It’s January 15th. You made some resolutions early this year to invest, and you’ve even downloaded Bamboo or Chaka. Have registered on the PiggyVest app to finally start saving. You have created a budget and plan to stick to it. However, you’re already exceeding your specified percentages; the apps that have been downloaded since then have been waiting to be used. It seems like you’re drifting and losing the motivation you had at the start of the year.
Now you’re thinking of how to get more motivated to get on track with what you planned, because to be honest, these are great goals, and you would like to hit them and move to the next phase.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You’re human, and your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
Why January Always Looks Like This
There’s a good reason we always feel like conquering the world on January 1st. Behavioral economists call it the “fresh start effect“.
Fresh start effect is the psychological boost we get from temporal landmarks like New Year’s, birthdays, New beginnings, and some Mondays.
These moments make us feel like we’re turning a new page, becoming a new person, or revamping our lives, but does it last long enough to hit the goals we set?
Research from the University of Scranton suggests that only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions. 8% is really wild!
For money goals specifically, the failure rate is even higher. By February, some of us quietly abandoned our ambitious financial plans, promising ourselves we’ll try next January or sometime later in the year when the stars align.
However, what most people don’t pay attention to is that the issue here isn’t willpower; you already have that. Rather, you’re fighting against how your brain works.
Let’s explore this in-depth so you can hit your financial goals in 2026.
The Three Psychological Traps
Trap #1: Motivation is a Terrible Long-Term Strategy
We treat motivation like it’s a sustainable fuel source we can run with, but it’s more like a matchstick; it burns bright and fast, and in seconds, it’s gone. Your January 1st enthusiasm can get you to download an expense tracking app, but it won’t get you to open it on a random quiet Tuesday in March when you’re just tired.
Relying on motivation is like trying to drive cross-country on 10 litres of fuel. It was never going to work.
Trap #2: The All-or-Nothing Thinking Kills Progress
Let’s say you set a goal to save ₦500 every month. January goes well. February did not go so well because something unplanned came up, so you only managed to save ₦200. Then it begins to feel like you’ve failed, so why bother saving anything in March
This is called the “what-the-hell effect” in psychology (funny name), otherwise called “The Setback Effect”. One deviation from perfection makes us throw the whole plan out the window. It’s the same reason one missed gym session becomes a month of inactivity.
With money, this trap is especially intense because our financial lives are unpredictable. Car repairs happen. Laptop chargers burn. Medical bills arrive. Life doesn’t care about resolutions.
Trap #3: Delayed Gratification Doesn’t Feel Good
Your brain releases dopamine when you get rewards. And your brain really likes these dopamine hits.
Buying those shoes right now = Instant dopamine hit. GO FOR IT!
Having an extra ₦5,000,000 in retirement = No dopamine hit. DORRHH, WE’LL DO IT LATER.
This is why you can know, intellectually, that you should save more but still find yourself clicking “complete purchase” on things you don’t really need.
The Solution: Start Building Systems Instead
Successful people aren’t more motivated than you. They’ve just built systems that work regardless of how they feel on any given day.
A resolution is a goal. A system is a process that sustains the progress, ensuring the goal is reached.
“Save $10,000 this year” = Resolution
“Automatically transfer $400 to savings every payday” = System.
One doesn’t acknowledge the down days and the days when emotions will be higher, and you would rather spend than save. It requires you to make the right choice every single day/month.
The other understands you are human and will most likely fail, therefore requires you to make the right choice once, then let automation handle the rest.
Four Systems That Can Actually Help
System 1: Automate Everything You Can
Set up automatic transfers to savings the day after your paycheck hits. Not when you “have extra money”, you will never have extra money. Make the transfer automatic, then build your spending life around what’s left.
The same goes for retirement contributions and bill payments. Every financial decision you automate is one less opportunity for your tired brain to make a choice you’ll regret later.
System 2: Make Bad Choices Harder
Start with the little things that realistically end the bad choices you’re dealing with.
You can unfollow Instagram shops and those “vendor pages” that always have “flash sales.”
Fill fuel in smaller amounts if a full tank makes you drive unnecessarily.
Introduce some friction that gives your brain time to ask, “Do I actually want this, or am I just bored?”
System 3: Track One Number
Forget complicated budgets with seventeen categories. Just track one number that matters to you. Maybe it’s your savings rate or your net worth or even how much other streams of income are making for you.
If you are looking to build new streams of income this year, read this simplified guide to make it easier.
Check it once a week. Watch it change over time. You’ll start making better decisions naturally because you’ve made the invisible visible.
System 4: Use If-Then Planning
This is called implementation intention in psychology research, and it’s absurdly effective. Instead of vague goals, create specific if-then rules.
- “If I withdraw cash, then I only take out my weekly budget amount, not ‘just in case’ money.”
- “If I get a bonus or money gift, then 60% goes to savings before I spend any of it.”
- “If I’m tempted to order delivery, then I check what’s already in my fridge first.”
These rules make decisions for you in advance, so you’re not relying on willpower at the moment.
Your Assignment This Week
Forget about reviewing your entire financial life. Simply do this:
Pick one money behavior you want to change. Then, turn it into a system using the four strategies above.
The secret to financial success isn’t found in a moment of January inspiration. It’s built in the boring, automatic systems that work even when you don’t feel like it.
What’s one financial system you’re going to build this week? Let us know in the comments.