How to get money together

You can create separate savings or investment accounts for your future goals and funnel the money there as soon as you get paid. You may even be able to set up an automatic transfer with your bank, so the money ends up in your savings account without your being tempted to spend it on other things. But paying yourself first could be as simple as putting loose pocket change in a jar every day — when it’s full, you deposit the money into your savings account.

In general, it’s smart to start saving as much as you comfortably can as soon as you can. And you’ll want to commit yourself to increasing the amount you save by a certain percentage each year, as well as to saving a certain chunk of any unexpected windfalls.

It’s important, however, to be sure your budget can handle the goals you’ve set for yourself. No good will come of setting goals that are too aggressive to be realistic. Everyone’s budget has a limit. If you put yours under strain by forcing yourself to live on less than is reasonable, you’re setting yourself up for failure. One solution may be to set more realistic deadlines for your goals by moving them back a year or two. Then again, you may also discover that you’re able to meet your goals more quickly than you initially thought because you’re earning more than you expected in your job, spending less, or realizing more from your investments.

And, just as you take a careful look at what you’re spending when you’re trying to get your budget in shape, you may want to see if there’s a way to meet your goals faster. An item-by-item review of your expenses may reveal ways you could save more by making simple adjustments to your lifestyle — downloading only that one song you really wanted instead of buying the full-priced CD, shopping for better bargains on your groceries, eating in more, renting movies instead of watching them in the theater, and so on. Then it’s up to you to decide which adjustments you’re willing to make to meet your goals, and which things in life you just can’t give up.