CHANGE YOUR HABITS AND GET YOUR MONEY IN CONTROL

Your friend calls you up and reminds you that today is happy hour at such and such a place. You know you didn’t have any plans to go out today but hey, you’ve been working hard, you need to have fun and reward yourself, right? Wrong. Odds are, you’re going to look back on this day and wonder why you didn’t have the strength to say, “No, I don’t have money”.

You’re not alone. It takes time to adjust to new habits. You are the biggest obstacle when it comes to saving. You are your own worst enemy. Together, we can find a solution to this savings problem.

SET REALISTIC GOALS

I wish to own a Ferrari in two years’ time. Does this sound like a realistic goal if I can’t even afford a new pair of shoes? No. This is often the biggest undoing for everybody trying to go big from the word go. Don’t cut spending drastically – more often than not, this will lead you to feeling deprived and back to spending more than you’d planned. If you have an unrealistic plan, you’re going to end up losing control.

Good habits are a result of good planning, bad habits just happen on their own because of you.

CHANGE OF MINDSET

You leave the house with one goal in mind – pick up some bread and milk. The next thing you know, you arrive back home with shopping bags, wondering what happened. Temptations are always around the corner. Do you like heading to the pub to hang with your mates after work? Sure, it’s good to bond, but odds are this is going to weigh heavy on your wallet in the long run. Why don’t you switch things up and find other fun things to do that don’t involve spending loads of money?

Invest in a good board game, meet up at your house and have fun. The money you could’ve spent on pints can go towards your new savings account. Matter of fact, you and your friends can pool your money together and open a Motshelo Account with Barclays. It will benefit all of you in the long run. Having fun doesn’t mean spending money all the time.

CHANGE THE WAY YOU SPEND MONEY

This is probably the best way to learn discipline with weekly spending. Every Friday, you have P150 set aside to top up on groceries. Use cash and leave your debit cards at home. Cash is tangible and you’ll feel more aware of how much you have to spend and what suits your budget. I’ve found that swiping a debit card can lead to losing track of spending.

TRACK SPENDING

One change I’ve been implementing is using apps to keep track of my spending. Every time you spend cash, no matter how small the purchase seems, log it in. At the end of the month, review what you spend. You will often realise there are things you spend on that you really don’t need. With time, you’ll start to see what’s needed and what isn’t.

Don’t forget to REWARD yourself – don’t cut out every single pleasure in life. If you have 10 activities you like doing monthly, cut these down to five and then two. Come up with creative ways to have fun, go on a charity walk or help the needy in your community. I’ve mentioned before that we don’t have to spend money to feel fulfilled and rewarded. It’s also important to reward yourself after accomplishing a big task. Have you painted the house? Reward yourself with a good movie. Just go easy on the popcorn – those jumbo buckets add up! Saving money starts small, but the habit eventually grows on you.

So how do you plan on changing your spending habits? What challenges do you face that you need help with? Dont forget to checkout the barclays website and read up more on their savings plan