Mindsets To Have In Order To Save Money

Self-isolation has lead me to finally catch up on my blog posts. Today, I want to share with you mindsets and principles I live by, which have served me well in having a good balance with my finances but still enjoying life!

I strongly believe that the quality of an individual's life isn't defined by what money can provide but the richness of life itself. For this reason, I don't believe spending a lot of money leads to happiness (though it can definitely provide comfort). The most important thing is having trust and confidence in yourself to do well in life. With this being said, I present to you the mindsets I live by:

1. Invest in your future instead on immediate gratification

I know, it's easy to blow money on a night out with your friends. I've been there. But let's stop now and seriously start adulting. We need to be in charge of our future, and the first step is, give me a drum-roll..... to think about your future.

It's not a trick question, have you recently thought about your 1, 5, or 10 year plan? I'm no expert, but I have to tell ya that I had always set plans and most of it had came true (wow I sounded so cocky - sorry). Remember, it's hard to get a plan in motion or work towards a goal... when you don't have one in the first place. So let's do some reflection and think about what you want to do in the next couple of years, and save towards that goal. Because in most cases, anything you want to do in life would need some sort of financial support one way or other.

Whether it is to move to a different country, get an MBA, get married, buy a home - all of these things require money. So do your research and set a financial goal on how much you need to achieve it (link here on my blog post on Getting Your Finances in Order). That way, you will have a concrete and real life plan on where your money is going towards. You will think twice about blowing through your money on just a night out.

2. Material goods don’t last but experiences do

I think it's human nature to compare yourself with others and to want nice things. I get it, I'm human too. But for some reason, it hasn't bothered me so much that I didn't have designer bags or clothes, or that some person on Instagram is so much more successful, richer, beautiful, smarter than me. Because at the end of the day, that person isn't me and I live my own life.

So I will be chugging along, and spend money on things that I see value and actually will benefit to my well being. I choose to spend my money on experiences rather than on material goods.

Whether that is traveling with my family, buying tickets to a self-development conference, having an occasional fancy dinner with someone I care about - these are the experiences that is going to last and help me become a better person.

For some reason, dropping a grand on a bag pains me, but spending the same amount on a plane ticket doesn't make me flinch. I actually budgeted and spent KRW 8,000,000 (around EUR 5,900) on a Eurotrip with my mom for 17 days, visiting 11 cities. But that is another blog post on its own. Those memories are definitely going to last me a lifetime.

3. Live a minimalist life

The main takeaway on this point is to not hoard. Me a hoarder? No, that's not me...*nervous laugh* ... You may think this but give yourself a hard look - do you really need 10 lipsticks?

By a minimalist, I don't mean having a single mattress in your room and owning 2 pairs of underwear. I mean, reflect on areas of your life that may be a little excessive. For us females, it's common to have more than necessary make up and skincare products taking up a whole vanity. I mean, if that's your job, fair enough. But for the majority, do you think we can reel back a tiny bit?

What I personally like to do, is to have one set of skincare and makeup. For example, one toner, one moisturizer, one eye cream, etc, or one foundation, one mascara, one eyeliner, etc. Though, I do admit, I think I have like 3 or 4 lipsticks and two eye shadow palettes - but they are for different occasions, ok?

I know, I'm not perfect at it, but I do try to simplify my life wherever I can. Once I use up my moisturizer, I go out and buy a new one. The worst is when you have a little bit of moisturizer left, so you go out and buy a new moisturizer, and you never end up actually finishing your old one. You feel bad about throwing it out so you keep it on your vanity. Repeat that 5 times, and now you look like a hoarder.

The same goes for buying groceries (shop just enough so your fridge is empty at the end of the week) or buying clothes (buy nice basic items that you can easily mix and match with other pieces in your closet). This is embarrassing, but I still wear the same pieces as, like, 10 years ago. I just mix and match them with newer pieces, so you don't notice the dust on them.

4. Do your research before buying (and don't impulse buy)

This especially applies when you're purchasing more expensive items. For example, if your laptop died on you and you need a new one, don't just simply walk out to your nearest Best Buy and purchase a new laptop (ie. impulse buying). Take your time doing some research on what the best deals are.

There are usually certain months or seasons that have great sales on laptops, or, maybe a new model will be released so the old one will be sharply discounted but has the exact same features. Sometimes used items aren't the end of the world, if the price is decent and there is still warranty on it. Take all these factors into consideration, and don't be afraid to just wait and simply be on lookout for good deals.

For me, my (second hand) Macbook air that I got in 1st year of university died on me 7 years later. Fortunately, I had a work laptop I could use to browse Youtube as well as my phone, so I wasn't exactly in a rush to buy a laptop. However, I was on a lookout and came across a really good deal in-store for a Windows Surface laptop, in which a new model just came out for. Let's just say, I saved like $700.

5. Small spending habits add up

I'v sort of covered this topic in my other blog post about How to Save Money in Your Everyday Life (link here), but it's important enough to reiterate. Don't just focus on your big purchases, which are often one-off things. But pay special focus on your spending habits, which add up on a daily basis and can actually be quite significant amount at the end of the month.

Does this $5 Starbucks coffee truly make me happy, or would a 50 cents coffee at home still give me the same caffeine fix? Do I really need to buy out my lunch everyday at work, or would I feel healthier (and save money) packing my homemade meal? Do I really need to drive to work and pay for parking and gas, or is there a bus or skytrain that goes to my office (where I can also catch up on the news while on transit)?

Be honest with yourself - which of your expenses are necessities and which are caused from just laziness? Can I build good habits so that it's not only beneficial for my well-being but I can save money too? Time to do some reflection, good luck!

As always, I hope my tips helped you in some way! Don't hesitate to leave comments or suggestions. Don't forget to subscribe so you can be notified of new blog posts!

#notahoarder #experiencesoverthings #mealprepping #officiallyanadult

Disclaimer: I'm not a financial planner by any means. My post is just to share my experience and the tips I have used to save towards my financial goal.