A Guide to Inspiring Motivation for Savings Goals

It’s America Saves Week! Have your attempts to save in the past run out of steam before you managed to make much progress? If so, you may be looking for inspiration. Use this guide to find the motivation you need to commit to and accomplish your savings goals. 

3 ways to motivate yourself to save

Review spending habits  

Your savings goal may require you to cut back on spending. Use a budgeting tool like Money Management to track where your money is going and what spending categories you need to work on. Doing so may serve as a much-needed wakeup call. For example, you may not be aware how often you’re having food delivered to the house – or how much it’s costing you in the long run! 

Keep your eye on the prize 

While a general goal of saving more isn’t bad, it may not serve as enough inspiration when you’re tempted to buy something frivolous. Nail down concrete goals with specific dollar amounts and dates you’d like to reach them by. When you’re weighing whether or not to buy a pair of shoes you don’t need, you’ll have a mental image of long-term goals there to keep you on track. 

Think about the true cost of things

Just because you’re saving doesn’t mean you can’t buy yourself anything nice or treat yourself occasionally. But sitting back and really considering the cost of an item, service, or experience will help you determine how much you truly want it. For example, think about how many hours of work you would have to put in to cover the cost of those concert tickets. Is it worth that amount of time to you? 

Surround yourself with motivation

Friends and family aren’t the only places you can look for encouragement. There are many self-help finance books and podcasts available to inspire you along your journey. Consider committing thirty minutes before bed to reading or using your commute to work as an opportunity to listen to a podcast episode or audio book chapter. 

Recognize your efforts

Reaching a savings goal doesn’t happen overnight. It can take months or even years of hard work and dedication. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to celebrate your efforts! Take a moment to recognize the work you’re putting in each month.

General Electric Credit Union (GECU) offers many resources, products, and services to help you stay motivated and reach savings goals faster. These include: 

• Money Management to track goals and spending.
• High-yield savings accounts. Our Thrive Money Market account allows you to earn off your balance through interest. 
• Automatic transfers. Set up automatic transfers on a timeline that works for you through Online Banking or our mobile app.²
• Round-Up program. Put saving on auto pilot with our Round-Up program, which rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into the GECU account of your choice.³