It’s Officially National Quitter’s Day—Here’s Your Game Plan For Sticking To Your Money Goals

January 12 is National Quitter’s Day, the time of year when we are most likely to move away from pursuing our New Year’s resolutions. This is especially concerning since 3 out of 5 Americans have resolved to get their finances on track, understandable since living costs have been exorbitant for a few years now.

“Making the decision to get a better handle on your finances is half the battle – the other half is actually doing the work,” Luke Eales of personal finance platform Moneyzine shares with ESSENCE. “The new year is an excellent fresh start to begin thinking about building better money habits, but the key to following through on your plans revolves around one simple thing: planning.”

Here are a few key tips for saving money this year.

Make It Easy

Sweeping changes start with baby steps. Science suggests that micro-productivity can lead to major progress without the anxiety that goal pursuit incites.

“Breaking tasks down helps us to see large tasks as more approachable and doable, and reduces our propensity to procrastinate or defer tasks, because we simply don’t know where to begin,” explains Melissa Gratias, Ph.D., a workplace productivity coach and speaker.

Eales says this logic can be applied to saving money.

“Many people set themselves up for failure by setting big, unrealistic goals that are simply unattainable in real life. Make your savings goals easy and within your grasp – whether that’s putting an extra 2-3% of your income into your savings each month, paying off X amount of debt, or building just one healthy money habit. Small goals may be less impressive, but they’re more likely to be achieved – and that makes a big difference.”

Create A Budget Plan

“Any personal finance expert will tell you that the key to financial freedom lies in planning,” Eales says. “Find a budgeting template that works for you – for example, the 50/30/20 method – and plan out your budget for at least the next month, if not more. Have distinct categories for your savings, essential expenses (mortgage, rent, insurance, bills & utilities, etc), and other non-essential spending. Stick to your plan and track your spending for that one month and you’ll instantly have more clarity over your budget than you ever have before.”

Automate Your Finances

You don’t have to go at it alone. It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline to mindfully save money—luckily, there are tons of tools to do the work of saving for you.

“In 2024, there is an app for everything – and that includes managing your money,” Eales says. “Discover the best savings and budgeting app for you and find ways to automate as much of your finances as possible. That extends to not only your bills and other essential expenses, but also things such as your private pension contributions and putting money in your savings account. The less you have to think about those vital pieces of your finances, the more time you’ll have to focus on areas of your budget you can save.”

As ESSENCE previously reported, apps like QOINS, PAYOFF PLANNER, and TALLY can help do the heavy lifting of saving.

Pay Yourself First

“This tip is somewhat related to automating your finances, but it’s worth highlighting,” Eales. “A crucial finance mistake that many people make is to receive their monthly salary and first pay their bills and essential expenses, and then wait to see whatever they have left over at the end of the month to potentially put into savings. Get out of this habit by paying yourself first. This means creating an automated process to put a certain amount of money into your savings account on the day you are paid, before you do anything else with your paycheck. This could be 1% of your income or 10 – 20%, whatever is feasible for you. The point is to put a priority on saving first.”

Address Your Biggest Weaknesses

It can be hard fix an issue when it’s in your blindspot. Eales says there’s a way around this.

“Look for those areas of your spending that tend to be your biggest weaknesses,” Eales. “That could be something like spending too much money on takeouts, night’s out, clothing, or random subscriptions that you don’t really need. Address those big financial drains and you’ll notice a huge difference in your cash flow – which makes it far easier to then start honing in on your spending strategy.”

Find An Accountability Buddy

It not only takes a village to raise a child, it takes one to raise your savings balance as well.

“It can be hard to stick to any goal, and transforming your personal finances is no different,” Eales says. “Many people have a gym buddy to stick to their fitness goals – so why not find a money buddy to help you keep yourself accountable with your spending? This could be as simple as asking a friend or your partner to have a weekly or monthly check-in with you and discuss your spending and budget. Being honest about the process with someone else can be a terrific motivator to not let yourself down.”

Analyze Your Progress

There’s no greater reward than proof of progress. Tracking your movement toward success is a great to stay on track.

“Schedule a monthly check-in with yourself throughout the year to analyze your budgeting progress,” Eales says. “This could be 15 minutes to reassess your budget plan, how much you’ve saved, and how close you are to your goals. It’s not so much what you cover in these sessions, but making a conscious effort to keep your savings goals at the forefront of your mind and ensure you’re on the right track throughout 2024 – rather than leaving your new year resolution behind as the year progresses.”