Hi Reader!

Happy June! Today, I want to share a little about my life (and my budget) to show you the power of putting names to our goals.

By the time this reaches you, I will be off adventuring in Italy. 😄 My husband and I have been dreaming of this trip since our wedding. It was supposed to be our honeymoon, but world events and a pandemic had other plans.

Even though we had a lovely honeymoon, the Italy trip still called to us. We (mostly my wonderful husband) had put together an awesome itinerary, and we had been looking forward to going. So we created an "Italy 2.0" category in our budget and started setting money aside.

And we kept it there. Through years of income changes and unexpected expenses, Italy stayed put. We rolled with the punches, moving money between categories to cover whatever life threw at us, but Italy was always there, quietly growing.

Would it have survived our budget changes if we'd just called it "vacation" or lumped it into general savings? Honestly, I don't think so. I think it would have gotten lost in the shuffle, and we'd have found ourselves starting from $0 all over again someday.

But because we named it, and because it mattered to us, we protected it. We made sacrifices in other areas. And now we get to say "Ciao, Italia!"​
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It may seem simple, almost silly, but don’t just name your savings - name your dreams. You can do this by adding a dedicated category to your budget, or by using the "buckets" or "vaults" feature that many savings accounts offer. How many dreams are you sitting on right now? You might be surprised where a name change and a little intention can take you.

Want to learn how to set this up for your own goals? Schedule a FREE Penny for Your Thoughts Q&A Call​

Remember, small change adds up. Step by step and penny by penny, we’re building a better life. Have a shiny day!

Laura

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