Importance of Celebrating Savings Successes & Milestones

Celebrations come in many shapes and sizes. We celebrate big special events in our lives like birthdays, new jobs, and weddings. We also have smaller celebrations, like a fist pump after a successful presentation or maybe an ice cream treat to mark the beginning of summer.  

Celebrations are important. 

  • They mark occasions, and those involved in them, as special and out of the ordinary.  
  • They give us something to look forward to and a focus for the future. 
  • Psychologically, celebrating achievements can both help us feel good about the current achievement AND encourage us to move towards our next goal.

Therefore, we should celebrate meeting our savings goals.  

Here’s how.

But wait? What are savings goals and milestones? Check out this article to learn more about savings goals: Why you need both Major and Bite-sized Savings Goals

Create a visual tool:

  • Break down your savings goal into smaller pieces or mark the completion of a phase of your goal. For example, if the goal is to save $1,000 more in your savings, then every $250 could be a milestone. Reach four $250 milestones, and you’ve met your $1,000 goal.
  • It helps to visualize a milestone, so create a visual tool. For example, a picture of the item you’re saving for and color it in or add a piece to it each time you meet a milestone. You could draw a mountain with the milestones/phases and move a little mountain climber up the mountain as you reach your milestones. 

Post the visual tool somewhere where you’ll see it frequently.  

Celebrate when you reach a milestone. Your milestone celebration is as unique as you are.

First, clearly check it off your visual tracking tool with your support team.  

  • If you’re single, include a trusted family member or friend in your celebration.
  • A family is a team, and everyone is a part of the team, even kids. If you have a family savings goal, let your children know about it. It may make it easier to say yes to savings and no to the drive-thru meal they’ve begged for. Most importantly, it will help them see at an early age the benefit of making choices to meet goals.   

Then, do something special to mark the occasion:

  • Dance your “milestone dance” you made up specifically for this occasion 
  • Stream or go see a movie you’ve been waiting to see
  • Enjoy a meal out at your favorite pizza/kabob/vegan/fill-in-the-blank place
  • Make a trip to a special park or playground

Take some time now to break your savings goal into smaller milestones and create a visual tool to mark your progress. Be sure to celebrate—in your own unique way—when you reach a milestone.  One step at a time.