Hardly anyone is a passionate saver by nature. Our body chemistry is also to blame. 10 euros more in the account? This is rarely rewarded with a burst of endorphins – quite the opposite for frantic online shopping late at night in bed. That’s when it’s crucial to always keep your money-saving goal firmly in mind. These can be concrete expenses, for example a nice vacation, the house as old-age security or the tuition fees for the offspring. But saving against the consumption addiction, which only leads to full cupboards and a bad conscience, can also be an incentive.
Here it is crucial that the reason for saving is not only explained rationally, but above all emotionally. How will it feel when the goal is reached or the debt is finally paid off? The short-lived shopping euphoria probably immediately takes on a bitter taste. Even the effort that serious saving requires suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting.
#2 Expose secret money guzzlers
If you want to spend less, you first need to know what the money will be spent on each month. Most people probably have a pretty accurate idea of what they pay for rent or mobile phone contract. But what about other fixed items like insurance, memberships, subscriptions, or fluctuating spending on online shopping and meal deliveries?
If you want or need to know exactly what you’re spending, you should make a note of all your expenses for a month to get a precise overview of potential savings. But also a rough overview can already provide for Aha moments. The weekday takeaway coffee may be a must, the overpriced sandwich at lunchtime may not be. The same applies possibly to the foreign health insurance paid for years, although it goes in the summer always to the Baltic Sea.
#3 Create a financial plan
The post of finance minister may not be particularly sexy – but in the end, even the home minister is a supplicant on the doorstep. If you want to control your private money flows, you need a budget plan. The budget compares income with expenses. This ensures that you only spend what you can really afford to spend. Here, too, it is not necessary to register every tube of toothpaste. It’s enough if the budget book defines fixed sums for food, drugstore items and leisure, for example.
#4 Automate savings
When money is there, people like to spend it. Every act of saving, on the other hand, requires energy. With it one overtaxes oneself unnecessarily. The obvious solution is the savings standing order. That creates an artificial shortage of money on the main account. Transfer a contribution to a separate account each month. Important: Stay realistic and rather start small to avoid payment difficulties and savings frustration. On the other hand, those who started cautiously with 50 euros and after a year were able to increase the monthly contribution to 300 euros are justifiably proud. In this way, the act of saving in itself becomes a motivation.
Starting a business, occupational disability, pension: The foundation for the financial future is laid at the beginning of the career. These five tips help save money for young professionals