Saving money is not usually the most exciting topic in the world but if your goal is to reach financial independence and set yourself free from your jobs, and you do not want to work till you are 65, or maybe it is to travel more, work less or have the lifestyle that you always wanted to have then it really comes down to a few different things that you need to take care of...
Which are spending less, earning more and then investing.
If you are younger like I am and maybe you do not have a lot of skills that are highly valuable yet then it can be hard to earn more and if you do not really have any money, it can be really hard to invest. So that is why over the past couple years, the main thing that has made the biggest impact for me was saving money. This is really the first step that a lot of people can take to better their finances so today I wanted to go over some of the benefits of saving money and how it has completely changed my life.
Immediate Impact
Saving money can make an immediate impact when you look through your entire budget and you are able to cut out some of the unnecessary fluff stuff or stop consuming as much as you used to. Therefore, you buy less stuff, and it can make an immediate impact. You start to see that wealth growing or you start paying off your debt faster and you can actually see the results very quickly as opposed to when you start investing or trying to earn more it could take years before you actually see the results. Whereas saving money, if you do not spend twenty dollars today you have twenty dollars more and so that is an immediate impact.
A dollar saved is not a dollar earned
When I learned this first, it kind of really changed my whole outlook on spending money because I realized that in order to spend a hundred dollars, I might have had to earn 130 because you're going to lose probably thirty percent to taxes depending what tax bracket you're in. On top of all, the time to earn that money and the gas going to and from and everything else, you really realize that the money that you do have is actually more valuable than it looked because you already paid taxes on that money. So, it can be more efficient to save money than it can be to earn it .
It is the lazy way
Alright so it is the lazy way now. I consider myself a very lazy person. Actually, a lot of the things that I do is because in order to not have to do some other stuffs. As an example, I will work extremely hard for years right now really, putting in a lot of effort, making these contents and doing the other things that I am doing so that I do not have to work at a job that I do not like until I am 65. In short, I will work really hard in order to be lazy. If I want to play video games at night, I will work hard during the day so that I can reward myself with playing video games at night. So personally, I would rather not do stuff that's just kind of wasteful and really focus on saving my money now and maybe work 20-30 percent less in future than I would.
So, if you are lazy, I would suggest you to not just blow money away. you will not have to work as much in future in that case. By the way let me know what your favorite money saving tips are down in the comments.
More Opportunities
Because I was able to save money and start investing a little bit and build up some passive income, I was able to leave my part time job. I was on salary, it was not like a ton of money, but it was somewhat decent money and because I had saved up enough money and I was frugal and I had made some right decisions, I had the freedom to not earn any money. If I don't earn any money this year or next year I’ll still be okay but if I have been spending the past five years and I hadn't saved up money and I hadn't started investing there's no way I would have been able to leave my job. So actually being frugal and saving money opens up opportunities. If you can take a 70 pay cut but maybe next year you have a 50% chance or a 70% chance of tripling your money and earning way more than you could ever think, you actually have the opportunity to pursue that thing. To start a business to quit and move across the country, to do different things that other people cannot do because they are living paycheck to paycheck and they continually spend money.
So, it can actually change your entire life and open up possibilities and you know get yourself in a position to be lucky and to do things you did not think you could do because you have money in the bank, and you are not worried about losing your job and you are not stressed too much of paying the bills since maybe you have six months or years’ worth of savings built up already.
Less Stress
Having no money is not the most fun thing in the world, speaking from someone who used to have no money. And it could be stressful when you have to pay the bills and when you know that perhaps a sick day can throw off your entire month, it could throw off your entire budget.
So, I think one of the most beneficial things about frugal living and saving money and not being as consumeristic is really the peace of mind that comes along with that. Where you are not caught up in trying to keep up with everybody else and then be like you are not as stressed about your finances.
Again, because you have that security fund because you understand your budget and how much money you have and how much money you need. That can really alleviate a lot of fears and I think talking about your money and being open with it with people is something that can alleviate a lot of fears as well and I think something people need to do more is start talking about their finances and understanding and diving into it. It is not something like a bad thing, it is something that we need to understand because that is what most people do all day. Every day they go and work for money and then they never talk about it, pretending it does not exist and just go blow it. You know like it does not make a lot of sense after all.
You can enjoy your money more
So, because I never really go out and like blow money on anything mostly so when I do go out and spend money and for example, I go out on a party or I actually buy something that I want, perhaps just a simple coffee which I almost never do by the way, but when I do spend my money I get a ton of enjoyment out of that and I think I get a lot more out of it than somebody who just blows money all the time. You do not really enjoy it as much as just your lifestyle so I think when you do actually go out and spend money and do stuff that you can kind of enjoy it a little bit more.
If you liked the article, do not forget to leave a comment down below and let me know your thoughts on this subject of saving more money. Please share it with others you care for and want them to be more financially aware and independent and about the advantages of saving money.