Interesting read. I agree with more than I disagree.

First, what I disagree with - goals don't suck. They're your goal posts. They show you what direction you need to set your habits toward.

That said, they are certainly insufficient to reaching the life you want. For that, you need to take concerted, sustained action in the direction toward your goals.

That's where habits come in, along with something distinct from them - automation.

Automating your savings and investing lets you decide on a course of action once, and then not have to worry about it anymore. There's no forgetting, no distactions, no emotions. It's just taken care of for you.

As for habits, I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits, or at least starting here: https://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change.

James Clear has an inspiring story, which I won't get into here, but it's part of what makes him so compelling.

His model of habits has four parts for each habit: (1) cue, (2) craving, (3) response, and (4) reward. To mindfully create a helpful habit, come up with an obvious cue, an attractive result to crave, an easy action to take, and a satisfying reward.

There's a lot more to it, and Clear says it far better than I ever could, let alone in a comment on a Medium article :).