Discipline of Saving: Making the most of it (read money)

Right at the onset, let me tell you a secret- For you to become financially free and achieve your financial goals, trying smart saving hacks that can increase your money quotient two times over a period of 20 years. These are not big pools of money that you need to save, but small drops that will fill the ocean slowly and steadily. There is a very narrow gap between you and your financial goals and you could overcome it with a disciplined approach towards saving.

So here are our 5 saving hacks:

#1: Pay yourself first: Saving should be planned, and kept aside as a part of your monthly income. We call it a “ Savings first” approach and suggest our investors to keep aside a minimum of 20% of their take-home salary/income for savings and investments. And wait no longer, and invest as soon as your salary is credited.

Most people, tend to look at savings as residual cash left after meeting all the expenses and spends. But one must realize- your expenses and spends are infinite. “ Savings first” helps, because, you tend to budget all other spends and expenses as a part of your income minus savings. In addition to this, for those who have a steady income, you can also easily plan your financial goals, as you are certain of your investible surplus for a longer duration.

#2: SIP: Yes, Systematic Investment Plan, better known as SIP in mutual funds and other regular saving tools like monthly auto-debit towards a recurring deposit is among the easiest means of becoming a disciplined saver. These tools offer the advantage of setting aside a part of your income in an auto-pilot mode. You just need to schedule a date, when you want the money to be deducted from your bank account. No hassle of login and investing every month. Just a few clicks and your disciplined journey begins.

 #3: Make a budget for spends every month. Categorize items into essentials and non-essentials: Review your spending for the past month and accordingly budget for the following month, and monitor them, to avoid overspending. Circle in red things that you bought but didn’t use. The expensive “ gourmet vegetables” or “cheese” that had to be thrown out, the dress that you bought on an impulse and didn’t use. Keep a list of the wastages in your phone notes to be revisited each time you go shopping.   

#4: Resist peer pressure and Impulse buys: Counted among the top challenges towards becoming a disciplined saver. Peer pressure not only makes you overspend at almost any instance but could also send your financial well-being for a toss. While EMIs may look small, too many of them and the hidden charges and high-interest rates, leave very little for other essential and discretionary spends. Your credit card could charge you as high as 36% per annum on your borrowing. Ever wondered, how big a corpus you could build with that kind of returns?

#5: Start saving small: Good habits have to be nurtured and patiently tended to. Start by saving one day of your salary. And slowly add another day and then another day. This way you will not impact your lifestyle and yet slowly build the habit of saving. Within no time will you reach the goal of saving at least 20% of your monthly earnings. Remember the piggy banks?? It was among the earliest endeavor from your parents in order to inculcate the habit of saving.

Starting savings early has its own benefits. Among the biggest benefit is the extended duration during which your funds get to remain invested. Your invested corpus grows exponentially, thanks to the magic of compounding, especially over a long duration. Which is why the saying….

A penny saved is worth two pennies earned!!