A Jew’s Guide to Financial Wellness through Saving Money.
Saving money is so 1995! Life is short. Yolo right!? Who has any money to save anyway?
Look if you suck at saving money, it’s going to be impossible to get ahead. I know it’s tough, especially if you’re barely able to pay bills now, but trust me if you’re struggling now, it will only be amplified when you start making money.
If there’s one thing I am good at, it’s saving. Maybe it’s because I’m Jewish, maybe it’s because my parents are epic money hoarders. Regardless, personal finance is a magnificent strength of mine. The following is my philosophy around saving which has kept me free of unnecessary stress since I have been on my own for the past 13 years.
So how do you start? Well, you have to WANT to start and you have to WANT IT BAD because every where you look and go, marketers are tempting you to spend your money on their product or service using the most advanced psychological tactics.
You Google search a new cashmere sweater just for fun and that same cashmere sweater follows you around the web for the next two months. No it’s not “The Secret,” it’s not “The law of Attraction,” it’s freaking genius marketing.
First thing is to want it by rewiring in your mind what saving actually is and ingraining the new thought process which will be tough. Saving money is not keeping you from having fun and enjoying your life.
Saving money is investing in peace of mind. Saving is a simple stress reliever. Saving money is an activity to cleanse your life from possessions and services that aren’t fully enriching your life. Saving allows you to do great things in the future because you’re sacrificing doing something decent today.
Once you adopt this mindset, you have to track your income and expenses. There’s no way around it. You have to know where your money is going. You will be surprised by the amount of money that goes towards little things like lattes and pressed green juice.
Websites like Mint.com link to your statements and credit cards and give you a monthly report of where your money is going. If you don’t feel like keeping receipts and auditing yourself every month, programs like this are a must.
The next step is to evaluate the big chunks. If you’re spending $50 per month at coffee shops, don’t focus on that if your car is costing you $1000/month with a payment, insurance, gas, maintenance, parking, etc. However, if you’re spending $300/month at Starbucks, that’s something you will want to address.
Personally, I bring my own coffee shops half the time. It’s partially because of taste, but I also save $100/month doing that.
Most people’s big chunks are housing, transportation, and food. Look at your expenses and assess how you can reduce or eliminate some of the costs. Can you move in to smaller home, sublease o rent out a room, or A it when you’re away.
For transportation, are you in a money pit of a vehicle. Is gas a fortune? Are repairs out of control? Is you insurance insanely high?
Most Americans can’t get ahead because they are handcuffed to their vehicle. It’s such a silly expense. Cars almost always depreciate (unless it’s a classic) and are worth a fraction a few years later. In fact, I recently heard on a podcast with the founder of LYFT, that Americans average 4% of our lives in our vehicle. That’s it! That’s a lot of money going towards 4% of our lives.
Lastly is food. All the trips to coffee shops, dinners out, groceries, etc adds up very quickly. I am a strong believer in eating as healthy as your budget can afford. This means organic fruits and veggies if possible, but especially with the dirty dozen which are the fruits ans veggies most susceptible to pesticide residue. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-fruit-tops-dirty-dozen-list-of-most-contaminated-produce/
Cook as much as possible and meal prep. Save leftovers. Go on picnic dates.
Take advantage of grocery store deals as well and stockpile non perishable items when on sale.
Next is to take a look at the rest of your expenses and see where the low hanging fruit is. A $20/month subscription that you don’t really use. Cancel it.
Are you an impulse shopper? Be honest. We all are sometimes but if this is an ongoing issue for you, make sure you save your receipts and can return the item the next day once the high from the dopamine hit wears off.
Last bit of advice is to recruit your friends and family to support you. What person closest to you has the best money management skills? Confide in them. If your family and friends are just as bad as saving as you are, you will need to reduce the amount of time you’re around them or at least let them know what your goals are and how important it is for them to help you achieve these goals and not sabotage your efforts. Tell them that you don’t want to resent them for luring you back in to your reckless spending ways.
Saving money is not that hard when you adopt the mentality that you are investing in a life of limited stress and worry then apply these little tips and tricks. Whatever you do, make sure this bonus money actually goes to a savings account or investment, not to cashmere sweater company.
For more ways on how to dominate your finances and own your life, learn the 50 best products, services, and brands you should buy to save you money and help generate more income at Brad’s Best Buys.
-Brad
Ramsey Preferred Financial Coach
