Chapter 15: The Mechanics of Goal-Setting

Money Made Human Podcast · Oct 15, 2026 · 13m

Say your goal is to save $500 a month. Then an unexpected expense comes up, and that month you only manage $400. You still saved $400, but because you missed the number, it feels like it didn't count. If you've been trying to figure out how to reach your financial goals and you keep ending up right there, the fix is in how the goal is set up.

Pass/fail thinking is why so many goals fall apart the first time life gets messy. You update your budget every day for a week, miss one day, and you don't restart. You just stop. With Good-Better-Best, you set three goals instead of one. A Good goal is…