9 ways to enjoy savings, not stress

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Look at the problem in a new way and see the hidden opportunities.

We used to think that saving is about cutting costs, spending less, and leading a bleak existence. However, there are other ways to save money without denying yourself everything.

1. Set a goal to which you want to go

Saving for the sake of saving is pointless. You need to do this in order to achieve something. However, the goal of “living better” is not appropriate: you need something tangible and tangible.

Having chosen a certain direction, you begin to understand why you are saving and how long it will take.

For example, you need to save 500,000 rubles for the first mortgage payment in two years. Or you want to go on vacation to Turkey in 6 months, and for this you will need 50,000 rubles. In the first case, you will need to save 20,800 rubles a month, and in the second, 8,300 rubles. We got specific amounts, and now you know how much you need to reduce your spending in order to achieve your goal.

2. Replace shopping with other entertainment

For many, shopping is a way to relieve stress and lift your spirits. Having bought a new blouse, another palette of shadows or another spinning rod for fishing, we feel happier for a while. It turns out that shopping is a source of joy, and we don't really need the purchased things. Such a way to recharge and cheer yourself up is detrimental to the budget.

After all, spending money to avoid being unhappy is a disaster.

Think about what else gives you positive emotions and energizes: a family dinner, a meeting with friends, an evening alone with a book, or a walk with the dog. Learn to enjoy your day to day activities so you don't be comforted by shopping at the mall.

If you realize that you are depressed and are about to drop half of your salary, stop yourself. Try to walk past a shopping mall and turn into, for example, a playground for a swing.

3. Give up small expenses

Minor expenses are coffee to go, a bun at the bakery, cheese curds, yoghurts, taxi rides, cigarettes, business lunches, mobile subscriptions, a second beer at a bar, and so on. As a rule, we simply do not notice them, and therefore it is easy to part with money.

It is not necessary to exclude absolutely everything, otherwise you will not want to continue living.

First, analyze where the money is going and whether you can refuse these things (or replace them with cheaper analogs). You cannot imagine life without coffee - do not give up on it, so as not to suffer. But if you can find at least one position that you can cross out without much regret, do it. And then you will start saving without experiencing stress.

But it's important to remember: the money saved cannot be spent on other things. You need to postpone them for your goal.

4. Imagine this is a game

If you are a gambler, get yourself a financial challenge. Argue with a friend or yourself and come up with a prize. Excitement will not let you get out of the race, and the experiment itself will teach you how to spend money deliberately. Challenges can be very different. For example, like this:

• Live 700 rubles for 7 days. We experienced this challenge on ourselves, watch the video.
• Do not spend a single ruble per day (except money for travel).
• Give up one item of expenses - parties, coffee to go, business lunches - for a week.

5. Don't limit yourself in everything

Savings should be compatible with your lifestyle. If you overdo it, you will start to feel stressed, feel sorry for yourself, and ultimately break down by making a rash purchase. It's like losing weight: first you go on a strict diet, and then you gorge yourself on chocolate.

Take it easy and treat yourself with compassion. Why prohibit everything and switch to bread and water? Start small and develop the habit of saving gradually.

6. Find non-obvious ways to save

Savings are not only about hard limits. There are more non-obvious ways. For example, you can get a card with cashback and interest on the balance and periodically monitor discounts and promotions in stores.

If a personal nail artist is not that important to you, find a coupon for a suitable service. If it seems that you are paying too much for communication, change the operator (in the process you will be offered a more favorable tariff - do not refuse). If you love pastries, stop by in the evening when prices are down.

You can brush it off, but these are real financial instruments that will cut costs without unnecessary suffering. Even if you save only a thousand rubles a month on such trifles, you will get 12 thousand rubles a year.

7. Get interest

Save the money you save every month. And for this, open a deposit so that interest will drip on them.

Interest is money out of thin air, your bonus for conscious savings.

If you are afraid that funds may be required at any time, but you cannot take them from the deposit, try other tools. For example, in the applications of many banks there is a function "piggy bank" or "savings account" - money can be withdrawn from there at any time.

8. Create a wishlist

It happens that it is almost impossible to refuse a purchase. You saw something cool in the store, and even at a discount: a silk blouse, smart watches, sneakers from the new collection. You don't have a single argument not to buy this item, but the purchase is not in the budget. If you spend money, you will get out of the plan.

To avoid such situations, create a wishlist. Add the things you really want in there, and go through the list from time to time.

You will see how much you want to buy by succumbing to momentary weakness.

As a rule, after a few days, interest in the purchase is lost. If this happens, remove unnecessary items from the wishlist. And what you still want - ask your friends, parents or colleagues as a gift for the next holiday. So loved ones will stop puzzling over what to give you, and you will receive the desired gifts.

9. Change your attitude to the problem

It is difficult for us to save money, because we perceive it as a loss: we take funds from ourselves in the present for the sake of something incomprehensible in the future. Economist Shlomo Benartzi original solution to the problem: "save more, not today, but tomorrow." “Tomorrow” is not literally, but when your salary is raised. You need to start saving with any amount and increase deductions gradually, with each increase.

For example, you start saving with a 3% paycheck. This is an almost imperceptible amount that will not affect the comfort and quality of life. When incomes rise, increase the size of the "nest egg" to 8% per month, and then to 13, 18 and 23%. Part of the bonus can also be postponed. And if everything works out, here's what you can achieve:

Year	Income	Postpone every month	Will be in a year
2019	30,000 rubles	3%	10 800 rubles
2020	35,000 rubles	8%	33 600 rubles
2021	42,000 rubles	13%	65 520 rubles
2022	50,000 rubles	18%	108,000 rubles
2023	60,000 rubles	23%	165 600 rubles
TOTAL			386 520 rubles

The advantage of this approach is that you do not feel like you are cutting yourself in expenses, which means that you save and save money without unnecessary stress.