Good article from across the pond highlighting reasons that we have so much trouble sticking to a budget. It reminded me of the importance of goal setting when it comes to achieving financial success. My savings goals (necessary to pay for college) got me up at 6am and on my bike so I could be at the caddy yard at Alpine Country Club in NJ by 6:45am to maximize my chances for work that day. Those savings goals along with power of habit.

With schools starting up across the country, why not have your students create a savings goal for the semester, build a budget to achieve that goal and then monitor their progress.  This article provides them with various reasons they may not succeed:

• Forgot your goal
• Temptation got better of you
• Didn’t track your spending (here are some apps that can help)
• Budget too tight
• Budget not tight enough
• Made it too difficult
• Didn’t adapt to problems

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Check out NGPF’s most popular activity:  Creating a Budget

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.