Plateaus happen. They happen with dieting. They happen with relationships and they can even happen with your finances and saving.

If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with Budget and the Bees you may have read about my debt payoff plan for 2017. At the end of January I’d paid off $1,572 of my debt (which is amazing), however, I’ve hit a plateau with my saving and debt payoff efforts.

This can happen to anyone, especially if you are trying to get something done in a short amount of time. Below are a few tips on what to do when you hit a plateau with saving.

SAVING CAN BE DIFFICULT 

When you have a large goal, like I do, saving can be a daunting task. Once you start saving it is easy to There are a few things you can do to make it easier to get past your saving plateau though. Here is what I did to get past my “bump in the road:”

Get used to what you’re doing. Set a routine and get used to it. Having a routine to saving money can be difficult but not impossible. For example, each time I get paid I have 10 percent of my check automatically transferred to savings and I transfer what is leftover at the end of each pay period to savings as well. If you’ve hit a plateau, set a routine for your own personal savings. It could assist you in your long-term savings goals.

Know why you are doing what you’re doing. This seems like something you should have decided before you venture out on your saving journey. That is true, however, I found that when I hit a plateau writing out the why behind what I was doing helped. I sat down and wrote out my dreams, where I wanted to be five years from now and how my savings goals would help me get there. It helped tremendously.

Set smaller milestones. This is one of the easiest ways to get past your saving goal plateau (or any other goal you have set). What I did to get past my plateau is set smaller, more manageable goals to meet. For example, I have an emergency savings goal of three months of expenses. Instead of focusing on the entire three months I have decided to set smaller goals (one month of expenses at a time). Once I reach those smaller goals I reward myself with something small like a Starbucks coffee or a reasonable dinner out.

 

Look into new ways to save. Lastly, if you’ve hit a saving plateau you can do what works best for most people and that is to find new ways to save. If you’re getting tired of doing the same old thing when it comes to your finances, spice it up a little. There are a huge number of savings challenges and Facebook support groups for people trying to save more money. You can join the groups and attempt the challenges to help you get over your personal plateau.

No matter who you are, saving is difficult and hitting a plateau makes it even harder. How do you get over plateaus when trying to meet large savings goals (or any other goal)?

Photo: 401(K) 2012