When it comes down to money there are many belief systems out there. From one side, there are people who absolutely refuse to save money even if they have room in their income to do so. While on the other side, there are absolutely obsessed with saving money. They insist there to be no indulgences, coupon clipping every day, no mistakes, and sadly no joy. In the perfect world, we fall in the middle practising both sides so we can balance and enjoy our daily lives while seriously saving for things to come. Here you will learn how to master balancing the interests of present you and future you.
Most importantly and fundamentally, you need to believe both saving and spending are important. Without seeing the value in both it is very hard to find your perfect balance. For example, if you believe saving is the adult thing to do, chances are you will not put much effort to save money or even start saving money. Same for spending, if you believe spending money on anything is a sin, you will have a hard time finding things that truly enrich your quality of life. Saving and spendings are necessities to live a fulfilling life.
Saving money provides a feeling of comfortability and safety. Having money saved up helps ensure that if you run into a small accident it does not snowball into a financial and life disaster. Saved money also provides us with freedom. You may be able to travel across the country, buy a home, leaving a bad job, and so much more. Spending money can bring joy into your life without throwing all your money out the window. It can create happiness and convenience in your life so you can create a life you love.
Write down your goals and put a price on them. It might be unclear what you want in life right now, but you can always start from simple things, like owning a car, no one goal is better than the other. Having a tangible price tag sets a goal to move towards. Doing so will also allow you to see some of your goals are cheaper or much more expensive than you had anticipated. It is always better to be prepared ahead of time rather than being unprepared when it arrives. Start by putting these goals on a timeline and how much each month or year you would like to contribute. As you start you will notice you might be able to work toward all your goals at once, but instead prioritize some over others.
A well-created budget is likely to work if you have a reason to work towards them. Even if there are only a few goals you want to work towards, starting to create a good balance between your present and future self. Everyone starts from somewhere, you can build your own healthy relationship by saving and spending money.
Lucas Zhang was a Finance major at Ohio State University. He writes about finance, mortgages, and technology for Irish Mortgage Brokers.
Relevant Links: Saving and Spending, Budgeting
