Trying to change habits and keep resolutions is hard. Our brain wants to keep doing things the way we always did them, so when you try to disrupt that with new habits or new choices, willpower alone doesn’t always work.
My advice? Take willpower out of the equation as much as possible.
Luckily when it comes to finances there are some great ways to do that. Automatic payments, budgeting apps, schedulers – all of these can help you “set it and forget it”. Keeping goals front and center, getting rid of temptation, and creating a supportive atmosphere can also be great ways to make doing the right thing easier.
If you are finding it hard to stick to your financial goals with willpower alone, here are seven things you can try to make the job easier.
Seven Things To Try When Willpower Isn’t Working
1. Automatic Payments Mean You Only Have To Do the Right Thing Once
When you set up automatic payments, you only have to do the right thing once and you can reap the benefits for years to come. Now THAT is a good return on your time!
- Set up automatic bill pay for everything you possibly can – that way you never miss a payment.
- Set all your credit cards to automatically make the minimum payment – or even better to pay the full balance each month. Making at least the minimum payment is critically important because one missed credit card or loan payment will lower your credit score for the next seven years.
- Set up automatic contributions to your savings account. If you can, have it go right from your paycheck. You’ll never see it, and chances are you won’t even miss it.
- You can also invest automatically either with your workplace 401K, or by setting up automatic transfers to an individual investment account. For extra credit try doing both!
2. Automate Spending Tracking With a Budgeting App
If the idea of tracking every little expense so you can know where your money is going seems impossible—why not automate it with a budgeting app? You connect your accounts and it will bring in all your transactions automatically.
To get the most out of a budgeting app you also have to have a plan for your spending—that is one of the things we work on in coaching—but just being able to see a daily feed of all of your transactions can be a huge help.
Two budget apps I recommend:
- Simplifi by Quicken. It costs $3.99 per month, but it is full featured, has an app and desktop version, and two people can use one account making it great for couples.
- Pocketguard. The free version of this app will give you basic budgeting and tracking—perfect for people whose finances are not that complicated.
3. The Power of the Unsubscribe
Unsubscribing from or unfollowing things that go against your goals can keep you out of temptation and give you more brain space to focus on what you DO want to do.
For example, if you are skipping an annual vacation so you can spend the money on needed home repairs, unsubscribe or unfollow anything travel related, and find some home repair sites you can follow instead. This will keep temptation at bay, and keep you focused on your current priority.
If your investments are primarily for retirement and you have no plans to sell them any time soon – don’t follow the stock market. The daily ups and downs of the stock market really don’t affect you, so why put time and energy into following them? Keeping yourself away from the drama gives you more time to focus on more important things.
4. Keep Your Goals Front and Center
Hand in hand with keeping distractions away is keeping the things you want to focus on front and center.
- Write out your financial goals on a piece of paper and post them where you can see them every day.
- Have your budget app or bank account automatically open when you open your web browser.
- Put goal-related apps on your phone’s home page.
- If you are working on paying off debt, print out a payment chart, put it up on the wall, and check off each payment that you make.
- Do the same thing with savings – print out a chart and update it each time there is a new total.
- Make a vision board – yes, a vision board – for that vacation or new home or whatever it is you are saving for. Put it someplace where it can inspire you to keep working toward your goal.
- Immerse yourself in your goal by reading books or articles, watching movies, or listening to podcasts about it.
- Try keeping a journal where you can write down why this goal is important to you, and can celebrate milestones along the way.
All these things are ways of creating an atmosphere that supports you in what you are trying to do.
5. Use Calendar Events and Automatic Reminders
If you have financial tasks you need to do, schedule time for them on your calendar.
For example, a good financial habit is to spend time each month reviewing your spending and planning for next month’s expenses. Why not make this a recurring event on your calendar? If there is a task you are avoiding – like doing your taxes – schedule time for it. That way you don’t have to try to motivate yourself to get to it – it is on the calendar.
Set up automatic reminders for things like when the promotional period on a subscription is up, or when you need to check back on the status of an account. You can also set reminders for any calendar events you create to make sure you don’t forget them.
6. Create a support system
Having a friend or family member who knows what you are trying to do and can support you is huge. It can be difficult to talk to others about finances, but you might find out that they have a similar problem or goal and that you can support each other.
You can also create support systems by joining online groups, or even just following someone on social media who has a similar goal. You can learn from their experiences, and you might be able to help them by sharing your own experiences as well.
The more you can get the people around you on board with what you are doing, the easier it will be to stick with it.
7. Work with a Financial Coach
Just like a regular coach, a financial coach is there to motivate you, to inspire you, and to keep you accountable and on track. When your willpower is fading, a financial coach can keep you in the game!
No matter what your goal is, as your coach I will work through it with you step by step. Not sure WHAT your goal should be? We can figure that out too! During our coaching sessions I provide the motivation, the information, and the structure you need to get it done.
Want to learn more about what I do? Set up a free 30-minute initial consultation. I offer affordable rates, coaching is via video call, and I do not sell financial products. Schedule a call and let’s talk!
