Do you find it hard to get excited about saving money? Well, it could be that the approach you’re taking just isn’t working for you! When it comes to saving money, a few things can make the process fun and effective.
Saving money is a discipline that financially successful people have mastered. Therefore, it’s a discipline you’ll have to master if you want to become financially independent yourself!
The good news? Saving money doesn’t have to be a boring process. I’m sharing 5 tips to make saving money for goals fun!
#1 Create goals that are worth working towards
If you want to make saving money fun, you have to enjoy what you’re saving for! Saving just to save is boring—there’s nothing tangible there to work for. Saving for a brand new car, on the other hand? That’s exciting!
Before you can give yourself the opportunity to enjoy saving for your money goals, you have to set goals that actually mean something to you.
Trust me on this! It’s so much more fun to put away money every month for your dream vacation than it is to put money away for what feels like no reason at all. Start by getting goals in place that excite you, inspire you, and motivate you to want to achieve them.
#2 Update your accounts to reflect your goals
One of the best things you can do to make saving for money goals fun is to update your accounts to match! Change the names of all your savings accounts to reflect what you’re actually saving for.
I’ve been doing this for years, and it really helps. Not only does it keep me organized, because I never wonder what the money is being saved for, seeing the names also gets me pumped.
As you can see in the picture above, one of my money goals is to purchase a home in Palm Springs. Not only did I change the account name to reflect that goal, but Betterment allows you to add pictures as well! I love opening this account on the app and seeing the goal in a tangible form.
#3 Participate in challenges to gain some steam
Sometimes, there’s nothing like a little challenge to get the money saving juices flowing! I host multiple savings challenges throughout the year for the CGS community. Savings challenges are fun, and they’re a great way to surround yourself with people who are in the same boat as you!
You don’t have to wait for outside challenges to make saving money fun, though! You can set your own personal challenges and work to constantly achieve—or surpass—those goals. Competing with yourself is a great way to build discipline and self-accountability. You’ll want to keep it going when you see the results!
#4 Track your progress every month
One thing that always motivates me to keep working hard is seeing my progress every month. For me,
tracking my net worth has been one of the best tools for keeping me focused on my money goals. Seeing the progress every month and knowing that I’m getting closer and closer to my goals is such an amazing feeling.
You can track your account balances, your goal amount, your progress to the goal amount, or your net worth! Whatever data point you need to see to get you motivated and enjoying the process is what you’ll want to track. At minimum, track some type of progress every month.
#5 Reward yourself for wins along the way
Maybe what you’re saving for right now isn’t that fun or exciting. You might be focused on paying down debt or building your emergency fund, and that doesn’t do it for you like a new car or a vacation would.
I get it, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the journey. One thing that can help is rewarding yourself for wins along the way.
When you hit milestones as you’re saving for your money goals, treat yourself to something nice! Even if it slightly changes your budget for the month, you deserve it for a job well-done!
Don’t think that your only reward is you achieving your goal (that’s a great reward, but it’s not the only one). Take the time to do something nice for yourself, so you feel recognized for your progress along the way.
Related: 6 Traits of Successful Savers
Who knew saving money could be so much fun? Not only will you enjoy the process of saving money with the tips above, you’ll start making progress towards the things you want most in your life! In my opinion, the best part of saving for money goals is when you actually achieve the goal! It’s such a liberating feeling. I want that feeling for everyone!
How do you make saving for money goals fun? Do you have any tips to share for other looking to get started with saving for their goals? Post a comment below and share what’s working for you! We’d love to hear.
