Sharing Lessons From My Savings Journey
Over the last 4 months, I have been participating in a savings challenge. When I started out, the intention was to save for a holiday in India, where I intended to run the Bengaluru Midnight Marathon. However, because of work concerns, I will not be going to India this December. But, you can bet I will be running a marathon somewhere in Asia early next year using my savings.
The lessons I’ve learned during this savings challenge will continue to serve me long after this holiday and are of greater value than the money in my account.
Identifying my spending and saving habits
To be able to save, I had to identify things that were working for me, and those that were working against me. I noticed that procrastination was not helping my savings goals. I would set out to transfer money from my current account to my savings account, but ultimately wouldn’t do it, because I overestimated my spending discipline. To cure myself of this, I have decided to set standing orders to my savings account. Let someone else mind that.
As for spending habits, I had worked on my spending a great deal, but from tracking my expenses, I noticed I was spending quite a bit on personal care (clothes and the like), and eating out. Since then, I have been more deliberate on personal care; should I buy many pairs of cheap shoes, or buy 3 or 4 pairs of really good quality shoes? I’ve been going with the latter for all things, from clothes, to shoes, to beauty products. The trade off is that I get fewer instances of “new stuff high” – the high you get when you buy new stuff, but that’s ok.
The importance of goal setting
If I had not set a savings goal for this holiday, I wouldn’t have this money saved up. I had never had to save for a holiday before, and I had many competing wants and needs.
Through this journey, I have learnt to translate my wishes into goals, then into actionable steps. This is applicable for all personal finance situations. Whether you want to buy the latest iPhone (which is my next fluffy goal), or you want to be debt free, set a goal and start working towards it. Thing is, when you have a particular goal, you are less impulsive when you get an income windfall. Goals also protect you from bad spending habits.
Accountability makes a difference
A key element to my meeting my savings goal is the fact that I knew I would “report” to my readers. When you have an audience watching you, you tend to push yourself to accomplish your goals. This is in finances, fitness, work goals etc.
When you set a goal, have someone to hold you to account and to check on you to ensure you stay on course.
So what’s next? I hinted at it. I want a new iPhone. Not to keep up with the trend, but because my current phone will be 4 years old next February, and it almost useless. Let’s see if I can apply the lessons from my class!
This article is the fifth in a series of sponsored posts for the Barclays Savings Challenge. You can follow the discussion on Twitter and Facebook and share your own experience by using the hashtag #AfricaSaves. Visit the Barclays website for more information about their savings account.
