5 More Tips For Mindful Saving
You can watch my full YouTube video on this topic here!
Saving money can be hard. There’s so much to spend on right here, right now! And frankly, everything costs a lot more than it used to thanks to inflation, which is cutting into many households’ ability to save. It can be extremely difficult to get into the habit of putting aside money towards our future self and his/her needs. That future version of ourselves—the older version—often feels like such a stranger to us. We know in our heads that someday we’ll hit retirement age and probably want to work less, but that can feel like another lifetime away…until one morning we wake up and we’re there.
The trick is to imagine yourself down the road, at retirement age, and think NOW about how you can best provide for that nice future version of yourself. Mindful saving is the ultimate form of self-care, because you’re not leaving your finances in retirement up to chance.
Here are 5 more tips to get you started on your journey towards mindful saving (read part 1 of this mini-series here):
1. Try to visualize your ideal retirement scenario. Picture what kind of work you’re doing (if you’re still working in retirement), where you’re living, what kind of hobbies and interests you’re pursuing, and so on. Then start doing calculations, either with planning tools online or with a retirement planner, to map out how much money you will need to live your best life in retirement. It’s easier to save for long-term goals like retirement if you have a clear picture in your mind of why you’re saving and investing now for some goal that may be decades away!
2. If you’re saving for a big purchase like the down payment on your first home, also use this visualization exercise. Picture to yourself how it will feel to be there at closing, signing all the paperwork and paying your down payment on the home. Imagine how great it will be to have your own place, a home where you can build equity and enjoy time with family and friends. Visualizing waking up each morning in your new home will help you stay motivated to put the money into savings each and every month as you build up that down payment.
3. If you’re building up your emergency savings, visualization will also help. Picture a scenario where you run into a difficult, expensive experience such as a job layoff, health crisis, home repair, broken-down car, or something else. Then think about how happy you will be to have money in the bank to get you through the crisis! Things happen throughout our lives that come with big price tags out of the blue, so building a solid 3-6 months of emergency expenses (enough to cover the basics like rent/mortgage payments, food, utilities, and healthcare) will give you major peace of mind.
4. Recognize that self-discipline will set you free. This is true in every aspect of your life, but especially when it comes to your finances. If you can start building good savings habits now, they will serve you well for the rest of your life. Budgeting so that you don’t spend all your money each month and make sure to put some aside towards savings and investments can seem restrictive at first. If you look at it as a road map that is guiding you towards a secure, financially independent future, however, you’ll start to feel much differently about budgeting.
5. Think of saving as self-care. You are being a mature, responsible adult and putting aside money for things like a rainy day, major purchases like your first home, and planning decades down the road for your retirement years when you either won’t want to work as much or eventually may not be able to work anymore. What is a better form of self-care than taking care of your future self? Having this long-term financial vision is something many people don’t know they should do: a recent survey found that when asked about their biggest financial regrets, most people answered “Not saving for retirement sooner.” You’re taking a big step towards a secure future by educating yourself about mindful saving!