Smart Money: Use Your Values to Set Your Goals

Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. 

This week’s episode is all about how you can use your values to set and keep your money goals in 2023.

Check out this episode on any of these platforms:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify

Our take

It can be easy to lose enthusiasm and motivation for the financial goals we set, even the ones that we really want to accomplish. But there are strategies that can help us stick to our goals and ultimately achieve them. 

First, try to set goals that are tied to something you value deeply, such as family or continuing your education. Doing so gives your goal greater significance and can make it less likely that you’ll give up on it. Once you’ve established your financial goals, find ways to break them into smaller, actionable steps. In that way, the seemingly impossible — say, saving for a down payment on a house — transforms into something more manageable. Rewarding yourself after you’ve hit the smaller milestones along the way to that ultimate goal can keep you motivated, too. 

Recruit whatever tools and resources are necessary to support you as you work toward your goals. For example, you might use vision boards and progress trackers to make your goal, and the progress toward it, more tangible. An accountability partner can be another insurance policy that ensures you meet your goals. 

Our tips

• Lean on your values. Connect your money goals to what you care about most. 
• Give your goals structure. Once you know what you want to do in the new year, use a goal-setting framework to help you follow through. 
• Don’t go it alone. Share your goals with your friends and family to find support in difficult times and keep you accountable.

Have a money question? Text or call us at 901-730-6373. Or you can email us at podcast@nerdwallet.com. To hear previous episodes, go to the podcast homepage.