Creating a Financial Vision Board

By Rebecca Lake. January 27, 2025 · 9 minute read

This content may include information about products, features, and/or services that SoFi does not provide and is intended to be educational in nature.

Creating a Financial Vision Board

A financial or money vision board can serve as a regular visual reminder of what you’re hoping to achieve. Creating a money vision board can help you stay motivated if you have some big (or small) financial milestones you’re working toward. That might mean culling images and quotes about owning your first home to inspire you, or it could be pictures of the trip to Hawaii you’re saving for.

Visualization can help you develop the mindset and focus you need to crush your money goals. Here’s advice on how to create a financial vision board.

Key Points

•   To create a money vision board, start by defining specific financial goals such as debt repayment, home savings, or retirement planning.

•   Choose between a digital or physical board, using appropriate platforms or materials.

•   Select images and words that align with your financial aspirations and organize them inspirationally.

•   Regularly review and update the board to reflect achieved goals or financial changes.

•   Place the money vision board in a visible location to stay motivated and focused on financial goals.

Understanding Money Vision Boards and Their Purpose


A vision board is a collection of images, quotes, phrases, and words that reflect what you want your ideal life to look like. A money or financial vision board (sometimes called a wealth vision board) is specifically related to what you’d like to achieve financially.

In theory, visualization is meant to help you harness the mental power to reach savings goals. The idea is that if you can visualize yourself doing something in your head, that can help you to do it in real life.1

Using a vision board for money goals could help you overcome mental roadblocks that may have prevented you from achieving them. For example, say you’ve always struggled to save money. You might use a savings vision board to picture what your life would look like when you’re in the habit of setting aside money regularly.

Steps to Create Your Financial Vision Board


Creating a money vision board is a fairly simple process. You first decide what goals to include in your board and then find images that reflect the lifestyle you’re working toward.

Defining Your Financial Goals


The first step in this process is creating your vision board financial goals. When it comes to setting financial goals, the more detailed you can be, the better.

Ask yourself what you want to achieve with your money. If nothing is coming to you, here are some money vision board ideas to get your creativity flowing.

I want to…

•  Pay off $10,000 in credit card debt in the next 12 months

•  Save $25,000 toward a down payment on a home

•  Establish a savings account to serve as an emergency fund and contribute to it regularly

•  Start an online business so I can quit my job

•  Max out my 401(k) every year

•  Retire at age 50 and travel full-time

The beauty of a financial vision board is that you can shape it around whatever goals speak to you the most. Your vision board can include small and big goals (say, buying a new phone or buying a house) or long and short-term financial goals. It’s entirely up to you to decide what your ideal financial future looks like.

Recommended: Average Savings by Age

Gathering Materials and Images


Once you have some ideas for your financial vision board, it’s time to start curating your images. How you complete this step will depend on whether you’re creating a physical or digital vision board.

If you’re creating a digital money vision board, then you might draw your images from:

•  Pinterest

•  Instagram and other social media platforms

•  Digital magazines

•  Free stock photography websites

•  Search engines

Choose a spot to organize your image files in one place. You may download them to a specific folder on your computer or phone, or upload them to an online vision board platform.

If you prefer a physical vision board, you’ll need something to attach your images to. That could be a piece of cardstock, poster board, cardboard; anything that’s firm enough and large enough to hold your collage will do. You’ll also need scissors and glue.

Where can you look for images? Magazines are an excellent resource but you may also thumb through books or use personal photos you’ve taken. You could also print out images you find online.

What should you be looking for? Consider using these tips to decide which images to collect.

•  Pick anything that speaks to you, even if you’re unsure whether the image will make it to your final collage.

•  Be open to different image sizes, colors, and content. Words and phrases can work well, too.

•  Once you’ve collected all your images, look at each one and ask yourself how it connects to your goals.

•  Choose the images that resonate most with your overall vision.

Now, how should you arrange your images and words? It’s entirely up to you. You might group images according to whether they relate to a short-, mid-, or long-term goal. Or you might group them by color to create a harmonious aesthetic. Whatever appeals you and makes your financial goals visible will do.

If you need some financial vision board examples, a simple online search can turn up plenty of results that you can use as inspiration.

Recommended: Types of Savings Accounts

Earn up to 3.80% APY with a high-yield savings account from SoFi.

No account or monthly fees. No minimum balance.

9x the national average savings account rate.

Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance.

Sort savings into Vaults, auto save with Roundups.


Key Elements to Include in Your Money Vision Board


Every vision board is different, but they share some things in common. The basic elements of a money vision board include:

•  One or more clearly defined money goals that are personal and meaningful to you

•  Images that are relevant to each of your financial goals

•  Quotes, phrases, words, or affirmations that reinforce your goals and motivate you to pursue them

•  A timeline or deadlines for realizing each goal that you’ve included

Some people like to include a photo of themselves and/or their family at the center of their money vision boards. This is just another way to reinforce the goals that you’ve set and remind yourself of the lifestyle or achievement that you’re dreaming of.

