Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Write down your goal and document your starting point
1 week
Before you can save toward anything, you need a specific written goal and a clear record of where you are starting. Write down the item you are saving for, its exact cost, your target date for reaching the goal, and how much money you currently have. A goal you can track is completely different from a goal you only remember — writing it down is step one of the proof.
Proof required
Share your written goal showing: the item you are saving for, its exact cost, your target date, and your starting balance or weekly income. A photo of a handwritten goal sheet, a screenshot of a notes app, or a simple document all count. Accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents.
What gets checked
- Goal is specific: names the item and its exact price — 'save more money' is not a goal; 'save £120 for a new pair of trainers by 1 September' is
- Starting point is documented: includes either a current savings balance or a record of recent weekly income showing what is realistic
- Target date is in the future and plausible: given the starting point and the income or allowance, the timeline should be achievable with genuine effort
Common mistakes
- Setting a goal so vague you cannot tell when you have reached it — 'save up for something nice' has no finish line
- Not writing it down — goals held only in memory fade when competing wants appear
- Choosing a goal so large it would take years on current income — an unreachable goal leads to abandonment, not saving
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- K12 outcome — accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents
- Ask the student: what is the item you are saving for, and what does it cost? The answer should match exactly what is written in the submitted goal
- Check that the timeline is realistic given the starting balance and income — if it would require saving 100% of weekly income with zero spending, the goal needs adjustment
Track every week for 6 consecutive weeks
6 weeks
Consistent tracking is the skill this milestone builds. For 6 weeks, record your income or money received and your relevant spending every week — not in one batch at the end. The format does not matter (spreadsheet, notebook, notes app) as long as each entry is dated and shows a running total so you can see your progress toward the goal. Six weeks of honest tracking reveals spending patterns that are invisible day-to-day.
Proof required
Share your tracker covering at least 6 complete weeks. Each weekly entry should show the date, any money received that week, any spending relevant to your goal, and your running savings balance. A photo of a notebook or a spreadsheet screenshot both count. Accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents.
What gets checked
- 6 entries with dates spread across 6 real calendar weeks — filling in all 6 on the same day is not tracking; the dates must show weekly progression
- Running balance is visible: each entry shows the total saved to date, so progress toward the goal amount is traceable
- At least one entry shows spending that competed with saving — a tracker showing only income with zero spending is not realistic
Common mistakes
- Filling in all 6 weeks at once the night before submitting — the dates give this away; entries must be made in real time to count
- Tracking income but omitting spending, making progress appear faster than it actually is
- Stopping the tracker after 2–3 weeks and attempting to reconstruct the rest from memory — reconstructed entries are guesses, not records
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- K12 outcome — accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents
- Check that the dates on the entries span at least 6 different calendar weeks — entries clustered in 1–2 days indicate retroactive completion, not live tracking
- Ask the student to describe one specific week's entry — what did they earn, what did they spend, what was the running balance? If they cannot recall any specific week, the tracker was not kept consistently
Reach your target and provide evidence of arrival
Depends on goal timeline (set in M1)
The final step is proof that you hit the savings target you set in M1. Your total saved equals or exceeds the goal amount. The evidence can be a bank balance screenshot, a record from a savings app, a cash count photo, a purchase receipt if you have already bought the item, or a parent or teacher confirming the balance — whatever reflects how you have been saving. A brief reflection on what was hardest is optional but makes the proof much stronger.
Proof required
Share evidence that your savings reached the target amount from M1: a balance screenshot or record showing the goal amount, a purchase receipt for the item if already bought, or a parent/teacher confirmation of your balance. A brief note (2–3 sentences) on what was hardest and what you would do differently is optional but welcome. Accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents.
What gets checked
- Evidence clearly shows an amount equal to or greater than the goal set in M1 — the two numbers must be cross-checkable
- Evidence is dated within a reasonable period after the target date set in M1 — reaching the goal 3 years later is not this outcome
- If the goal amount changed mid-journey, the proof notes the change and the reason — changing a goal is fine; hiding the change is not
Common mistakes
- Submitting evidence of a different amount than the original M1 goal without explaining the change — the verifier needs to see M1 and M3 amounts together
- Spending the money before creating any evidence that the target was reached — buy first, screenshot second, is the correct order if buying the item
- Reaching close to the goal and calling it 'close enough' — the milestone requires reaching the specific target, not approximately reaching it
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- K12 outcome — accepted verifiers: peers, teachers, or parents
- Cross-check M3 evidence amount against M1 goal amount — they should match; if the goal changed, the proof should explain why
- Ask the student what was hardest about reaching the goal — a student who saved consistently should be able to describe at least one moment of competing temptation; a vague answer may indicate the tracker was completed retroactively