Saving money is very important. It’s one of the first things we can do to achieve financial freedom, yet we still find it hard to start doing it.
Saving money should start as early as possible so if you’re a student I encourage you to start saving money already. I covered some tips on saving money for students in another blog. You can read the tips and find some ways to start saving money as early as possible.
Developing the habit of saving while you are still a student will be beneficial once you start earning. However, if you are not able to develop the habit of saving while you are still a student, then, I encourage you to start saving once you already start earning. I believe that saving money is the first step to reaching our financial goals. You can also read some of my saving money tips if you are having a hard time saving.
If you are trying to challenge yourself to save money but struggling to be consistent, then it’s time to understand more about saving. Sometimes, you just really need to find a deeper meaning to what you’re doing in order to convince yourself to do it consistently. We’ll go through the importance of saving money and how it can help you in many ways.
Here are the list of things you should keep in mind to be inspired to start saving, no matter how small.
1. Gives you peace of mind and helps you prepare for emergencies.
Nothing beats peace of mind.
You can go on with your life without worrying about money you can use to buy your food tomorrow or where to get the money to spend just in case something terrible happens or if an illness strikes.
Think about what happened when COVID 19 spread and we had a global pandemic. People lost their jobs, and businesses closed. These are the things we never really imagined coming. I hope you were not one of those badly affected and if ever you have, I sincerely hope you were able to get through it by now.
That’s the point of saving money for emergencies though. For things we can never really imagine coming.
I remember when my son got sick, we needed to rush to the hospital to have him checked. It should just be an ordinary check up but before they can even check him he needs to undergo the RT PCR test which is very costly at that time because his symptoms were that of the COVID symptoms. That’s when I realize how important having some amount of money set aside and readily available in times like this.
Because of that, I set my mind to saving for our emergency fund.
Now, I realize that having an amount in the bank, which I know I can get any time I need, gives me peace of mind.
2. Opportunities in the future.
Saving money will get you to a point where you will be ready just in case an investment opportunity comes along.
Have you ever had a dream of owning a business or investing somewhere? Well, saving money can help you achieve that. You cannot invest in something if you don’t have money to invest.
You might think maybe I can borrow money just in case there’s a business opportunity. I believe it’s still best to have something rather than nothing at all because borrowing money will take time and there is no assurance someone will actually lend you money right when you need it.
So start saving money now and be ready for whatever opportunity that may come your way. Just be mindful to always do your due diligence before investing in any kind of investment opportunity. Not because you have the money, you will jump into anything that comes along. Remember that money you saved was earned through hard work and great determination so do your research before investing.
3. Achieve your goals
If you dream of owning a car or a house, then saving is your first step to achieving this. Set aside money every month for whatever goal you have, and you will eventually be able to save up for it.
If you think that the amount is minimal anyway, it will not help you achieve your goal?
Think again. You can probably be able to save for a down payment, so you will be ready if that opportunity comes. No matter how small that amount is, as long as you are consistent. You will surely get somewhere.
Here’s a challenge for you. Why not think of something you want to purchase? Think of an amount you can save weekly or monthly and start keeping it. Maybe, you can start with a small goal and challenge yourself to achieve it.
Your goal can be to purchase a new mobile phone for yourself. Check out how much it costs, and think of how many months you want to save for it. Then compute how much you should commit to achieving this.
Another way to do this is to do an “ipon” challenge, it’s a fun way to save money if you’re the type of person who takes challenges seriously.
Just be realistic with the amount and the goal. This way, you will know how it feels when you achieve your goal while training yourself to get into saving.
4. Saving money while you are still young can help you earn more if invested early through compound interest.
Investing early will help you earn more because of the power of compound interest.
Compound interest simply means your invested money’s interest will also earn interest along with the principal amount and as you continue to add more in your investment, the more money you will be able to earn.
Investing is going to be discussed further on another topic but as you learn to save money, we encourage you to also learn to invest the money you saved. This way, you will get more out of your savings while you are not using them yet.
Continue saving money and invest them properly to earn more, which will help you achieve your financial goals faster.
5. Allows you to help others in need, especially your loved ones.
There are times when we really want to help others, but we don’t have the capacity to do it. So setting aside some amount for helping others will prepare you for times when a relative or a friend will ask for financial help.
There’s nothing more rewarding than helping others in need, especially the people we care about the most.
6. Saving money can help you be more mindful of your expenses.
Believe it or not, saving money can actually help you be more in charge of your finances. It will help you be aware of how you’re spending your money because you know you have to set aside an amount for your savings.
There’s a discipline involved in saving money, and it teaches you a lot of things if you will actually start doing it. I think saving money teaches you how to manage your finances well. You will also realize that as you see your money grow, you will get excited and find more ways to earn and save more.
Conclusion:
Saving money is essential, yet we still don’t do it or find it hard to start for different reasons. According to NEDA, Filipinos spending comes in before saving and this is how the Filipino mindset has been. So it’s important to set your mind on saving by understanding how saving money can help you succeed.
Whatever the reason why you don’t have any savings yet, we hope the things we discussed will help you realize how much you can do if you have savings. Saving money doesn’t have to start when you have more salary or if you will have other sources of income.
Saving money just has to start now. You can start small until you get in the habit of doing it, and then when you are already earning more, you can increase the amount you save.
I hope we can hear from you as you start your saving journey.
I would love to celebrate with you if you finally start saving. You can leave a comment below or reach me through my social media accounts.