When it comes to getting your future under control, you really need to be thinking long term. Consider what you want, when you want to retire and what you want to leave behind for your family. It isn’t a small ask for most people to sit down and work out how much they need to save and what they want to leave behind. But, you’re going to have to do it to make sure that your pillows are plumped up, and your money cushion is going to keep you comfortable.
Money is the one thing that is going to make sure that your family is taken care of, they will have food in their bellies, and that is something happens you can afford the help you’re going to need. For example, if anything happened, and you were in an accident, although someone like Ronald A. Ramos would be in your corner, having money as a cushion is going to help you.
So here are some money challenges that will help you on the road to financial safety.
Bills, Bills, Bills
When it comes to saving, most of discount saving notes. They seem so much bigger than change, and even more so when they are in your hand. When you have to physically give away your money to pay for something you want to do it less. This one works on that basis, and in fact, you begin to put all of your 5,10 or 20 dollar/pounds into a savings pot.
This only works if you are strict and use cash only for the foreseeable future, which we will touch on later.
No Spend
This has become really popular in the last few years. It is precisely what it sounds like and has been making big waves in the saving and debt-free community. You can set a timer, 2 weeks is an excellent place to start – that you simply don’t spend any money at all.
You can make some modifications that work for you like you can vow not to spend any money on take-out coffee and food. Or you can say that you don’t want to spend any money at the supermarket. You can even set a total number, like £/$100 and not spend beyond that. It might be surprising just how often you’ll need to stop yourself on those small spends.
All Change
From the 1st of January or the first day that you are reading this, till the end of the year begin to put all of your spare change into pots. It is wise to grab some jars or money boxes for this specific purpose as the smaller denominations stack up pretty quickly. If you are a person who does better to see their money visually stacking up, then glass jars are going to be your best option.
You don’t even need to count this money at any point until you get to the end of the year – because if you know how much is in there, you might be more tempted to use it ahead of schedule.
If you really don’t like the idea of having jars of money around the house, then you would do well to look into a mobile application that can skim to spare charge of your bank account automatically. This is a more hands-off approach and automates saving works very well for a lot of people.
30 Day Wait
Impulse buying is something that many of us do, and we don’t really stop to consider our actions. Which is why it is called impulse buying. But you really need to do, is a 30-day cooling-off period. Every time you see something that you want to buy that is outside the lines of house essentials, start a 30 timer. This will begin to train you out of impulse buying and putting more thought into what you own. Which is great for your bank balance and mental health. Not feeling the pressure to buy certain things comes with a lot of freedom.
Cash Only
You know when you are at the supermarket, and there is a cash-only line – and you probably couldn’t be more annoyed if you tried? Well, it is time to be someone who can use that line. Withdrawing money from your bank account, and having to hand it over to cashiers makes it feel more real than merely swiping your credit or debit card.
Psychologically the money is then real to us, and we are more unwilling to spend it. Which is great for those small saves!
The fastest way to get more money in your savings is by making small adjustments to how you spend your money on a weekly and monthly basis.
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