Saving Private Money
10:16:00 PM
If I asked the question, "What would you do if you had a lot of money?" What would your response be?
I am sure we would be making up a list of things right now. Perhaps, so many of our long awaited dreams and desires would be fulfilled. Some of us would think that would be the end of so many problems. But of course, we know that is far from the truth.
Having a lot of money can be a lot of fun! But that's the problem, is it not? There is never enough money to do all the things we want to do or have.
Money is an asset one cannot do without. Whether it be one person or a group of persons, a company or an organization, a profit based or non profit based; the bottom line is: Everyone needs money.
Almost everyone today is concerned about how they could make more money. Don't get me wrong, it’s good to think, working smarter helps to make more money. My question is what happens to all that money we make?
While making money is one thing, managing it is another thing altogether.
I strongly believe that the primary concern should not be about how we could make more money (I am not against making more money!); the primary concern should be on how we could manage the money that we are making.
Benjamin Franklin has said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." If we take that in today’s terms: “Money saved is money earned.”
It’s not all about how much money we are making; we could be making millions and yet be spending as much. It’s about how much money we are saving that really makes the difference.
So why don't most people save? Let me enlist a few reasons that I have come across:
- I have too many debts to clear before I can think of saving.
- Money never stays on me; eventually it ends up going somewhere.
- There are too many expenses, after I pay out everything, there's very little left over.
- Some unexpected expenses always come up when I set out to save money.
- Money comes and money goes; so why not make the most of it while it’s available?
Many people I have met give me similar answers, we know we should save and we love to but we don't have the money.
"It comes down to this: either you control money, or it controls you." ~ T. Harv Eker
If we don't control money, it controls us in the form of the reasons many people state above.
We simply have to control how the money goes out of us. You see, money will go out. No one can just hoard all the money and say that they will never spend. We can't stop money from going out but we
can control how much goes out. In other words, we can't stop spending money but we can control how much we spend.
We have to decide where the money goes and how much. Every one of us may not be making the same amount of money but if controlled, every one of us could be saving well. And if we save well, we can start seeing the dividends later! To state an example, don’t be tempted to spend more than affordable. Like buying flats or vehicles, taking vacations too often, spending limitless on a credit card etc.
How do we start saving?
1. Take an initiative.
We have to make the decision to save. No one can do that for us. When we do that, we slowly start looking at ways that we can actually save money.
2. Start with what you have.
Scripture says not to despise the day of small beginnings. It doesn't matter if you have just a small amount to save, start with it and watch it grow. Too often, we wait till we have a good amount. Don’t wait, start now!
3. Clear off debts if any one by one.
This is very important if we are going to save long term. A debt is like a sieve in our pockets! The more we are in debt, the more money that we save goes out. Close off the sieve so that money doesn’t leak!
4. Develop a system.
Once we start to save, we have to ensure that we follow it through. Ever start reading a book and leave it half way? That’s what happens when we don’t develop a regular discipline of doing things. And developing discipline requires having good systems in place. We've to develop a system where we are in a position to save every month. There are many Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) that ensure this. We will be looking a bit more on this in the next post.
5. Stay committed.
Finally, stay committed to saving. Follow through the decision, stay on the systems and fight it out till the end.
Rashmi Bansal, in her book, “I have a dream”, writes about Indian sociologist Bindeshwar Pathak. He says, “In my experience, five things are most important in life: vision, mission, commitment, capabilities and efficiency. You need all five to come together to make a big success of any idea.”
So what do you think? Do you have better ways of how to start saving money? Give me your views.
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12 comments
agreed.. even with the small starting salary i had, i used to save 'pennies' at the end of every month where even i could not touch it. now 2 years later, its a decent amount.. nothing great or really significant but still a good enough amount to make me smile...
ReplyDeleteHey! That's how we all get started! A small decision helps us to see dividends later!
DeleteI believe way too many people today believe or adhere to 'Money comes and money goes; so why not make the most of it while it’s available?'
ReplyDeleteAnd from your post I think the strongest point is with respect to the initiative. Taking the first step is the hardest. Besides this all of what you've mentioned is a sensible way to go forward only thing left, like you mentioned, is to commit to it!
Kudos on the post, I think having a clear and concise understanding of something of this nature always helps us foresee our tomorrow :)
Hey Richi! Thanks a lot!
DeleteYup, that's a true statement... my sister brought up that statement!
Initiative taking is what's missing from most people today and that's the purpose of this post; that people do start taking initiative!
Like that thing about clearing debts.
ReplyDeleteClose off the sieve so that money doesn’t leak!
Hey Haddock! Thanks!
DeleteYeah! Its like a hole in our pocket! Whatever we put in goes out!
Well said Danny. Saving is important. Equally important is teaching the next generation to about the fact that money is meant to be earned and saved as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaish! Yup! Someone said "THere is no success without a successor."
DeleteInteresting tips - the more we earn, our expenses tend to overtake it. In today's world, easy EMI options are making purchases appear possible - but after some time, they feel like liabilities.
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www.facebook.com/VolatileSpirits
That's right Anupama! Learning to invest the right way is also important.. will be looking into that in the next post!
DeleteHey thanks Punam!
ReplyDeleteYeah everything that has ever grown big has always started small!
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