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GLOBE MAGAZINE

How to set a goal to save more money this year

Brainstorm small step you can take to save cash — and then decide which ones you’ll really do.

Illustration by Jason Schneider for The Boston Globe

If you want to save more money, please know there isn’t just one perfect way. Instead, find what works for you. Here’s how in four steps:

1) Make a list of all the actions you might take to save money. You’re not committing to any of these — you’re just making a list. Be creative and have fun. Try to come up with 15 items.

2) Put a star by each item that would be effective — the action would lead to more savings. Don’t think about if you want to do the action, just think about impact.

3) Now shift gears and be realistic. Circle each item on your list you could get yourself to do. You’ll see most of the items you circle will be easy.

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4) Finally, find all the items with both stars and circles. I call those “golden behaviors.” You focus on those, and you forget the rest.

READ MORE ADVICE ON STICKING WITH YOUR RESOLUTIONS:

1. How to set a goal to save more money this year

2. Six ways to be a better friend in 2020

3. If you want to read more, you don’t need to start with Shakespeare

4. Waste less time on your phone with this simple trick

5. Exercise made easy: The hidden power of taking a walk

6. How to be kinder in Boston, America’s fifth rudest city

7. What’s more important than a barbell for exercise? A pencil

8. Four realistic steps to eating healthier in 2020

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BJ Fogg founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and teaches industry innovators about human behavior. He is the author of the new book “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything,” and has created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.

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