Hello lovelies! 🙂
In the financial quarters, the rumblings will be about how each company is faring after the 1st quarter of the year. On a personal front, how are your finances faring? Are you finding it hard to put aside money for savings? Its hard to save for something intangible like “old age” or “a rainy day” right? So try putting aside savings for something tangible.
Our money tip today is to save money towards a goal. Its always easier to save when you have a goal in sight. Be it something small like a new lipstick or a new foundation. Or perhaps you’d like to get a nice haircut and colour to get you over the 1st quarter blues.
Or perhaps you are aiming for something bigger – your own house or car? Or even a nice holiday. Its always easier to set aside savings, knowing you have a goal in sight.
I try to have a goal in sight when I set aside savings because its nice to see something come out of all that scrimping 😉 For this, I have different “funds” that I keep track of. Here’s how I do it:-
- Identify the goal – the item you want
- Identify the cost or price of the item
- Work out when you want it by e.g. 2 months, 6 months, 1 year
- Divide the cost or price of the item by the length of time you have
- Set aside the amount monthly until you reach your goal
Identify your goal or item
This is the easy part. You already know what you want. Best not to choose something limited edition or something that is only available for a short time because that can really put a spanner in the works. Big items like cars or houses can be more daunting too but can ultimately be very satisfying.
Identify the price of the item
If its a holiday, try to work out how much you are willing to spend because this is more intangible. If its a tangible fixed price item, its easier to fix the price.
When do you want it by?
So, when do you plan to get your item? By your birthday? Christmas? As a reward for completing a project? Don’t give yourself too short a timeline or this method won’t work. I work it out by months because for many of us, our salaries come in monthly. Its always easier to put aside savings as the money comes in.
Divide the price/cost of the item by the time
To work out how much you need to save each month, divide the cost of the item by the time you have set. Then set aside this amount every month until you achieve your goal, before you go and buy it.
You too can buy an expensive item
By saving towards a goal, you will find it easier to buy something that is more expensive. Perhaps you have been eyeing a leather bag from Coach that costs RM2,000. If you start now (April) and give yourself till Christmas you will have 8 months to set aside money for it – RM250 each month. Or perhaps you’d like to pick up a Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick at RM95? Target to purchase it in 3 months and you only need to set aside RM32 a month.
Isn’t that more manageable (and less of a shock to the system) than having to take out RM2,000 or RM95 at one go without first having saved for it? 🙂 You can set this money aside in your separate bank account or just track it in a spreadsheet.
Saving towards a goal is what I do when I want something badly enough or if its a big ticket item. Its always easier and it gives me the sense of having “earned” it because you’d have had to work for it over the months you’re saving up for it and thus I derive more satisfaction from it. It also gives you the chance to contemplate if you really want it after saving up for it 🙂
Is this a money tip you already practice? If you don’t, will it be something that you might want to put into practice? What are you planning to save up towards? 😉
Paris B
Saving for another vacation with hubby! I really wanted to go to Seoul and Tokyo , this year or next year!!! One step at a time girl!
I’m thinking of going to Seoul soon too! But we’ll see how things go – one step at a time! 😉
Great writeup Paris!! 😀 Personally my finances took an all time low this year with the new house and car, but this is a great reminder that i shouldn’t stop saving because of that! 😀
Saving towards a goal gives one something to look forward to too!! Me wants my 2.55… hopefully before i reach 55!!! Hahaha!! 😀
I know how it is with houses and cars! They take up a huge chunk of our savings but are ultimately so fulfilling right? 😀 As for the 2.55 I was thinking of it, but I might pass 😛
Eeeee… I want my Studio Fix Fluid…. Hehhehheh. But I’ll have to finish my other stuff first. Feh. ^.^
That’s a good point too – to finish up consumables before getting more 🙂
I do that and I end when i finally get enough money, I’d change my mind and think that I’d want something else more… :p
It’s a good system nonetheless. I bought my camera from money saved
HAHA! I do that all the time! Save up and then decide I don’t quite want it as much as I thought (which allows me to continue saving up for something more expensive hehe)
This is going to sound nuts but I started saving this year for none other than the photography costs for Project 10. And I opened a separate bank account for that purpose. Crazy much? 😛 Hurhurhur.
Not crazy – just wondering if there is already a candidate for Project 10 that caused this 😉
Er… there was a candidate in mind when I started it… but two months after I did, everything went down the drain… the superstitious part of me wonders if I jinxed it by starting the fund. 😛
Oho! Candidate! 😉 Chin up it might come round yet and if it does, your fund is in place!
I do that too! And it’s tucked away in a separate account away from my grimy fingers 😛 I only xfer over the amount after I’ve bought something errr.. *shifty eyes*
I do that too! Transfer over money to cover my expenses LOL
I want to pay for a vacation for my parents to go to Paris. flights, hotel room, allowance, all expenses paid. no tour group. at least 4 star hotel. for 1 week. =( how much is that gonig to cost me. i will work for it, because it is my dream. =)
That is so sweet of you Sugar! Corny as that might sound 😉 I’m sure you’ll get there soon enough 🙂
I have something slightly different that I do…
Every time I get hold of a 50sen coin, I toss it into a money box. It’s quite amazing how much you can accumulate that way. Then come Christmas, I empty it out and use it to buy myself something completely random – a “surprise” gift for myself so to speak. Christmas shopping is a lot more fun when you get yourself a little pressie too!
That’s a great tip Isabel. Incidentally, you pipped me to it hehe… it was coming up in a later post but yes, saving loose change can really add up and Christmas is a great time to spend it because there’s so many pretty things out there!
I love Isabel’s idea with 50 sen coins. Genius! But like Connie, I’ll save and realise at the end that I don’t really need/ want it after all.
Once a month, Mum will sell all the old newpapers and odd pieces of paper to the “sau kau po chi” man and keep the change in a box. At the end of the year (or a few months, depending on how heavy the box gets), she will count up all the money and go splurge on her Chanel lipstick.
That’s a fun way of saving up and recycling at the same time. Unfortunately I don’t buy papers (principle) so I can’t do this 🙁
I empty my wallet everyday of coins everyday into this round tin I have (it used to hold love letter biscuits :P). And when it’s full (usually after 3-4 months, provided that I didn’t dip into it for odd coins for a takeaway), I bring it to the bank, drop all the coins into a loose change machine, and voila! I get about $400-$500. That will go into a new bag, makeup, etc 😛
What’s good about that is that I don’t feel the pinch of saving (even though I still do). I mean, why carry all that loose change with you? 😛