. Then, create a visual representation of your reason for saving. Whether you’re saving up to put a down payment on a home, a new car, or a vacation, compile a group of pictures that visually motivate you to keep going. You might be saving so that you can pay off a significant amount of debt.
Creating a vision board that shows what you’ll be able to do once you get out of debt. Look at your vision board on a daily basis in order to remain focused. It’s easy to forget why you started if you don’t become intentional about keeping your goals in focus at all times.
5. Reward Yourself as You Progress
Use a goal tracker in order to target various milestones at certain times throughout the year. As you use the goal tracker to cross different goals off of your list, remember to celebrate the milestones. When you reward yourself, you’ll simultaneously encourage yourself to keep going. Reward yourself with something nice (yet inexpensive) like a new book, a massage, or a pair of shoes. Before you know it, you’ll gain momentum that’ll be hard to stop.
As you remain focused and vigilant, you’ll develop a new level of self-confidence. As you grow confident in your ability to save and manage your money well, it’ll spill over into other aspects of your life. By the end of 2021, you’ll have so much to proud of if you remain focused and consistent.
