It’s mid-month and by now (if you’re like the rest of the human race) your New Year’s Resolution is either nagging you like a bad tooth or becoming just a faint memory. And since money is always one of the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions of any year, I’ll be you spend less and save more is causing problems again. It’s the goto resolution but even though it’s an easy concept to grasp, we just can’t knock it off our list. Why? What’s the big problem?
We try to do it all at once. Our world revolves around instant gratification and we want to see results NOW. So we vow to never buy our favorite coffee again or always take lunch to work or only dine out on our birthday. Forget about going to the movies or on vacations or every buying anything again. You’re going to tough it out and save that d**m money.
Or, maybe saving more will be easier. You’ll “pay yourself first” and save a big chunk every month. You whisk away $$$ from paycheck to savings before you can get your greedy little hands on it. But now there’s no money for anything. No groceries for lunch or just one good cup of coffee. And, forget about the movies you don’t have the gas to get there!
But a subtle tweaking of things already a habit, turn spending and saving into something painless and rewarding. So give up that coffee “occasionally” and put the saved $$ in a jar. Skip the popcorn at the movies and save that money, too. Find the little things to give up. Linking the pain of spending less with the pleasure of saving more makes it all a whole lot easier. Subtle changes for sure but hey, it’s better than nothing. Right?
It’s been said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. Now there’s a New Year’s Resolution to sign onto.
