Two-Step Strategy to Boost Your Savings, Behavioral Experts Advise

The Challenge of Meeting Savings Goals

Nearly 90% of Americans enter each year with financial goals. However, a recent survey by NerdWallet reveals that as of mid-2025, 37% of adults are not on track to achieve their primary savings objectives. This gap highlights a common struggle in translating intentions into consistent saving behavior.

A Simple Two-Step Plan to Enhance Savings

Behavioral economists emphasize an effective yet straightforward strategy: first, clearly set a savings goal, and second, establish reminders to take action toward that goal. Katy Milkman, author and behavioral economist, underscores that pairing goals with reminders significantly improves savings success.

“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, behavioral economist and author of How to Change.

For many households managing savings manually, this might involve scheduling repeating calendar notifications to deposit funds or enlisting trusted individuals—such as financial advisors, partners, or roommates—to prompt saving actions.

The Power of Automated Savings

Experts highlight that automating savings transfers yields superior results by reducing reliance on memory and willpower. Wendy De La Rosa, a behavioral scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, advocates for automatic deductions from income to savings accounts.

“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,” explained De La Rosa.

Data supports this “set it and forget it” approach, showing that even modest, regular automated transfers can accumulate meaningfully over time by leveraging human inertia.

Prioritizing One Financial Goal at a Time

To avoid dilution of effort, De La Rosa recommends concentrating on a single financial objective before pursuing others—emergency fund accumulation being a prime example.

Leveraging ‘Fresh Start’ Moments to Boost Motivation

Milkman’s research reveals that psychological “fresh start” moments significantly enhance motivation to initiate or recommit to savings goals. These temporal landmarks create a sense of new beginnings, fostering optimism and behavioral change.

“There are moments in our lives when we are more motivated to make a change than on a mundane Wednesday,” Milkman noted. “We feel a little bit of a disconnect from who we were before. And that gives us more optimism about what we can achieve.”

Such moments extend beyond New Year’s Day to include Mondays, birthdays, holidays, or the start of a school year—all ideal opportunities to reset financial intentions.

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FinOracleAI — Market View

The behavioral science-backed two-step savings strategy presents a pragmatic approach for consumers to improve financial discipline. By combining goal-setting with reminders or automation, households can overcome common psychological barriers to saving.

• Opportunities: Enhanced savings rates, improved financial security, reduced reliance on willpower, increased emergency fund build-up.
• Risks: Over-automation may reduce engagement with financial planning; single-goal focus might delay addressing multiple financial needs.

Impact: This strategy is likely to have a positive effect on personal savings behavior, encouraging more consistent and effective financial planning across diverse demographics.