There are a million and one reasons why you should shift your focus to saving money. As unpredictable as the economy is and with the rising prices of everything, securing your financial future now is a must. By saving money you provide yourself with a way out of a lot of life’s uncertainties.
More importantly, it can give you peace of mind about your quality of life now and in the future. By putting money away systematically, you can navigate life more smoothly. So, we’ve narrowed down the million and one reasons to save money to just five.
1| Security
If there’s one thing you can expect from life it is the unexpected. As much as we like to control and plan and organize, life always finds a way of throwing a curveball. Whether it’s a layoff or a car accident, stocking money away gives you a safety net if the unexpected happens.
2| Home Ownership & Education
Homeownership can seem really far away for a lot of people, but if you start saving now you would be surprised at how quickly you can build your deposit. It’s cheaper to pay a mortgage every month than it is to pay rent, that’s extra money in your pocket that can go into your savings when you get there.
If you have children, saving will help ensure you can pay for their education. While many people don’t bother with this, getting your child off to a debt-free start in adulthood is priceless. And if your child doesn’t want to go to college?
You can use that money for a trade school or a community college business course if they have a great business idea. Everyone has a different path, but you can help ease your children onto theirs. If you don’t have children, you might want to use that money for your own education. It’s never too late to change career paths or to just learn something new.
3| Financial Independence
Everyone will define financial independence differently because it means different things to everyone. Ultimately, it means the ability to live comfortably, work in a job that makes you happy (or at least doesn’t make you miserable), and still enjoy nice things. The sooner you start saving your money and the more you sock away, the sooner you will achieve your financial independence.
4| Short-Term Goals
Saving money isn’t always about long-term goals, it can also be about ensuring you can achieve your short-term goals. Some people spend a few months saving for travel or tattoos or a bucket list meal at a Michelin restaurant. Don’t underestimate the value of short-term saving goals.
5| Retirement
The retirement age keeps getting older, but that doesn’t mean you should put off planning. The more money you save now, the earlier you can retire or, you can at least rest easy knowing you will enjoy your retirement.
Saving gives you a solid foundation, and everyone knows the only way to build anything is on a solid foundation. Your financial security is no different. It doesn’t matter how old you are, getting into the habit of saving is an important part of building your financial security. Create savings pots in your banking app and divert money into each of them every pay cycle.
Set it up so those payments move the day after you get paid so you won’t notice it. But first, you have to decide how much money you will realistically not miss. That’s the starting point. Once you get used to living on that amount of money, you can take another look and increase the amount of money that goes into each of your savings pots.
