Want to train yourself to start saving money? These mind tricks may help you a great deal. Check ’em out – they’re certainly worth a shot.
If you’re not a natural ‘money-saver’, it can be quite unsettling when your buddies and colleagues around you are able to save big every month. You start questioning what it is you’re doing wrong and what they’re doing right. Sure, you can talk to your ‘saver’ friends and find out what they do, but there’s a chance you may overlook how they do it, and that’s where your answer lies.
Savings is an important goal for any woman who aspires for long-term financial independence, and the funny thing, it’s not complicated to understand how to save; the tricky part is sustaining a few easy habits.
Here are some really cool mind tricks you can employ to train yourself to save better. Ready? Let’s go!
Trust Automated Tools More Than You Trust Yourself
The trick here to assume that, if left just to you, you won’t end up saving. This will leave you with no choice but to set up automated cash transfers from your salary account to your Savings Account every now and then. The best thing about automated transfers is that you’re free from human error and forgetfulness.
Additional Reading: Financial Planning For Women
Fix Specific Goals
Random saving never really works because there’s no milestone in your vision. Incentivize your savings by writing down a goal and pledge to commit to it. If it helps, add visual reminders everywhere so that you constantly keep looking at your target. Trust us; this will go a long way in helping you save over a period of time.
Stretch Every Purchase Decision You Make
While we do get that life is short and must be enjoyed, your spends should never get in the way of your savings, right? So, next time your impulse gets the better of you at a store, don’t seal the deal immediately. Instead, let the decision brew in your mind for a couple of days. Here’s what’s likely to happen:
Day One – Your instinctive decision to buy is still on a high. Let it be
Day Two – You can now view your desired item from both a ‘want’ perspective as well as a ‘need’ perspective.
At the end of Day Two, both your mind and heart are in cahoots, and now’s the time to make the decision – a rational, solid one!
Additional Reading: Are You Saving Enough For Retirement? Find Out.
Don’t Be Clingy With Your Credit Card
The respect for space in a relationship goes a long way in making it a healthy one, and this applies to the equation between you and your Credit Card too. Your plastic amigo can certainly give you thrills, but if you overdo it, karma can hit you back to reality.
This is why it makes sense to maintain a cool distance between you and your Credit Card. Sure,you can use it every now and then; just make sure you let your plastic buddy breathe and take a break every now and then.
Additional Reading: Strange And Unusual Money-Saving Tactics
The Stranger Test
This is a very interesting one. Imagine you’re at a store and wish to buy a really cool pair of sunglasses. Now, to apply “The Stranger Test”, imagine a stranger in front of you; on one hand, she’s handing you the shades, but on the other hand, she’s handing you the exact value of the shades in cash – which one would you choose?
You can see how this test will be supremely helpful in understanding the value of money, right?
Try these techniques and let us know if you have some of your own!