It’s hard to balance between enjoying our salaries or allowance money and saving them for future plans. Being broke at times of emergency is dangerous, yet oversaving could be overwhelming and we can lose the sense of enjoying the present time.
Here are a few quick tips to balance your savings and expenses.
1. Motivate yourself through goals
What do you wish to own or do in the near future? A car? A trip to Somewhere-Somewhere Island? No one will fund your dreams (well, except if your parents are fortunate enough to grant your wishes, but let’s be real that most of us are not). You fund your own dreams. By setting a clear goal of how you want to spend your money in the future, you are more likely to be motivated to save.
2. Don’t fall for discounts
Discounts don’t always give you the best deals. Most of the times, retailers have marked up the prices, so it looks like you’re getting a big discount. Also, driven by the time-bound ‘good deal’ invitation, we tend to think that we need or will need the item. In the end, we end up buying things we don’t really need for prices that aren’t exactly a good deal. The worth of these discounted items will then become lower since it contributes so little to our lives.
3. Emergency fund
We never know if we’ll ever get into an accident or get fired from our jobs. What we do know is that we need a roof over our heads every night and foods to survive. If you’re spending your money on something, make sure that you still spare enough savings to sustain your life for a certain period or at least a few months. Never run completely out of money.
4. Spend it when you have enough
Some of us will fall for the oversaving dilemma. We have saved so much for so long and now we are going to spend it on its designated goal. But what if we just keep it?
Remember that you have the right to enjoy your present life. So, you have been saving for a while and live in a tight budget. Now, it’s time to spend it merely for your own joy and perhaps sanity. But only do so if you still feel like it. For example, if you have been saving for a solo island trip for months, yet at the time you’ve gathered enough money, you don’t feel like going anymore or you want something else instead. Then follow your heart!