For some of you, this is the spark that accelerates you to the path of financial freedom. But for others, the journey to financial freedom may be filled with detours to temptation.

We’ve all been there, living for the moment – with a shiny new watch, those latest edition AirPods, a new iPhone, or a brand-new TV – which take priority over saving for the month.

The gap between your intention and action may seem like a wide gulf. You may think your willpower does not stand a chance, but what if there is a way to future-proof your savings before you find a way to spend your next paycheck? This way, you outsmart temptation by being accountable and sustaining the momentum to build your financial future. This is where commitment devices can make a difference.

Getting started: Understanding Commitment Devices

The word ‘device’ here refers to an external factor that supports your commitment but holds you accountable as well. It could be anything – a friend, an app, your phone or even a financial product.

The ‘science’ of commitment devices is central to your own behaviour change.

To be fair, most of your payments today are commitments. A portion of your paycheck may be dedicated to pre-dated payments. Products like a mortgage, loan or credit card have in-built commitment devices. Remember how you were asked to pre-schedule a repayment date? That is a real-life example of a commitment device.

Setting up payment reminders, switching to automatic repayment such as direct debit or other systems are commitment devices too.

In a nutshell, commitment devices are strategies or action plans where you can lock in your savings aspirations and make it harder to succumb to temptation and spend on other things.

• Making Financial Commitments

Thanks to commitment devices, financial planning becomes easier. Enablers like automatic transfers to savings accounts or automatic loan repayments are effective in locking up your money for a fixed amount of time. An automatic deduction to your savings account leaves you with a fixed spending budget and infinite peace of mind.

Besides savings, commitment devices also help you track spending and plan for a monthly budget. These external tools make it easier to stick to your commitment by giving you strategies to meet your financial goals, offer account balance tracking to give you an exact picture of your spending and offer tools to set realistic goals and accomplish them with focus and determination.

• Tapping the Psyche

Here’s another technique to form a commitment with yourself – make a contract. Imagine your happier, wealthier, stress-free future self without any of the pains you are going through to repay debts. Or picture yourself secure with a financial future that’s enjoyable, or a time when you do not have to worry about the finances when you change your career. Looks good, doesn’t it? Make a pledge with that future self and even sign a contract for good measure. Look at this contract from time to time and remind yourself of reaching that state of mind.

• Bring in the Connections

If signing a contract with yourself seems too odd, you can involve a friend or a family member as a commitment device. You could arrange to be charged a penalty for not fulfilling your goal. Here the social and psychological aspects of commitment come into play.

• Budgeting

Budgets are well known tools in financial wellbeing. They are simple, easy to set up and used for specific types of expenses. By creating separate budgets for different activities such as eating out, travel, shopping, and so on, you are creating a commitment device of your choice. You could also limit the spending on one card, or use it for one specific activity, or transfer a portion of money to a savings account before you use that card.

With partners, the joint responsibility will propel you ahead to stick to budget. From making lists to creating spreadsheets that are easy to track, this activity gives you both a better understanding of your finances and the seriousness of achieving your goals together. Websites and phone apps among other tools can help you with this too, leading us to the technology side of commitment devices.

• Leveraging Technology

Technology works positively for us, because the reminders and auto payments work as commitment devices that keep you on track. Without a doubt, technology can help you in your pursuit of a secure financial future. There are a plethora of options available to help you, including tools that round up the amount that you spend and transfer the difference to a savings account. Through this app, you can save every time you spend because it creates a barrier – you will think twice before you mindlessly blow your paycheck. There are many ways to create commitment devices using physical barriers, friends, family, technology and so on.

The end goal is to save, and that motivation should come from you. To stay positive and stress-free, you should be the one deciding the barrier you need to make your future financially secure. Choose wisely, aim for consistency and you will attain your goals.