Let’s face it, spending money is fun. It’s nice to be able to have a night on the town without worrying about the price of everything or to splurge on a shopping trip. Unfortunately, what often follows spending money is not as much fun. No one wants the stress of dealing with debt or running out of cash before the next paycheck is due. There are plenty of good reasons to save money, but why is it you can never think of them when you’re tempted by a new outfit or a great offer for tickets to see your favorite sports team? The tips below can help you increase your motivation.
1. Set Goals
One reason it can be hard to save money is that you might not know why you’re doing it. Many say you should, but what’s the point? Setting goals can give you good reasons. Think about something that you want to save up for. It’s a good idea to have an emergency fund with several months of expenses in it. Maybe you’re hoping to buy a house in the next few years. Write down your goals so that you can refer back to them and remind yourself why you’re trying to cut back on spending.
2. Track Your Progress
It can be easy to forget how far you’ve come, so make sure that you track your progress as well. Keep a running tally of how your savings are growing as you follow your budget diligently and continue spending less.
3. Switch to Lower Interest Rates
Once you start taking a close look at your finances, you might be surprised and frustrated to realize how much you are paying in interest on credit cards and other loans. Reducing this amount can be motivating. If you do need something, instead of putting it on your credit card, you can take out a personal loan to pay for it. These nearly always have significantly lower interest rates than credit cards. You can even take out a personal loan to pay off high-interest cards. It might be possible to refinance other types of loans and get lower rates as well.
4. Give Yourself Rewards
It would be nice to think that just saving money is its own reward, but you’re only human and you’d probably like a little more to acknowledge your hard work. There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap and saving money shouldn’t come at the expense of everything that you enjoy. One of the quickest ways to destroy your motivation is by trying to force yourself to adhere to a too stringent budget. Build in some luxuries, and give yourself rewards when you reach milestones.
5. Pay Yourself First
One of the best hacks for staying motivated when you’re trying to save is to never give yourself a chance to really see the money in the first place. This is what happens when you have retirement savings automatically deducted from your paycheck, but you can also have your deposit set up so that a certain portion of it always goes into savings.