“are you a spender or a saver?”
Every financial advisor, self-help book and website has the same question. The answer will determine if their advice is right for you. Do you have too much month at the end of your money? Or do your savings account balance grow to six digits every year?
With hard work, determination and a few tricks most people can become a saver. Contrary to popular belief this does not mean living in squalor while wearing potato sacks, eating rice and beans three times a day and working two jobs just to survive. In fact it means spending your money wisely with few luxuries or none at all until your earnings catch up to your expenses! are plenty of free things in this world. Encourage your kids to be outside instead of inside with a video game. Spend time exploring with them instead of dropping ten dollars for an arcade card at the corner store! Once you’re debt free and have an emergency fund then finding new ways to cut back on expenses is still not spending money just being smart about where that money goes. Instead of going out every weekend, check out a library book or open up a craft magazine and make something yourself. Introduce yourself to new experiences by going camping at your local state park or watch a few less TV shows in favor of reading a good book before bed.
The most important thing is tracking all expenses! You need to know how much you spend each month if you want to save money. Once you’ve assessed where your money goes and how much of it is necessary then you can start to trim here and there. This will be a slow process but patience is key. Don’t try dieting, don’t go on a juice cleanse and don’t give up the things you like! If you like shopping, keep shopping! Only shop with a list for essentials such as food and hygiene products (laundry soap, deodorant, toothpaste etc.) instead of impulse purchases at random clothing stores. It’s okay to buy makeup once every few months or new shoes if they’re on sale but avoid buying random junk that sits in your closet for years because it was too expensive!
Once you know what exactly what you need to spend money on next is finding ways to cut back. The key here is restraint. Don’t give up everything you love in one week; instead, slowly start cutting back week by week until you’re comfortable with your new lifestyle.
Remember that there’s no rush, there’s always time to save and if you stick with it then the reward will be worth it! Being a saver takes dedication, patience and sometimes even sacrifice but once you reach your goal of financial stability nothing will feel better than watching your savings grow every month until it becomes six digits!
As seen above, to become a saver means learning how much exactly what you need to spend each month and tracking where your money goes.