1. You don't have a plan for your savings If you don't have a plan for your money, you're more likely to leave it sitting in your checking account, waiting for whatever comes up. This isn't an efficient way to build wealth. Instead, decide how much you'd like to see go towards each of your financial goals, and set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings, retirement, and investment accounts each month. A plan can help make your dreams a reality, and let you save what you need while directing the rest towards other goals and bigger growth opportunities.