Recommended: How to Open a Bank Account

Digital vs. Physical Financial Vision Boards


Is a digital or physical wealth vision board better? It’s a matter of preference.

•  A digital board is portable and you can access it on the go. It’s also relatively easy to edit since you can add and remove images as you achieve older goals and set new ones.

•  Physical vision boards may not be as easy to update but they can be more visible if you’re placing yours in a conspicuous spot. For example, you might hang your vision board above your desk if you have a home office or tack it to the front of the refrigerator.

With a digital vision board, you run the risk of it becoming an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation if you’re not looking at it regularly. One fix for that could be to download your vision board as an image file and use it as a wallpaper for your devices.

Using Your Vision Board for Financial Motivation


Vision boards are meant to drive you to action and get you started on your goals. Here are some helpful tips for using your vision board to keep your eyes on the financial prize.

•  Keep your vision board in a place that’s easily accessible and take time to look at it daily.

•  Consider choosing one image each day to meditate on.

•  Develop a mantra that you can associate with your vision board and goals and incorporate it into your meditation routine.

These types of activities keep the images you’ve chosen front and center in your mind.

What if you aren’t hitting your goals as quickly as you’d like? You can use your vision board to re-center and regain focus if you’re feeling unmotivated. And when you do reach a milestone that you’ve included on your vision board, be sure to celebrate it. (Within reason, that is. You don’t want to deplete your checking account.)

Updating and Evolving Your Money Vision Board


A money vision board isn’t meant to be static; it should reflect your goals and motivations as you move through different life stages and seasons. Updating your financial vision board can help you keep sight of your goals, even if what you’re working toward now is different from where you started. Some pointers:

•  You may want to review your money vision board each time you achieve one of the goals you’ve included on it. Perhaps you hit the goal amount for the savings account that holds your emergency fund. It could be the right time for a reset.

•  Another time to review your financial vision board could be when there’s a major change in your life that could impact your goals. For instance, if you get married, switch jobs, or have a baby, you may want to revisit your money vision board and update it. Or perhaps you received a major refund into your online bank account and are thinking about how to allocate it: That could be a time to rethink your financial vision board to encourage you as you get closer to your goal.

•  At a minimum, it’s helpful to sit down with your board at least a couple or a few times a year to see how far you’ve come and gauge whether your goals have changed.

•  The beginning of the year is a great time for a check-in if you use January as a jumping-off point for goal planning.

But any time of year can be the right time to review your vision board and make any changes that might be needed. If you feel motivated, it’s probably a sign that it’s time to dive in.

Recommended: Budgeting Guide

The Takeaway


Most of us have goals that money will enable, from buying a home to retiring comfortably. A money or financial vision board is a visual representation of those goals that can help inspire you to actualize your aspirations. Whether you make a digital or physical one, it can help you contemplate and actualize your dreams.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.


Better banking is here with SoFi, NerdWallet’s 2024 winner for Best Checking Account Overall.* Enjoy up to 3.80% APY on SoFi Checking and Savings.

FAQ

How often should I update my financial vision board?

It’s helpful to review your vision board at least a couple of times a year, though you may schedule reviews more often if you’re making steady progress toward your goals. Reviewing your money vision board is a chance to make sure your goals still fit where you are now and where you’d like to be. If your goals no longer align or you’ve been able to cross some of them off your list, you can update your vision board to reflect that.

Can I create a money vision board with my partner or family?

You might create a money vision board with your partner or family if you have shared financial goals. For example, you might work with your partner or spouse to create a vision board centering around your joint goal of buying a home. Or you might help your kids create money vision boards of their own if they have goals they’d like to achieve.

Are there apps for creating digital money vision boards?

Digital vision board apps and graphic design platforms are great for creating vision boards online. Canva, for example, offers vision board templates that you can customize. You could also use Photoshop or ProCreate to whip up a visually appealing money mood board.


Photo credit: iStock/Barbara Lorena Vergara

SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2025 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.


SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a recurring deposit of regular income to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government benefit payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, or are non-recurring in nature (e.g., IRS tax refunds), do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. SoFi members with direct deposit are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits.

As an alternative to direct deposit, SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 3.80% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant. SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits are not eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 3.80% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Separately, SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days can also earn 3.80% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. For additional details, see the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus.

*Awards or rankings from NerdWallet are not indicative of future success or results. This award and its ratings are independently determined and awarded by their respective publications.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.

Third Party Trademarks: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, CFP® (with plaque design), and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

SOBNK-Q424-055

TLS 1.2 Encrypted
Equal Housing Lender