Saving can often be a daunting task, especially while in college. In fact, the college years are often viewed as a time in life where it is perfectly okay to not have excess money lying around. I used to work for a restaurant that would sell their food at farmers markets. At the markets, we would put out a bag that said “tips for broke college kids” on the front. This bag never failed to get people laughing and often got them to tip more than normal. Those extra tips may have been slightly out of pity, but I think it came more so from the fact that they could relate to that phrase. They knew what it was like to be a student living off a very small income all while possibly taking out large amounts of loans. Unfortunately, because this lifestyle has become so normal, we do not put much thought or effort into the act of saving during our years at school.

CareerBuilder took a survey in 2017 regarding living paycheck to paycheck and found that 1 in 4 workers do not set aside any savings each month. This number truly shows how many people live their life without any extra savings. The beauty of savings is that it allows you to do things that you wouldn’t be able to do on a normal basis without being obligated to repay a lender. It also provides you with a financial security blanket that will cover your costs if there were to be an emergency minimizing fear of the future. Finally, it teaches you self-control and patience.

Getting into the habit of not spending everything you earn is a skill that should be practiced early in life. The longer it is pushed off, the more difficult it will be later to switch your spending habits. A person will always be able to come up with an excuse to not begin that process in the present moment.  Yet, once familiar with the feeling of spending less than you earn, you will likely not want to go back to your previous habit. Another important reason for starting young would be that a sufficiently stocked savings account does not happen overnight. Initially, you may only be able to save $10 a month, which could seem like such a small, insignificant amount to the point where it does not seem worthwhile to set aside anything. But, you may be surprised at how thankful you are to have the $120 at the end of that year.

One driving force that helps an individual to save would be labeling the savings and attaching a goal to it. If you do not establish what you are working towards and the timeline for when you would like to reach it, you will never know if or when you will accomplish the goal. Writing your goals down in order to keep track of the progress can help you stay on the right path. Additionally, being able to watch the numbers in your bank account grow is super motivating!

Putting money away for the future is not easy when the entire world is showing us everything we do not have which makes contentment difficult. Learning how to be content with what we have in the present will open up the possibility to save. Once we begin saving, we will have the freedom to spend on items, vacations, gifts, or futures that we truly desire, not just the ones that look attractive in the very moment. If you would like to talk through a plan to help you begin saving, schedule a NEXUS appointment today: https://ronblueinstitute.com/schedule-an-appointment/.

Resources:

Friedman, Zack. “78% Of Workers Live Paycheck To Paycheck” Forbes.com, 11 January 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-paycheck-to-paycheck-government-shutdown/#5ff6d6434f10