Make the goal specific and dated
A goal needs a number and a deadline: 'Save $6,000 for a car down-payment by next June', not 'save for a car'. The specificity is what lets you calculate the monthly contribution and track progress against it.
Work out the monthly contribution
Divide the target by the number of months until the deadline. $6,000 over 12 months is $500 a month. Now you know exactly what the goal costs — and whether the deadline is realistic. If $500 is too much, you extend the deadline or raise income; either way you're dealing in facts, not hope.
Automate and separate
Move the monthly amount automatically on payday, and keep each goal's money visibly separate so you can watch it grow. A progress bar that fills as you contribute is a surprisingly powerful motivator — it turns an abstract target into something you can see getting closer.
Run several goals at once
Most people have more than one goal — an emergency fund, a holiday, a house deposit. Rather than doing them strictly one at a time, split your monthly savings across them by priority. Urgent or near-deadline goals get the larger share; longer-horizon goals get a steady trickle.
Reviewing the split each month keeps the most important goal on pace without completely starving the others.