Whether you are only starting out your financial growth journey or can already see the finish-line, a solid game plan is necessary for you to endure, stay the course, and finish strong.

While the journey is never easy, the right strategy and digital tools can boost your game plan and help you unlock your dreams and aspirations.

That’s why experts at FNB nav» have put together the ultimate cheat sheet to help you level-up and score big with your financial goals.

1. Start with the end in mind

Visualisation is a celebrated mental technique used by gamers and athletes alike. It conditions their brains for successful performance. Think of it like a mental rehearsal that conditions and prepares them for every step of the race or game – all the way until the moment they victoriously lift their trophies.

“Before you embark on achieving any financial goal, it’s just as important to visualise the finish line. When you know what you’re striving for, you can strategise accordingly,” says Jolandé Duvenage, FNB’s Chief Imagineer for nav».

“That’s why we’ve intentionally made it easy to visualise your money goals on the FNB Banking App through nav» Money - a central hub with tools that helps you to get a pulse on your financial health and even track your financial goals. In fact, since launch in 2016, we’ve seen more than five million nav» Money users, of which one million users joined in the past 12 months.”

2. Set mini financial missions to stay motivated and build your money management experience

Once you’ve visualised yourself as a financial champion, thanks to your game plan, you’re going to need to stay motivated while building your personal finance management experience. Looking to invest in your first property can be a daunting aspiration, for example.

As such, it’s important to approach your journey to home ownership in bite-size steps.“If you know that you will need to put down a deposit to secure your dream home, the first step towards achieving that end goal might be for you to start saving a set amount of money per month,” highlights Duvenage.

“In that case, you need to start exercising your savings muscle and make it an everyday habit. Setting that small savings goal for yourself, and making it a habit, will ensure that you endure the journey to your dream in the long run.”

Luckily, budgeting for personal goals is much easier with tools like Smart Budget (to keep your monthly spending in check) and Savings Goals available on FNB’s nav» Money, which allows you to set a financial goal and track your progress towards it.

“To date, we’ve seen over 1.5 million customers use tools like Smart Budget on nav» Money. In addition, customers have collectively pledged to save more than R1.3 billion. This could be a game changer for many, securing a more sustained and empowered future.” adds Duvenage.

3. Don’t go it alone

Every champion athlete has an expert coach to guide him or her through training, nutrition, skills and mental fortitude. It’s no different in your journey towards achieving your financial wellness and aspirations. Innovative FNB tools were built for the exact same purpose.“

The FNB Money Coach on nav» Money, allows you to get personalised scores which help you track how well you are doing on your financial journey. More interestingly, we’ve also made it a point to include engaging content like podcasts, quick tips, and quizzes to help you achieve your goals.

To date, we’ve seen more than 1 million missions completed with Money Coach, and more than 6.2 million activities like articles read, infographics seen, and quizzes completed.”Your fulfilled and accomplished future financial self is waiting. And the best part?

You’re in control of how far you go. Whether you’re working towards a dream, saving for a rainy day, preparing to buy a car, planning on investing in property, have plans of gaining more customers for your business, gamifying your financial journey makes it way more fun and effective. So, what’s your first move?