We all have heard about the fact that earning money is a far more sophisticated skill than spending it. Agreed, earning takes blood, sweat, tears and everything that you can sacrifice to get it. But there is one more thing, which is just as important and every professional knows that but still tends to ignore it.
Saving Money – that’s right, so simple, yet so difficult. Saving is a good thing, you save it sometimes to go for that one long holiday with your spouse that you have been planning for so long, planning to get a house in this particular area downtown, so you and your partner save it bit by bit. When we were kids, we used to have these piggy banks, where you could save up that spare change to get your toys or that favourite video game, or chocolates and lots of stuff.
Saving is a good thing. Yyou must have heard some quotes which kind of sound a bit far-fetched but most of the general population agrees to it. “I want to save money to get a Lamborghini”, says a 35-year-old with an annual salary of $20,000, sounds like a hyperbole doesn’t it. “I want to save so much that I don’t wanna worry about my retirement”, really, that is about the longest idiotic statement that I have ever heard in my life. The only quote that makes sense to me and I have twisted it as per my knowledge and it holds true for every human being “Too much of something will just wreck you.”
This is the absolute truth and people should know about it. By doing something excessive and thinking about the future, you just forget about the present. If you are obsessed with money, take a deep breath and we will guide you through some steps that will help you cut down on that obsession. Think of it as a rehabilitation session.
1. Stop comparing yourself with others
This is the most major problem among so many people, including myself. This mostly happens during the young generation of about 21+ age group when they finally start working and they don’t feel content with the job they have and the money they earn. The savings that they were supposed to achieve until a certain time do not add up, they become frustrated and the next thing we know is they implode.
They constantly compare themselves with other people like their relatives, their cousins; they have a lot of money and I don’t. What went wrong, what should I do about it. If something isn’t working the way it should then make do with something else, things will work out eventually.
2. Have fun with what you have
We are so obsessed with social media these days, we see our friends going in for a long trip to some beautiful places like Hawaii or Paris or Venice or Norway. Some friends are out for a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea or somewhere in some part of the world. You get frustrated and you think why I wasn’t able to save enough for this.
The other set of people look at their bank balance, it’s just the same as those previous guys, but these people are like, “Hey, let’s hit the road and go for a trip, somewhere anywhere in the outskirts of the city.” They feel good about what they have and if they save enough they will even go for a cruise next time. So have fun with what you have right now.
3. What are you saving for? Do you have a clue?
This is something that even thinking about it makes me think more. There are these peculiar sets of individuals who save like hell, they get their paychecks, spend a little on the grocery and save the rest of the amount and they don’t have a clue what they are doing this for, it’s like a sprint race but with no set distance, no target in sight and they sure as hell do not care about the clock, as long as they are running.
There is a guy who saved for some time, bought a car for his family which he wanted and now he is clueless as to what he should do next, what should he save for next. Reignite that passion to achieve your new goal, and figure it out. Once you are able to do that, your mind will be clear of these wandering suspicions.
4. You don’t buy things you need because you think they are materialistic
This reminds me of my time when we used to stay in college hostels and sometimes during job interviews or so you would ask your roommate to lend you an extra pair of socks or maybe underwear too.
Fast forward to the time, when you have a family, you have a wife and 2 kids, you have a professional job and you still wear socks with holes in them. This isn’t something that you just avoid for the sake of it; they are something that you absolutely need. If you are that lazy in fussing over your basic items, then take those items with a good amount of investment so that they will last longer and you can save more accordingly in the future.
5. Checking your bank accounts daily
Monitoring your money is a good practice; it helps you keep track of your current expenditures, possible expenses that can occur in the near future and also saving for something that you might require in the long run. So you check your bank accounts for that, you check it once, you check it twice, you become so obsessed with it that you check your phone every hour, that’s an absolutely wrong thing to do.
Excessive thinking is also something which you don’t want to get used to. Check your account balance once; make a note of things in your mind, or rather a To-Do list which helps immensely to keep track of such things but avoid checking your accounts daily.
6. You don’t trust your partner with your money
This is something that is quite a personal predicament to everyone. Having trust issues is a major thing, having trust issues with your own partner is an alarming thing, but the fact that you don’t trust him or her enough that he/she can manage your expenses is something that needs to be thought about.
If you are a family man, you need to take into account a lot of things and you cannot let something as major as this bog you down so you have to have a one-to-one session with your partner to try and sort this out as quickly as possible because both of you have a responsibility and you are accountable for it.
7. Tracking your spending down to every penny
You must have come across this term called Micromanagement. It’s a business term which means that the manager monitors the activities of every level of his company’s work, every smallest level of it. Taking a leaf out of it, there are people, including me who tracks down the expense reports like a hawk, down to every thousand, every hundreds, tens, unit, dollars,
cents, everything, and I can definitely say that this is harmful and it will drive you crazy.
You cannot keep track of every accountable and smallest expense and there is not exactly a need to do that. Instead, round off your finances and accordingly keep that record in your books and that will surely save you a lot of time.
8. Low income loan
Before we get to this, we must understand the meaning of low income loan. Suppose you want to buy a house, you would be taking out a loan from the bank or else from a money lender. To take a specific amount of loan you should meet the criteria or the minimum requirement otherwise you wouldn’t get the loan from your respective parties.
Unless your money lender decides to reduce the amount to meet your needs, that is low income loan. You can save money using low income loans as well, by cutting back on your costs which you can save it for emergency, you will be paying less for every basic thing you need which is not exactly favourable in every case. Low income loans are a great strategy but it’s not exactly fruitful in the long run so you should also keep that in mind.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the message is clear: money is a tool to enhance life, not the sole purpose of it. By adopting a more mindful approach to finances, one can enjoy the present while still preparing for the future. The tips above serve as a reminder that financial health is not just about the numbers in a bank account, but also about maintaining a healthy mindset towards money and its role in our lives. Need a personal loan? MoneyIQ can help.
