“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Have you ever heard that saying? I have! And the truth is, I have used it many a time to justify not taking actions I should have taken, or doing things I shouldn’t have (self-introspection time!). If you are like me (or the thousands of other people who will read this post one day), there are things you want to do with your life. Perhaps you want to save money for the future. Buy a new car, move into a new house, plan a round-the-world trip, or perhaps pay for all your loans. Whatever it is, you will need to get more money to fund that dream, and learning to save money better is a key part of that plan.
For me, that dream was traveling the world without having to quit my full-time job. And along the way, I have learned to fund that dream with genius key practices and money habits that are still working for me today. But wherever you are in your savings goals, whether you have one, one hundred or one thousand dollars, here are 5 game-changing decisions you can take today to better save money for the future!
Be Specific
How much money do you want to save? What do you want to save for? Saying “I want to save more than $5000”, or “I want to save for rainy days” is not enough. If you want to better save money for the future, you need to be specific about what your savings goals are. But in order to be more specific, you need to know what you want.
So take time to do some introspection and figure out what it is you want. For instance, if you want to save money for the future, what do you see in “your” future? A house with two kids? What kind of house do you want? How many rooms? Would you like a pool? What about a backyard for gardening? And a few cars, perhaps? How much would you “estimate” your house to cost? What about your cars?
Someone else might want to better save money for a trip to Japan in 2020. When exactly do you want to go? How much would the flight ticket be? Where would you stay if you go there? For how long? What would be the cost of your meals? What about sightseeing?
Be Intentional
Saving money for the future doesn’t “just” happen. You don’t accidentally drop $500 in your bank account. Nah. And with every crazy and unplanned thing that can go on with your life, it is critical that you become intentional with everything you want to achieve! If you don’t put your foot forward and make an active decision to save money every month, trust me, you will keep following the same trend of “I don’t know where my money goes”! So before you split all your salary in different useful and non useful ways, first, PAY YOURSELF. INVEST IN YOURSELF. Drop some $$ in that savings account. Be intentional about it. As intentional as you are about brushing your teeth in the morning!
Be Consistent
Did you know that it only takes you 3 weeks of “consistency” to build a habit? I’m sure you never thought about it! And now that you know this, try it. If you want to read more, try reading once every day for 21 days. And by day 22, you will pick up that book automatically, as if you’ve always done it your entire life. Same applies to eating healthy, or to getting better at saving money for the future.
The best way to create a habit is to be consistent at doing it. And I am happy to talk about this because my New Year’s resolution (for 2019) is to be consistent! And everyone on my mailing list can tell you” I have been sending emails for 3 weeks now, about getting more money and making more time to travel! (By the way, if you haven’t done so yet, you should totally join my mailing list to get all these genius tips! It would be one of the best decisions you took today).
Be Disciplined
“You can’t always be motivated, so you have to be disciplined”. There are times when you know everything you need to in order to better save money for the future: you have a plan, a goal, and even an accountability partner (someone who checks on you and makes sure that you stick to your goal). But on some days, you don’t just feel it. Some months, it seems like there is so much going on that you are not able to put any money aside. But on those days, remember one thing: why did you decide to start saving in the first place?
Motivation comes and goes. But when it goes, that is where discipline brings you back on the right track. So strengthen you strategy with such a level of discipline that even on days when you don’t feel motivated, you can still put money aside to save better for the future.
Be Positive
In everything that you do, be positive, optimistic and always push yourself. Never give up. Rome was not built in one day, so be patient with yourself and tap yourself on the back. You’re doing great, no matter how small the effort. Your mind is a machine, and will only give you back what you feed. So if you feed yourself with positive and motivational talk, you will be more pumped to achieve your saving goals. And even when you stumble and fall, you will bounce back way faster because, you know, building great habits and becoming consistent takes time!
So here you are, equipped with better tools and simple decisions you can take to become better at saving money today!
