Finding the motivation to reach your savings goals can be a struggle, particularly during the summer season when beer gardens, holidays and festivals are likely to be calling your name. As such, it’s easy to lose focus and start spending small amounts of money on things in the present, instead of considering how those spends could impact your future.
So, in today’s blog post, we’re detailing 3 ways you can help yourself stay motivated when looking after your personal budget this summer – exploring how you can resist temptation no matter how many months or years your goals will take to complete.
-
Define your “why?”
Crucial to your saving journey is defining and re-emphasising why you Googled ‘money saving tips’ all those months ago, and why it is that this is so important to you. Whether it’s a deposit for a house, a car or a holiday, each goal is unique and, as such, will take varying amounts of time depending on how much you’re able to put away each month. Therefore, you may start to feel a little uninspired the longer you save and lose sight of the importance of achieving your financial target.
As a result, it’s imperative that you regularly revisit your reasons for starting your savings journey, to remind yourself just how much it really means to you – this will help you decide if the spontaneous one-a-week-takeaways are really worth the £80 monthly setback.
-
Create a financial vision board
Following on from the above, given how easy it is to lose sight of the bigger picture, we suggest creating a daily reminder for yourself of how achievable your goals are through the likes of a financial vision board. Placed in high-traffic areas of your home, not only is this an excellent way to motivate yourself day-to-day, but it will act as an effective budgeting tool as your targets and successes are visible to you, reducing the risk of temptation later on in the day.
Research shows that those who write their goals down are up to 1.4 times more likely to achieve them. As such, go about creating a financial vision board in the form of a bulletin board that allows you to present your goals, ideas, outlines and spends in a fun and digestible way, including interactable sections that will encourage you to engage with your targets regularly.
-
Engage in saving challenges – reward yourself once you’ve hit benchmarks
Another smart way to integrate budgeting into your daily activities (and to ensure it doesn’t become a chore) is to engage in saving challenges throughout the year. From the envelope challenge to more creative monthly tests, there are plenty of ideas out there to help make saving a fun initiative, despite the initial struggle.
Additionally, don’t forget to reward yourself too! Set small milestones along the way and budget in a little treat once your mini target’s been hit, such as a good film, an item of clothing or a nice meal – basically, whatever you want so long as you’re sure to enjoy it. By setting small milestones along the way, you’ll have something other than the feeling of success to look forward to at the end of the saving tunnel.
Consoling your bank of budgeting tips is, of course, the first step towards reaping the long-term benefits of your sometimes-gruelling saving journey (and you can find a whole range of them by visiting the Jolly Good Loans blog right here!). However, ensuring you stay motivated during this period is equally as important to help you stay on track and meet your targets on time. So, by following the above advice we hope you’re able to give yourself the little nudge you need to achieve your targets and have fun whilst doing so!