The thought of saving money is not the same as doing it. Doing it requires careful planning and diligence. The reasons we want to save money will be different and personal for each of us, but it is always helpful to have a specific goal in mind. Helpful too, to have a time limit. With a clear goal and a time frame, we can begin to piece together a plan of action.
Top Priority is to pay off any credit card debt. Credit Cards, these convenient little ‘friends’ are useful only if we use them to our own advantage. If we are charged interest every month, it is time to take a serious look at our spending regime. Regime Change is the only answer!
If our goal is to begin saving money, it is crucial to plan our way out of a cycle of unhealthy spending habits. Since these habits can only pull us ever further into debt, we should seek help if necessary, we should do all we can to prevent the problem from worsening. Saving cannot properly begin while a proportion of our income is just paying interest on debt.
Motivation gathers momentum when a sense of movement is felt in our finances. Once progress begins to show in the figures at the end of the month, encouragement should be felt and congratulated. The satisfaction of a ‘plan coming together’ has to be felt to be appreciated. See it as another rung up the ladder, another step along the way, but progress is progress however you measure it.
The many benefits of controlling our spending are well worth striving for. To say good-bye to our old spending regime, we must counter the tactics of well-funded retailers and advertisers. What is so attractive on the TV, so persuasive in the brochures and so beguiling in the magazines, has to be judged as objectively as possible. These adverts are nothing other than strategies to relieve us of our own hard-earned money. We should be wary of being hoodwinked by the money-hungry logic of a retailers agenda.
Retailers know how to sell, but if we are save money, when we have done our necessary shopping, we should walk away with some money still in our pockets and a smile on our faces. If anybody has to smile all the way to the bank, let it be us!
Nothing is more embarrassing than to admit that a particular purchase was a waste of money. Of course, we all know the bitter taste of silly mistakes, but we should not lose heart, these are valuable lessons. Saying “No” to frivolous and un-necessary things, even if they are dressed up as bargains, is essential if we are to succeed in saving money.
Once a new spending regime is in place, peace and prosperity can break out in our finances. If spending is controlled and budgeted for, space is created to allow for the setting aside every month, for saving. Once you have decided how much of your monthly income is saveable, you can start the process of building up your savings. Saving, once established, is more than a plan come together, it is a giant step forward – especially if you have had to overcome debt!