:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2193275251-c34484e9f7964a7f8ea8cf02fa793ec5.jpg "On Social Media, People Are Using ‘The Great Lock In’ To Try To Achieve Their Financial Goals")
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Key Takeaways
- The “Great Lock In of 2025” is a social media trend encouraging people to hyper focus on goals, often through small daily habits.
- While it can build discipline and help with financial goals like saving and debt payoff, one expert warns that burnout can occur when being too restrictive.
- It’s important to approach the challenge with a sense of balance: Set realistic, manageable daily goals for yourself, like setting aside a few dollars from every paycheck.
On social media, people are using the time between now and the end of the year to “lock in” on their goals, whether by limiting their social media use or opening a new bank account.
What Exactly Is The Great Lock In?
The “Great Lock In of 2025” is geared toward hyper-focusing on certain goals within a short period of time. Similar to social media trends of the past, like “The Winter Arc,” it encourages people to adhere to small daily habits to achieve their larger goals.
Devamsha Gunput, a content creator, decided to partake in the trend because she thinks that focusing on a small set of goals for a short period of time can be a good way to build discipline for other goals she wants to achieve.
“With personal finance goals, things like the ‘Great Lock In’ can really help because they combine the sense of discipline that usually people associate with wellness habits and fitness to tangible goals like, ‘I want to save this much money, or I want to buy a house,'” said Gunput.
How To Make The Great Lock In Work For You
The “Great Lock In” can require restriction and deprivation, encouraging people to forgo daily pleasures, like purchasing that new sweater, in favor of a broader goal, like paying off student debt.
For many people, that’s helpful. However, focusing too intently on one particular goal can lead to burnout, according to Crystal McKeon, a certified financial planner (CFP) and chief compliance officer at TSA Wealth Management.
“The problem with hyper-focusing is the potential for burnout. With nothing else as distraction or rest, you may find something you were once passionate about has become something you dread,” McKeon wrote in an email to Investopedia. “I may go really hard on savings, but saving everything with no end in sight might be too hard to deal with. I like to set up multiple goals on the way to your ultimate goal.”
As for what types of financial goals you should set for yourself during the “Great Lock In,” Brandon Clouse, a CFP at Prism Planning Partners, offers three suggestions: saving in preparation for higher spending during the holiday season, tackling debt, and boosting contributions to retirement accounts.
“Start setting aside an amount from each paycheck you earn. Whether it’s traveling for Thanksgiving, buying presents for Christmas or other winter holidays, or ditching cold weather for a warm weather vacation, November and December are huge months for spending,” Clouse wrote in email to Investopedia. “But surprisingly, few people budget for them and save in advance.”
Tip
One easy way to save money on a regular basis is to set up an automatic savings plan that diverts money from your paycheck directly into a savings account. Be sure to choose a high-yield account. The best savings accounts can earn you several hundred times more than the average savings account rate.
When it comes to paying off debt, he recommends focusing on smaller more manageable steps you can take now, like trying a no-spend period where you refrain from spending on certain discretionary expenses for a day, a week, or even longer.
The Bottom Line
According to those on TikTok, “The Great Lock In of 2025” is upon us. Between now and the end of the year, some are choosing to lock in—hyperfocusing on their goals and creating plans that help them achieve them.
If you’re interested in taking part, try not to focus too narrowly on one goal to the detriment of your other objectives and be realistic about what you can do on a daily or weekly basis. This could mean doing something as simple as implementing a no-spend day every week to pay down debt and reduce unnecessary spending.
