Saving Money: Easier Said than Done | 5 Ways on How to Succeed in Saving

Always save, a phrase that has been taught and passed on to us by our parents and grandparents.  We even tried to save using piggy bank when we were a kid.  Not only kids but also some adults until now use piggy bank to save.

People with different status differ as well in saving money.  There are some who save by putting money to "paluwagan" (a money saving and lending scheme popular to average Filipinos), others to bank accounts and time deposits.

Many (e.g., financial advisor, economists, etc.) argue in placing money in banks due to inflation may eat up your money and by the time you are withdrawing it, it has no longer value.  To illustrate, you put P38,000 in your savings account instead of buying the latest iPhone (i.e., iPhone 6s).  Do you think five years from now, the value of latest iPhone is still P38,000?  Of course not.  But with that mindset, saving is kinda frustrating.  Why not enjoy today and tomorrow will find its way? Of course, this will not work.  Saving and planning the future still pay a great reward.  

To alleviate the issue of inflation in saving, many recommend that money should be placed in investment instead.  However, many also advised that only portion of your money should be put in investment since there are risks involved.  You should have money placed somewhere safe where you can easily withdraw during emergency situations.  Therefore, there is indeed a need to save.  In order to succeed in saving, following are some of the techniques.

1.  The many savings account you have the better.  

Putting your money in savings account is still effective.  But, have an account separate from your payroll and account use for online payments.  For instance, you have one payroll account.  Every payday, withdraw your net pay for the payroll period from payroll account then 10% will go to "account for savings", 10% to "account for investment" and portion of 80% to "account for allowance", and the remaining portion of said 80% to "account for payments", e.g., bills payment via online banking or over-the-counter, groceries, etc.

"Account for savings" should be a passbook account, no ATM and not enrolled in online banking.  You may have quite a hard time getting or spending your money saved.  One example of "account for investment" is stock trading account.  If you do not have or not confident yet to have a stock trading account, there are lots of other financial products available at present to invest, e.g., UITF, mutual funds, and VUL funds.  Next, compute your daily expenses or allowance per day then multiply by the number of days remaining before the next payday.  For instance, I put P5,000 (P500 for 10 working days) in my ATM account I named "account for allowance".  Everyday before going home, I withdraw Php500 as my allowance for the following day.

Moreover, this one is something I learned from a character in Korean drama I just watched.  The story is not about personal finance of course but what the character do to save is not a bad idea.  The character has many passbook accounts as well.  Whenever she saves something for example, walking instead of taking a cab goes to one account.  So, how about we open another accounts and named these "account for savings from not buying Starbucks coffee" and "account for savings from not availing retention of my postpaid iPhone plan".

2.  Have a goal not a dream.

For a middle income earner like me, setting a goal such as saving money to buy car or house and lot is not achievable.  It is not a goal but a dream.  You will get tired of saving and get frustrated in the end.  However, setting a goal such as saving money to buy an iPhone though achievable is not effective.  Because there may be an instance where you no longer continue saving once you have achieved your goal.  And, the notion of saving is violated here.  You should only pinch and not slice part of your savings for wants or needs other than emergency situations.

You should have an intangible goal.  In my case, I religiously save to achieve financial success, the very reason I created this blogsite.  How will I be able to advice my readers if I am broke or I myself could not apply my own recommendations?  Another goal example is to have a total of P100,000 savings at the end of the year.  Instead of finding happiness by looking at things you bought from saving, why not become happy by simply looking at your passbook accounts.  Of course, you will be very happy if you see 1 Million in your account.

3.  Look for inspiration and become an inspiration to others as well.

Learn the art of self-motivation.  Read inspirational books and quotes, personal finance blogs, and always visit my blog for updates.  Get inspiration from someone you knew who succeeded in saving.  Be inspired.  Whenever you want to achieve something,  think of your loved ones, your family, your parents, siblings, husband, wife or kids.  And remember, when you become successful, you will also become an inspiration to others.

4.  Mind over matter.

We cannot save if we will not break some of our bad spending habits e.g., using credit cards instead of cash on purchases, buying things that we do not actually need, buying things because it is on sale, etc.; and if we continue buying and collecting items for pleasure.  There are many things we need to let go in order to religiously save.  I am not saying that you do not watch movie anymore or go on a vacation.  But, you should do it moderately and do not spend beyond your means.  Again, only pinch and not slice portion of your savings.  

Whenever you are tempted, think of your goal and silently say your mantra, e.g., "save before you spend".  So, find your mantra.  Write it somewhere you can easily see and read, on your dresser, on the fridge, in your workplace, and journal.  Say it repeatedly.  Repeated words and thoughts have powerful and positive effects.  Do not underestimate the power of subconscious mind.

5.  Do not give up.

Lastly, do not give up.  There will come a time in our lives that we need to let go all of the money we saved for emergency situations.  Of course, we do not want that to happen.  But let's be practical.  We are not fully in control of our lives.  If that time comes, get up and start saving again.  It is not when you start that matters after all. :-)


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