Why You Deserve a Dream Bucket Even If You’re Just Making Ends Meet

In his latest bestseller, Money Master The Game, Tony Robbins encourages his readers to create a dream bucket for themselves. This is basically a piggy bank for your dreams where you save the money that will finance that things you’ve secretly been holding inside your heart. Maybe it’s money to go back to school and finally get a degree, go on an amazing vacation, start a charity organization, or buy season tickets to the opera.

If you are currently just trying to make ends meet, this dream may seem like a pure fantasy. It isn’t! With a smart savings plan, you can start filling up your dream bucket faster than you’d imagine.

Why You Deserve a Dream Bucket

If you struggle to cover all your bills or are facing mounting credit card debt, it may seem silly or even irresponsible to start putting money away for a grand dream.

But that’s exactly when you need a dream bucket. You need to save for something that will let you enjoy at least some of the fruits of your labor. A dream bucket is a reward and something that gives the hours you spend working a little more meaning. If your dream is something like getting a college degree or buying your first home, it can also dramatically improve your life!

How to Start a Dream Bucket

Starting a dream bucket is as easy as opening up a savings account at your local bank on online. Now that the bank account is open, you’ll need to start putting something inside it. This step is also easier than you might think. Pick an amount that you can afford to put into the account every month, no matter how small it is. That number may be just $100 or even $25. It doesn’t matter. Pick a number and then hold yourself responsible for funding your dream by creating an automatic withdrawal from your checking account into your savings account each month.

That withdrawal may sting for the first month or two, but then you’ll get used to that money leaving your account and won’t even notice that it is gone. Suddenly, you are doing the impossible, covering your bills just like before AND saving in your dream bucket at the same time.

Making the Dream Come True

The dream bucket isn’t magical. If you need $40,000 for a down payment on a house, saving $25 a month isn’t going to get you there anytime soon, but there are things you can do to help your dreams come true:

• Moderate your dream: Maybe your dream of all dreams is to own your own island one day. That’s a superb dream, but also an expensive one. If you can only put away $100 a month, your dream will be extremely difficult to reach. Instead, consider saving for a dream that is reachable, like a two week island vacation, which you can easily save for in three to five years.
• Invest: Consider making your savings work for you by investing your dream bucket. If you plan on using your money in the short term, then even a money market account can net you a little extra interest in relative safety. If the finish line is a little farther out, perhaps investing in stocks is worth considering.
• Increase your savings: Saving $25 a month won’t move you to your dream at a very fast rate, but it’s a start. The next time you get a raise, consider upping your dream contribution from $25 to $50 a month. You won’t even feel the difference, but you just doubled the amount you are saving and cut your time horizon in half. Any time extra money comes your way – a tax return, payment on a side job, even birthday money — consider sticking at least a portion into your dream bucket.

Remember that at the end of the day, money is just paper. It is a means to an end. If you don’t have a dream bucket, what is all your money doing for you? Yes, it is important to save for retirement and to create a rainy day fund for emergencies, but you can also squirrel away something in your dream bucket to help fulfill your life’s purpose and to bring you joy.

Learn more about how women can save and invest smart at WIFE.org.