Money Mindset Coach Shares Her 5-Step Plan To Pay Yourself First In 2025
Let this be the year you transform you financial state for the better.
Voronaman | Shutterstock.com The start of the new year is the perfect time to reset your financial mindset. Let go of the unhealthy spending habits of 2024 and set yourself up for success in 2025.
Money mindset coach and finance writer Vee shared a 5-step plan to help you do just that. While her suggested changes are relatively small, they will have a big impact.
Here are the 5 steps to pay yourself first in 2025:
1. Treat your savings account like a bill.
“Use a little trickery,” Vee advised. “Treat your savings account like it was a bill that you had no choice but to pay.”
"Imagine that your rent or your mortgage were to go up $25 a month," Vee continued. “You might not like that … but you're gonna pay it because you don't wanna end out on the street.”
She recommended putting $25 into your savings account immediately upon being paid. Don't allow yourself the option to skip a month here and there and instead commit to the payment, like you do any other bill. Eventually, this will add up and your savings account will flourish.
2. Direct deposit into your savings.
Adjusting how you get paid is yet another way to become more financially responsible.
“Whatever you're putting aside every two weeks, you wanna have it so it's automatically deposited into your savings account,” Vee suggested. By doing so, you save yourself from the temptation of spending that money on frivolous things. It also prevents you from forgetting to put aside your funds as it does so automatically.
3. Join a roundup program.
A lot of banks have a roundup program. This system allows you to round up the price of your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and have that extra change deposited into a savings account.
At the time of purchase, it's a negligent amount — just a few cents. Yet over time, it can easily add up and help you save money without even noticing.
“I’ve been able to save thousands of dollars without even thinking about it,” Vee shared. “I promise you you won't even miss the money.”
4. Cancel a subscription and 'save' the savings.
A 2024 survey conducted on behalf of Self Financial found that almost 86% of Americans have "at least one paid subscription going unused each month" with the monthly average value of unused paid subscriptions being $32.84.
Canceling at least one such subscription and redirecting that money into your savings account is a great way to save money that you clearly haven't missed.
If you want to take it a step further, compile a list of all the monthly subscriptions you have and ask yourself how many you truly need. Evaluate which subscriptions are actually worth it and cut out the ones that aren't.
5. Challenge yourself.
fizkes | Shutterstock
"Whatever you're saving now, every few months you're going to step it up a little bit, and you're going to keep doing this for as long as you can," Vee advised.
If you commit to making these small changes now, by the time 2025 ends, you will have transformed your savings.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.