23.Sep5 Ways to Make Saving Less Painful
Saving comes easy for some, but it’s an impossible task for others. When I ask some friends about their savings, they sometimes cringe or tell me “I don’t want to think about that!” as if I asked them about a life-threatening disease.
The act of saving doesn’t have to be difficult or painful. If done right, saving can be a wonderful thing you can look forward to each month. A few years ago, I didn’t really take saving seriously, but after implementing some techniques, it’s something I now look forward to with each paycheck.
So how can we make saving easier to do?
Automate it. Most banks will allow you to automate your payroll account to deposit monthly to a savings account. Check with your bank to see if you can do this with your payroll account. Saving can be much easier if you don’t have to remind yourself to do it regularly.
Focus on the benefits. I’m currently saving up to buy a house within the next 2 years. Of course, the way to motivate myself is to think about that house, which I’ll consider as my sanctuary. I also think of the pride of home ownership and the beauty of living in the province. This makes me wants to say “Yes! I absolutely want to put money into that dream every month!”
However, other types of savings such as for an emergency fund or a retirement fund tend to be harder. Maybe because their purpose and benefits still seem a bit abstract. For these types of savings that you aren’t particularly fond of, focus on the feeling of security you’ll have when these savings are in order. From my experience, it feels great not to worry about losing my job or getting sick because I know my emergency fund is there to catch me when financial problems arise. Plus, I just feel so free not being pressured to work super hard. That feeling of freedom and security, I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Have a mantra. During tough financial times where I was forced to live paycheck to paycheck, I used to have a mantra that I would recite in my head every time I was tempted to spend on something frivolous. My mantra was “Every time I spend on a short term want, I give up a part of a long term dream.”
Get visual. It’s also more encouraging to save if you can actually see what’s going to happen when you accomplish your saving goals. For example, if you really want to save up for a trip to Paris, you can cut up pictures of France from a magazine and place them in an area you’ll look at regularly - whether it’s on your office desk or by your bed.
Note: The visualization doesn’t work for everybody, especially those who forget that action is needed to make things happen. Some get stuck in the visualization without doing anything about it. In those cases, it’s not visualization - it’s mere daydreaming.
Reward yourself. Break down your savings goals into milestones and have a reward for each milestone you reach. For example, if you want to save P100,000 in your emergency fund, you can reward yourself for every P5,000 or P10,000 you successfully stash away for it.
Rewards are important because you won’t feel too bogged down or tired, thinking that all you do with your money is save it. Without rewards, it’s easier to fall back on old spending habits when you get too tired of saving.
How much do you save each month? What do you do to make it easier for yourself?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 1:58 am and is filed under Saving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Hi there! I have never been a big spender. I earn well and I have always had. Before I got married, 80% of my money I used to help family and relatives. I was not able to save much except buy a plot of land in Cavite. Now I am married. I am still not a big spender. But my wife is. We continue to help our families the best way we can. When I talk to my wife about saving money she gets mad at me. She says I don’t earn enough so we can’t afford to save. I wonder how I can make her rethink her ways. Any suggestions?
That’s a very complex problem you have there, Allan. I don’t think I can cover it extensively with a simple reply in the comments. If you don’t mind, I’ll write an entire post on the issue of money problems with spouses on my next update (on or before Wednesday October 1), since it is an issue with so many layers.
Why don’t you and your wife set a goal? Like a car, a trip, or something like that. When she starts seeing that it’s possible and that it will greatly benefit your family she might change her mind.
Saving you don’t need to start big. 1,000.00 per pay day or 500.00 can be a good start. just be a constant saver. next thing you’ll see that your 500 to 1,000.00 is not a 100,000.00. the tips on how to make saving less painful is very sound. and for me, it’s realistic.
I am 55, with a stable job in government. I am still supporting my daughter because his husband’s income is not enough for them. I only started saving last month, in the cooperative of which i am a member since 2001. This is for my retirement age and in case i get sick. I have a can at home which i keep under my bed and where i put 20 pesos a day since January. Every 30th, I open the can and deposit the total amount in my savings deposit, which i can get any time I want. That’s 600 a month or 7,200 a year and i will earn 3% interest. I hope I can maintain this habit…
@ Adie: Thanks for dropping by and giving Allan some advice
@ Loida: Good for you that you’ve developed such a healthy attitude towards saving! Thanks for sharing your story with us
This post was exactly what I needed to see. I’ve been feeling bogged down lately coz despite saving regularly, I still feel broke all the time. Since last year, I’ve been investing in mutual funds, stocks and UITF. But your blog pointed out that rewards are equally important. So treating myself every once in a while is something I’ll definitely try to learn to avoid feeling like this constantly. Haha, now I realize I wasn’t just being neurotic and that feeling was actually normal. Thanks a lot!!!
This is a great post. My mother taught us the wisdom of saving for the rainy days. When I was still in elementary school, she would give me my allowance for the week. If I spend it all before the week ends, then I would be going to school with no allowance for the rest of the week. So I learned to control my spending urge.
This habit has enabled me to buy a home for my family and secure their future. It’s all about savings and spending wisely!
@Anj: Glad to know you’re learning to reward yourself. It’s easier to fall off the saving wagon if you deprive yourself all the time of the things you enjoy.
@Jamie: It’s a good thing you learned how to save from your parents! I wasn’t as lucky, but the good thing is that I learned from my mother’s mistakes before I made them myself. Congratulations on being able to save and spend wisely!