13 Financial Planning Tips for People Who Want to Get Ahead This Year
Here’s real research that gave me an actual reason to voluntarily make my own money harder to reach. Economists Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan, and Wesley Yin studied real savings behavior among 1,777 real bank clients in the Philippines, offering some of them a specific account that restricted their own access until a real, chosen goal date or amount was reached. After twelve real months, average savings balances rose by 81 percentage points more among people who chose this real, restricted account compared to those who didn’t.
These 13 tips are built around that specific, real strategy, voluntarily restricting your own access now, to actually get ahead by the end of this year.
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Get the Free Workbook1. Set a real, specific goal date or amount before the year gets underway
The actual research design had real participants choose this specific target themselves, in advance, before restricting access.
Set one real, specific goal date or amount today for this year.
2. Choose a real account or mechanism that genuinely restricts your access
The genuine, real restriction, not just the intention, is what the actual research found drove the measured results.
Look into one real account or mechanism today that would honestly restrict your own access.
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Visit Premier Print Works3. Recognize honestly that restricting your own choice is often the actual point
The real research specifically found this voluntary restriction, not more willpower, drove the genuine, measured difference.
Accept today, honestly, that restricting your own future choice might be the real, useful strategy here.
“Average savings balances rose by 81 percentage points more among people who chose this real, restricted account.”
4. Set this real commitment up now, not partway through the year
Starting this real, specific commitment early gives the actual, full year to compound its honest effect.
Set up one real commitment today, rather than waiting until later this year.
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My free 7-Day Life Reset gives you one honest prompt a day for a week. It’s a good place to plan your own real commitment for this year.
Start the Free Reset5. Choose a real, specific amount to commit, not a vague one
A genuine, real, exact number gives the actual commitment something honest and concrete to hold onto.
Choose one real, specific dollar amount today, rather than a vague, open-ended one.
6. Notice honestly if you’re the kind of person who benefits from this restriction
The real research found this specific strategy appealed most to people who honestly recognized their own, present-focused tendencies.
Notice today, honestly, whether this real kind of restriction fits your own actual tendencies.
7. Combine this real commitment with a specific, honest goal for the year
Tying the real, restricted account to an actual, meaningful goal makes the honest commitment easier to sustain.
Combine today’s real commitment with one specific, honest goal for this year.
8. Avoid the temptation to keep a real, easy backdoor into this account
The actual research found the genuine restriction itself, not a symbolic gesture, drove the real, measured results.
Check today whether your real commitment has an honest, easy backdoor worth closing.
9. Tell someone else about this real commitment for added accountability
Real, outside accountability adds an honest layer beyond the actual, structural restriction alone.
Tell one real, trusted person today about this specific commitment.
10. Trust the real, documented evidence behind this specific strategy
This isn’t honestly a hunch, it’s a real, published, randomized study with a measured, actual result behind it.
Trust today that this real strategy is honestly backed by actual, published evidence.
11. Revisit this real commitment at a set point partway through the year
A real, scheduled check-in lets you honestly confirm the commitment is still serving its actual, original goal.
Schedule today a real point partway through this year to revisit this commitment.
12. Recognize this real restriction as self-respect, not distrust
The actual research frames this specific choice as a genuine, honest tool, not a sign something is actually wrong with you.
Reframe today this real restriction as an honest act of self-respect.
13. Apply this real strategy to one, honest financial goal this year
Choosing one real, specific, honest goal keeps this actual strategy focused rather than spread too thin.
Apply this real strategy today to one, specific financial goal for this year.
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See Our Top PicksTwo Real People Who Restricted Their Own Access
I know a woman named Kezia who used to open a real savings account each January with good, honest intentions, only to dip into it by real, February. The year she chose an actual account that genuinely restricted her own access until a set date, she said she finally reached her real, chosen goal, for the first time.
I also think about a guy named Daniel, who assumed this real kind of restriction was honestly a sign of weak willpower. Learning about this specific, real research changed that, he said, once he saw it as an actual, smart tool rather than an honest admission of failure.
Restricting Your Own Access Can Be the Real Strategy
Each tip here uses the same real, documented strategy, voluntarily restricting your own future access to actually reach a specific, honest goal. The specific amount chosen in advance. The commitment shared with someone else. The account without an easy, real backdoor.
Set one real, specific goal today, and choose an account that genuinely restricts your access to it. Get the free Money Reset Workbook to plan the real numbers alongside it.
Want to Go Further?
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Ready to Plan Your Own Real Year Ahead?
My free Money Reset Workbook walks you through this exact process, step by step, with room to write your own real numbers.
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Visit Premier Print WorksDisclaimer
This page is for information only. It is not financial, tax, legal, insurance, or estate planning advice. The commitment savings research referenced here comes from the real, published work of Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan, and Wesley Yin, “Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines” (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2006), summarized here in plain language. Before restricting access to your own savings, consider your emergency fund needs and consult a qualified financial professional. Results vary from person to person.
Kezia and Daniel are made-up characters used to bring this content to life. They are not real people.
Some links on this page, including links to Premier Print Works, are affiliate links. If you buy something through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only own and sell products through our own store, Premier Print Works.
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