It seems that our dreams reach their peak of grandeur when we’re in college. The older we get, the more bills we have to pay and the harder we have to work for our goals.
Whether you want to travel the world, start your own business, move out, or buy your own phone, here are a few tips on how you can save money for your goals, dreams, and aspirations.
1. Create Two Separate Bank Accounts
Most people have a chequing and savings account.
You can dedicate one account to money which can be spent on a daily basis and another one to withhold money that goes towards moving out or buying a new pair of glasses.
Every pay day, depending on what goal I have in mind, I put away some money in my savings account, whether that’s a percentage or a set amount, and I never use it for anything but my goal. The remaining money in my chequing account is used to pay bills and anything else.
2. Don’t Spend What You Don’t Have
If you have a credit card, you’re most likely going to have a set limit if you’re young. Say you have $500. You have to pay whatever amount you spend by the end of each month, so ideally, you should only be spending money that you already have.
In fear that I’ll be in trouble with the bank, I only use my credit card in situations where debit cards are not excepted; the most common example being online purchases. Right after I make the transaction, I transfer money from my chequing account to my credit card to “pay it off.” It isn’t necessary to do this, but it clears the way for future worries.
2. Keep Track of Your Expenses and Earnings
For years, I have noted down all of my earnings and transactions. You can keep a notebook or download an app to help you. Make a habit of keeping receipts or quickly typing what you spent in your notes app to keep your expenses up to date when you’re out.
You can go the extra mile and categorize your transactions in order to see in which area you’re spending the most, whether that’s food, apps (like Netflix and Spotify), your phone bill, etc. Once you figure out your spending habits, it will be a lot easier to balance.
4. Add Up Your Taxes
In high school, I used to keep all of my receipts and then tally up the amount of taxes I paid. Where I live, tax is 12% and with every purchase, those add up and can eventually lead to a large sum of money you didn’t realize you were creating. This is a good way to put that childhood piggy bank to good use or you can extract money from your chequing to your savings account.
Just don’t jinx it by telling yourself “The more money I spend, the more money I save,” because I have definitely built that mindset at one point. You’re still spending money, nevertheless, but putting away a percentage of it is exactly as it sounds.
5. Create Goals
Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can contribute to it. Whether your goal is to move out, travel, buy a new bike, or feel the joy of seeing a certain amount of money in your bank account, creating goals keeps us accountable to our financial journey.
Take your goals seriously. Create a vision board, write them down somewhere you can easily see them, and be responsible. Try splitting up your goals into smaller ones and give yourself a consequence if you can’t complete one step. It’s as easy as picking up another shift at work in the case that you overspend one week.
6. Sustain Discipline
Above all of these tips, the most important one is to maintain discipline. Do whatever it takes for you to reach your goals. Take them seriously. Think about that winning feeling after persevering through all of those temptations of buying another pair of shoes you don’t need or your second cup of coffee in a day.
Personally, I won’t let myself spend under a specific amount in my bank account, because I know that the fear and anxiety I feel from seeing a lack of financial abundance is greater than any need of spending money.
Now, these are just a few tips to help you save money out of so many more. Eventually, most of our salary will go towards the basic human needs, like a roof to live under and food. For some of us, that can already be a reality, so it may be a good idea to start putting aside some of the green. Our future selves will thank us.