Have Lofty Savings Goals for 2024? Make This Essential Move Now

It's hard to believe that 2023 is rapidly winding down. But pretty soon, you'll be toasting to the new year and gearing up to tackle 2024 in full force.

You might have some pretty aggressive savings goals for 2024. Maybe you want to sock away another $10,000 for a down payment to buy a home. Maybe your car has seen better days, but you don't want to finance one while auto loan rates are so high -- so you're trying to save another $15,000 to buy a vehicle outright.

No matter what your savings goals look like, though, there's one easy step you can take now to make them more attainable. And it's a move worth making if you've struggled to meet your savings goals in the past.

It's all about automation

When many people try to save more money, they often tell themselves, "Well, I'll try to minimize my spending during the month so I'm able to move more money into my savings at the end of the month."

That doesn't always work out so well. You might have every intention of consistently saving $250 a month. But if you're pressured into going to a concert where tickets cost $200, suddenly, there goes the bulk of your savings that month.

That's why a better bet is really to transfer the money you want to put into savings at the start of the month, before you get a chance to spend it. To put it another way, instead of spending your money and then hoping there's enough left for your savings at the end of the month, save that money from the start and force yourself to make the most of whatever sum you have left.

Even more importantly, set up an automatic transfer in the coming weeks so that beginning in January, money moves out of your checking account and into your savings account off the bat. That way, forgetting to make a transfer won't come into play.

Figure out what you can afford

Automating your savings is a good idea in theory. But you can't leave yourself with inadequate funds to pay your essential bills.

Let's say you bring home $2,500 a month and absolutely need $2,200 of that to pay your essential expenses. You might really want to save $500 a month in 2024. But it wouldn't be smart to set up an automatic transfer of $500 at the start of each month knowing that's going to leave you short. Instead, the maximum amount you should move over automatically is the sum that represents your non-essential expenses -- things like leisure spending.

Set yourself up to meet your savings goals

Many people have big goals for 2024. A good 41% of Americans, for example, are aiming to buy a home in the new year, according to Architectural Digest.

Automating your savings is a great way to make your goal happen. But go about the process carefully. You won't be doing yourself any favors if you keep sending money into your savings only to have to claw it back when you realize you've transferred too much and now can't make rent.