Build Better Money Habits—Without Willpower!
Willpower is overrated. I’d like to think I can power through temptation, but let’s be real—it’s exhausting. If you've ever told yourself “I just need to try harder” and then found yourself right back in an old habit, you're not alone.
Luckily, there’s an easier way! Instead of relying solely on willpower, you can set up your environment to make good habits easier and bad habits harder. It’s a concept from Atomic Habits by James Clear, and it has changed the way I approach everything—from my finances to my daily routines.
The Sweet Tooth Experiment 🍪: How I Ate a Little Less Dessert
Take my sweet tooth, for example. I LOVE dessert. Moderation is great in theory, but harder in practice. So instead of relying purely on willpower to eat sweets in moderation, I decided to try out the "make it harder" principle, with the goal of decreasing the frequency with which I eat dessert (like, maybe down to once per day 😊):
So I moved my desserts to the back of the top pantry shelf—the one I can’t reach without a step stool. Now when I want dessert, I have to:
Get the step stool from the front closet
Set it up in the pantry
Retrieve the dessert
Put everything back
Annoying? Yes. Effective? Surprisingly, also yes. Sometimes the 20-second hassle stops me from grabbing dessert altogether. Did it stop me from ever eating dessert? Absolutely not. But it did stop me a few times, and that’s a win!
Small Changes You Can Try Today
I love helping my financial coaching clients find small changes like these that make managing money feel easier—without relying on willpower alone. Here are some ideas you can try today:
Want to curb spending? 🚚🛍️
Unsubscribe from marketing emails to remove temptation
Delete shopping apps from your phone for a less accessible trigger
Manually log in to shopping websites instead of saving your credentials or using a password manager
Don’t save credit card information on websites, forcing yourself to manually enter it every time (how annoying!)
Want to spend less on takeout? 🍴
Plan and prep your meals for the week to save time and money
Pack snacks or lunches for work or outings to avoid last-minute takeout spending
Want to build your savings? 💵
Set up an automatic transfer to your savings account on payday, or once a week if your income is variable—even $25 a week adds up to $1,300 in a year!
Keep your savings in a separate account to reduce the temptation to dip into it for daily expenses
Want to make spending money harder? 💳💵
Use cash instead of a credit card to make spending less convenient
The Takeaway: Make Good Habits Easier & Bad Habits Harder
Small changes might seem trivial, but can add up to big results. By making positive money habits easier and unwanted behaviors harder, you’re able to achieve your goals without relying purely on willpower.
What’s one small change you’re committing to today? Maybe you’ll finally delete that shopping app, meal prep this weekend, or set up an automatic savings transfer.
I’d love to hear—what’s one small change you’re trying this week? Let me know in the comments! And if you know someone who’s tired of relying on willpower, please share this post with them!
