It's hard to stick to budgeting and saving goals — but easier if you don't rely on sheer willpower

When Bridget, 26, started saving for a trip to visit her boyfriend in India, she had a realisation: willpower alone wasn't going to get her the money she needed. We can apply a similar approach when we're trying to save money or budget, says Professor Charles Abraham from the University of Melbourne's School of Psychological Sciences. Getting back on track with your savings after a slip-up Photo shows Woman with money signs above her journalling in a notebook to depict getting back on track with your savings Budgeting and building good money habits is a bit like making a habit of exercise: it's rewarding, but isn't easy. What you need to know about your HELP debt Photo shows An illustration shows a ball with "student debt" written on it chained to a person's leg to depict paying back HECS debt. If you have a coffee every day and work 50 weeks a year, if you stopped, you're almost going to end up with enough money to fly to the UK," she says.