Saving money is hard work, we all know that. In an earlier post we talked about why you should save money. Hopefully you were convinced.
Now you may be wondering how you can actually save money.
It’s easier than you think.
Here are the steps to make it easy and painless to start saving money:
Change your thinking about savings
Stop thinking of saving money as an unpleasant chore. Saving money is not something that you “have to do.” Tell yourself that it’s something that you want to do.
Turn it into something desirable.
Too many of us think of saving money as depriving ourselves. Like being denied by our parents of a piece of cake.
No, save it for later!
It’s time to rethink that. Like Brian Tracy says…. Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.
Think of it as building your financial fortress. Find pleasure in growing your savings account. Watch it grow from small beginnings to a large amount.
Pay yourself first
Now, I know that you may be thinking:
I never have enough money to save!
That’s where the second key comes in. George S. Clason, in his popular book “The Richest Man in Babylon”, introduces us to the concept of paying yourself first. This means that you take your savings off the top before you do anything else with your money.
Most people spend money first and try to save from whatever is left over. This is a mistake and it never works. There’s never anything left over.
You have to save first and then spend from what ever is left over.
You’ll find that you’re still able to do pretty much everything that you regularly do. Except now you’re building a cash cushion at the same time. The difference will be the small amounts that you didn’t notice that you were wasting before.
Set it and forget it
The third and final key is the one that makes it all happen. It’s the only way to make saving money painless.
Automate your savings.
Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account every month or 2 weeks. Or have a percentage of your paycheck sent to your savings by direct deposit. It’s simple, just go to the HR department at your job and fill out a new direct deposit form.
Once you automate, you know that it is going to happen consistently. You won’t have to remember to do it or go to the bank. No need to use your willpower on an everyday basis for it. It happens while you sleep.
With your savings on auto-pilot, you’ll never look back. Soon you won’t even notice that you have (slightly) less money to spend. You’ll just adjust your spending naturally.
Funny thing is, you’ll have the same standard of living. In fact, it will be better because you’ll have more peace of mind. It will make you feel good to take control of your finances.
In conclusion, remember the words of George S. Clason in his (still) best-selling book “The Richest Man in Babylon” that was published in 1926:
A part of all you earn is yours to keep.
We all know on some level that you need to save money. Hopefully now you can see how easy it can be.