Saving for goals can be fun when you use Kaizen (continuous improvement). Let’s assume you are saving for a 20% down payment on a house. If the house costs $200K you will need $40K for a down payment. If you save $500 a month you will reach your goal in 6.7 years. This is a long-term goal. When we make small continual steps toward the goal we can make continuous forward progress.

If you can sustain the $500 monthly savings goal you know where you will end up. But if you forego a gym membership of $40/month and put $40 toward the house you could reduce your time to goal by about 5 months. Perhaps leveraging used weights at home could get you the exercise you need while allowing you to meet your goal. In addition, every time you add even a small one-time contribution to your fund (kaizen) you chip away at the total goal and time to reach it. It may seem crazy, but if you saved $1K a month, you would meet your goal in just over three years.

Saving toward a goal does require trade-offs and sacrifice. But reaching the goal is a sweet moment. There will also be temptation at times to take from your savings fund for other endeavors. Remember this may heal the moment but it will also lengthen the process and shorten the progress.

Goal Formula

(Goal Cost / Monthly Savings) / 12 = Time to Goal

Goals Start Here

You have to start by naming the goal. Give it some personality. Then work toward it. Every dollar and cent you put toward your goal will shorten the journey and grow the progress. If you receive a tax refund, put it toward your goal. You’ve got this!