Savings expand our opportunities, increase our independence and allow us to achieve our goals with more confidence. That’s why many of us wonder how to learn to save and save money. In theory, everything is simple; dozens of articles and books have been written on this topic.
However, in practice, saving money often turns out to be a daunting task. Especially those who lack self-control find it difficult. Often such people begin with difficulty to save and save money, but then they lose their temper and spend the whole amount on some unnecessary purchase. At the same time they feel guilty about their lack of willpower.
So are there effective, but not too complicated ways to save and save money? Here are 5 simple rules that have helped tens of thousands of people effectively save and save money.
Saving Means “Consciously” Spending
To begin with, it’s important to look at the concept of “saving” from a different angle.
Some people think that saving money is demeaning: if a person has to save money, he or she is a loser.
If you look at saving not as a painful denial of everything, but as an intelligent allocation of funds, then saving will be much easier.
Saving means “spending consciously.” Conscious spending leads to less spending.
Set Goals
If you start saving without a goal, you will get tired of it very quickly.
In order to save as quickly as possible, you need to set a goal for yourself, to identify its cost and timing.
For example, a person wants to attend a match of his favorite team, on which he bets on a sports betting site in Canada, and the total cost of the trip is $3,000. Initially, this amount may seem too large to you, and you may not even start saving up for the trip.
However, if you set a deadline of a year and divide that amount by 12 months you would have $250 every month. Saving that amount each month is easier than wondering where to get $3,000.
What’s important is that the goal ignites you.
There will be times when you will be tempted to spend everything you have saved. At that moment, the goal should outweigh it.
It will be easier for you to save and save money if you have an ambitious goal. For example, if a low-income person decides to save for a car, he may not notice, but the goal will wear him out on a subconscious level.
Find Support in the Environment
So that you will not be tempted to stop in the middle of the road, you can enlist the support of loved ones who will know about your goal and remind you of it in a difficult period. So you can tell your loved ones about their goals or share them on social networks – in this case you will have no way to retreat. You will try at all costs to bring the beginning to the end.
In any case, before you change your approach to spending, you can tell those close to you about your goals and why their achievement is important to you.
Start Saving Gradually
Surely you know cases where people, having started to save money, set themselves almost unrealistic goals. Often they begin to limit themselves in almost everything, their standard of living drops dramatically.
Austerity methods rarely work.
After a month or two, these people snap, stop saving, and don’t want to hear anything more about saving.
Being able to save and control your money is a skill (just like being able to drive). At first you feel insecure behind the wheel, sometimes getting lost, but gradually your driving becomes more and more confident. So it will take you some time to learn how to save and save money.
The best rules for saving money are gradualness and regularity.
When you see what opportunities arise for you thanks to the accumulated capital, you will be inspired, and the rational handling of money will have become a habit for you by this time.
Always Be Mindful of the “Price” of Money
Before you decide to start saving, it is important to calculate the value of your hour. To do this, take your salary and divide it by the number of hours you work per month.
Often people spend in a few hours the amount they earn in a few days (for example, in the case of expensive entertainment). Or take on credit a modern gadget, the cost of which is equal to several salaries.
So before you buy something, think: how much do you have to work to earn that money?
Remember that time is the most valuable resource!