Savings: The act of setting aside money for a future purpose(s).
Having heard about it before, you know that savings are a great way to secure your future and rescue you from emergency situations in life. But after a few trials, you have found out, as most people often do, that saving money is easier said than done. The burning question then is, “Why exactly do you find it hard to save money?”
In an economy like ours, it is easy to explain away why saving is difficult, but on closer inspection, you will discover that the reasons that keep you from saving consistently or even saving at all, are mostly personal. Below are some of the things that keep you back from saving.
Financial Ignorance: Perhaps, you just do not know how to go about saving your money. This can be a huge discouragement to starting in the first place. For example, many people think you have to have a huge amount of money in your bank account before you can start saving. But that is entirely false. In saving your money, you can always start small. It always helps to seek advice, read books and listen to experts on the topic.
Indiscipline: Saving becomes hard when you are more concerned about immediate gratification than the future. Impulse buying and procrastination are deadly here. It also requires you to be consistent and deliberate for you to start seeing results. That’s why some people do not stop to decide whether to save this month or not. They have made it a habit to immediately take out their savings from their daily/monthly expenses when the time comes for them to save.
Peer Pressure: As a young person, it is easy to be influenced by your peers and how they spend their money. The pressure to “impress” or “belong” is always there, no matter how subtle. As a result, you throw caution to the wind and at the end of the month, it’s either you have little or no money left to save, or have depleted your savings by delving into it.
Poor money tracking skills: Ever noticed that you start out with so much money at certain periods, but give it a few weeks and you’re down to nothing? You have no idea of how or where all your money went. This is because you don’t track your spendings. At the end of everything, there is little or nothing left to save.
No motivation: Maybe all you need is a little push to start your savings journey, or encourage you to continue, if you’ve started. It always helps to remember that savings is for future enjoyment. Imagine growing older and being more financially stable than your counterparts, or becoming financially independent when you leave campus. Saving may discomfort you a little now, but your future self will thank you.
