Three steps to financial well-being

Take small steps to achieve your financial goals

After setting smaller financial goals, you can design a plan to achieve them and measure your progress. Successfully taking a series of small steps can give you a sense of accomplishment more frequently than if you have one big objective—and that can give you the encouragement you need to keep making progress. 

• You can start by making a list of things you’d like to improve about your finances.
• Then think about which of these you can realistically achieve.
• Finally, define the specific steps you need to take to achieve each financial goal. 

We’ve broken three common financial goals into the steps you can take to help you achieve them. 

1 Boost your savings

We all know how important saving money is, whether it’s for a large purchase—such as a home—or to be prepared for retirement or emergencies. But if you’re finding it hard to save, you’re not alone. During the first few years of the pandemic, Americans were saving more than at any time in history. Since then, people are saving much less; in fact, the personal saving rate in the United States, which is what you put away after paying your taxes and expenses, is now at low rate of 3.6% compared with 5.3% in May 2023.¹

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Saving Rate [PSAVERT], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT, 4/22/24.  

By taking small steps, you can help your savings add up:

• You can start by writing down exactly why you’re saving. What’s your goal? Do you need to save more for retirement or set aside money in an emergency fund? Are you saving for a house or your children’s education? 
• Then think about your monthly income and expenses—how much can you set aside each month for your goal?
• Decide where you’ll put your savings. Having a separate account is a great way to track your progress. By keeping the money out of your checking account, it’s not as easy for you to take it out unless you really need it.
• Consider putting your savings on autopilot. You can set up automatic deductions from your paycheck or bank account so you don’t have to remember to do it each month.

2 Create a plan to reduce your debt

If you’re having a hard time finding the money each month to pay off your debt, look for opportunities to cut your spending and put that toward your debt. Consider setting up automatic payments to help stay on track with your plan.

• You can start by making a list of what you owe in loans and credit cards. 
• Then rank your debt and decide which bills to pay off first or how much to pay down each one every month.

3 Protect your family’s financial future 

Putting an estate plan in place for your family’s future can feel uncomfortable and emotional, but it’s an important step, and you can accomplish this goal by taking smaller steps over time. 

• Consider buying life insurance or review the insurance you have in place now.
• Name the beneficiaries for your retirement accounts.
• Think about who should receive your other accounts and investments should something happen to you.
• Decide who should make healthcare and other decisions should something happen to you.

All these steps are part of an estate plan. Your estate is everything you own, and an estate plan lays out the different ways you can plan to help protect your loved ones when you’re no longer around to do it yourself. Even if you only have a savings account, you may need an estate plan.

Achieve your financial milestones

We all want to feel financially healthy, but this isn’t an easy thing to do all at once. If you break your bigger goals into smaller pieces, you can make it easier to achieve them.

1 “Personal Saving Rate,” U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-saving-rate.