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Many of us set savings goals. But we don’t always follow through.
About 90% of Americans set financial goals for 2025, according to a recent NerdWallet survey. As of June, about 37% of the 2,090 adults NerdWallet surveyed weren’t on track to hit their biggest financial goal.
There’s an easy two-step way to make these milestones easier to reach: Set a goal and then set a reminder to take action, behavioral scientists said.
“When we set goals — and then we make sure that there are reminders associated with those goals — it can be really incredibly helpful to savings,” said Katy Milkman, a behavioral economist and author of “How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”
For households that take a more manual approach to saving, this might mean setting up a repeating nudge on your calendar to make a deposit to savings, or even asking your bank, financial advisor, romantic partner or roommate for that reminder, Milkman said.
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When possible, automating the actual saving generally yields better results, according to behavioral experts.
“Your main savings strategy should be to switch from having to remember to save a small amount every month to saving a percentage of your income automatically, any time you receive income,” said Wendy De La Rosa, a behavioral scientist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Data shows this passive “set it and forget it” approach helps people save more, because it leverages people’s tendency toward inertia, De La Rosa said. Even making small, regular automatic transfers can be impactful, she said.
She advocates for setting one financial goal at a time to avoid splitting attention across multiple priorities. For example, households can focus on first building an emergency fund, De La Rosa said.
Give yourself a ‘fresh start’ for savings
Milkman’s research shows that “fresh starts” are often the best time to set a new financial goal, she said.
These are moments like the start of a new year that feel like new beginnings, she said.
“There are moments in our lives when we are more motivated to make a change than on a mundane Wednesday,” Milkman said. “We feel a little bit of a disconnect from who we were before. And that gives us more optimism about what we can achieve,” she said.
It’s not just New Year’s Day, though: Mondays (the start of a new week), birthdays, holidays or the beginning of a school year can all be fresh starts, Milkman said.
