Using Design Thinking to Fix Your Money Problems

Ever feel like you’re just not getting anywhere with a financial goal or problem? You may be going about working on it wrong — and designing a different approach could help you get the traction you want.

In order to have the financial outcomes you seek, first aim to make better financial decisions. I imagine hearing you say “duh!” — but most people aren’t making money decisions based on their current situation.

Instead, many people use old habits from former financial realities or random bits of information gleaned along the way, which can only take us so far as our lives change. When we pair that behavior with the increased complexity of new life experiences (partnership! careers=income changes! Kids! Social and climate change!), our old-school methods can fail us, compromising both our financial futures and our current values.

There’s a slew of ways to make better decisions. The one I apply and teach most often is design thinking because it helps us make decisions faster, focused on what’s valuable presently.

This article summarizes a few design thinking methods that apply to personal financial decisions — I’ve used them with clients, taught them in workshops, and this guide aims to synthesize them into writing.

As both a financial educator and design strategist I spend a LOT of time observing and improving decisions with people.