Saving can be difficult under the current economic climate, it requires on-going commitment to your savings plan, every day, week, month and year.<\/p>\n
According to Debt Rescue, South African households have a savings rate of only 1.1%.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0debt management firm says that the trick is to stop thinking of saving as a nice-to-have and rather as a must-have like paying your rent for example. “You know you need a roof over your head and therefore you don\u2019t question the payment, nor do you try and circumvent it.”<\/p>\n
Debt Rescue provides a list of 5 mind tricks to help make saving easier:<\/strong><\/p>\n Get into the habit of adding all your change to a coin jar. Ridding your wallet, purse and car of unused coins on a weekly basis is the easiest way you have ever saved. Once your jar is filled, take it to the bank and deposit the money directly into your savings account.<\/p>\n This is a great, out of sight, out of mind saving method. With automated savings you take away the temptation every month and soon it will become second nature.<\/p>\n If you are trying to cultivate a savings culture your credit card has no business being in your wallet. Easy access to your credit card is just as good as walking around with money in your pocket. Don\u2019t tempt yourself. Keep your credit card in the safe. And if you really don\u2019t trust yourself let your partner keep it for you.<\/p>\n The main reason people take up challenges is because they have a start and end date with measurable milestones in between. That is why exercise and weight-loss challenges are so popular. Why not try the same with saving, and do a 52-week challenge?<\/p>\n With a 52-week saving challenge you save R1 in week one, and up the amount with R1 every week. In other words in week two you will save R2, R3 in week three and so on and so forth until you get to week 52 and save R52 in that week. It will be the easiest R1378 you have ever put away. Want to make it really interesting? Swap the R1 for a R2 challenge and boost your savings even more.<\/p>\n It is difficult to save for the future with nothing tangible for all your saving efforts in between. Therefore:<\/p>\n “Saving is a positive action you are doing for your future. But don\u2019t put so much pressure on your cash flow that you are forced to take on debt. That is not the point of saving at all. Instead try and cut costs on luxuries and other expenses so you are able to afford saving,” it said.<\/p>\n One graph shows how bad South Africa\u2019s consumer debt is<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Consumers cut living expenses, but aren\u2019t saving<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n1. Start a coin jar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Automate your savings<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Hide credit cards<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Challenge yourself to a 52-week savings plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Focus on the rewards<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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More on finance and saving<\/h3>\n