Just Start Saving (Part 3 of 3)
Just like going from sedentary to walking transforms your health, going from no savings to small savings transforms your financial future.
Think about what happens when someone goes from being entirely sedentary to taking regular walks.
They don’t suddenly run marathons. They don’t transform their body overnight. Their life expectancy doesn’t jump dramatically in week one.
But something profound shifts immediately:
Their energy increases,
Their mood improves, and
They sleep better.
Most importantly, they start seeing themselves as someone who exercises, as someone who takes care of their health.
The physical benefits take time. But the psychological transformation starts on day one.
Saving money works precisely the same way.
Are the patterns the same?
The gap between not exercising and exercising at all is more significant than the difference between good exercise and the best exercise. Similarly, saving money versus not saving anything is much more important than the difference between saving 8% and 12%.
Financial advisors will tell you that saving for retirement early matters more than almost any other economic decision because of compound interest. Someone who starts saving $200 a month at 25 will end up with significantly more at 65 than someone who starts saving $400 a month at 35.
The math is compelling. Everyone nods along. And then most people still don’t save anything.
Why?
Because the most significant barrier to retirement savings isn’t understanding compound interest. It’s never developing the saving habit at all.
Most people know they should save for retirement. They don’t because saving feels impossible, overwhelming, or too complicated.
Walk before you run
Nobody would tell a sedentary person they need to start training for a marathon immediately. That’s overwhelming and sets them up for failure.
But somehow we tell people with no savings that they need to immediately save 10-20% of their income, build 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund, maximize their 401(k)s, open a Roth IRA, and don’t forget the kids’ 529s.
That’s financial marathon training for someone who hasn’t learned to walk yet.
Start walking. Start with $50 per paycheck. Start with $25. Start with whatever amount feels so manageable that you know you can do it consistently.
At the start, the habit matters more than the amount.
The Identity Transformation
When someone starts walking regularly, they become “someone who exercises.” This identity shift changes behavior in ways unrelated to the walking itself.
They start taking the stairs more. They park further away. They think differently about their body and their health. They start seeing opportunities for movement everywhere.
The same thing happens with savings.
When you become “someone who saves,” you start making different financial decisions across the board. Not because you’re forcing yourself, but because you see yourself differently.
You question purchases more naturally. You look for deals without it feeling like deprivation. You start noticing opportunities to save more. You become curious about investment options.
All of this flows naturally from the identity shift, not from willpower or discipline.
Small Habits, Big Transformations
Someone who starts walking 15 minutes a day isn’t going to transform their health overnight. But they’re building the habit that eventually leads to running 5Ks, joining fitness classes, maybe training for marathons.
Someone who starts saving $50 per paycheck is building the financial habit that eventually leads to full emergency funds, maximized retirement accounts, and long-term wealth building.
But you can’t skip the walking stage. You can’t start with the marathon.
$50 per paycheck is $1,300 per year. That might not seem like much compared to financial advice to save 6 months of expenses. But it’s infinitely more than $0.
And more importantly, it’s building the psychological foundation that makes everything else possible.
The Retirement Connection
Financial advisors focus on the time value of money and compound interest. They’re not wrong—starting early with retirement savings creates exponential benefits over time.
But you can’t compound returns on money you never saved in the first place. Action always beats optimization. Starting small beats waiting until you can start “right.”
The person who walks 15 minutes a day for a year improves their life expectancy more than the person who buys a gym membership, researches optimal workout plans, and stops exercising after 3 or 4 weeks.
Progress Over Perfection
When you’re learning to exercise, you don’t need optimal form, perfect gear, or ideal conditions. You need to move your body consistently.
When you’re learning to save, you don’t need optimal savings rates, perfect account selections, or ideal financial circumstances. You need to save consistently.
The optimization comes later, after the habit is established. After you’ve proven to yourself that you can do this. After “someone who saves” has become part of your identity.
Then you can start asking questions about savings rates, retirement accounts, and emergency fund targets. Then you can optimize.
But not before. Optimizing before habit formation keeps you stuck in planning mode rather than action mode.
From Walking to Marathons
Not everyone who starts walking will run marathons, and not everyone who starts saving $50 per paycheck will become wealthy. That’s fine. Financial security is valuable in its own right.
But many people who start walking do eventually progress to running, cycling, hiking, or other forms of exercise they never imagined when they took their first walk.
And many people who start saving small amounts do eventually build emergency funds, maximize retirement accounts, and achieve financial goals they couldn’t imagine when they saved their first $50.
Start Your Walk Today
The transformation starts with the first step. Not the perfect step. Not the optimal step. Just the first step.
You don’t need to know where this journey ends. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need perfect conditions or optimal strategies.
You just need to start.
Pick an amount that feels manageable. Set up automatic transfers. Don’t touch it.
That’s it. That’s your walk. The marathon takes care of itself if you keep walking.
The emotional and psychological benefits begin immediately, even when the financial transformation takes time.
You’re not just saving money. You’re becoming someone different. Someone who saves. Someone who plans and is building toward a future that looks different from the past.
This content is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or therapeutic advice. Consider speaking with a qualified professional for personalized guidance.