We’ve all been taught since we were knee-high to a nickel that we should be saving money. We should put aside 30%, our parents taught us. We know it’s wise, we know we should do it … but do we want to do it, or does it feel like one of those “have to” things, like taking our medicine? Do we ignore the advice because we don’t want to follow it?
I would wager that many of us who do save only do it because we know it’s the right thing to do. We know it logically, and yet, we begrudge it a little. It would be more fun to spend that money on something we want, or even a need. It’s hard to sacrifice the needs of today to put some aside against the needs of tomorrow. These grudging feelings can make saving money a chore, and sometimes even too difficult to do. I suggest taking a close look inside ourselves to see if there’s a way we can improve our attitudes about saving.
I recall a time when we had absolutely nothing in savings, and our van broke. It was a pretty major repair and the bill came to nine hundred dollars. Without any money to spare, we had to apply for an in-store credit card, which had a huge interest rate, to fund the bill. We got it paid off in time, but that interest rate was a killer.
Another time, we had a large expense come up, but we had been tucking money away into savings. What a relief it was to have available cash. We didn’t have to go into debt, we didn’t have to pay huge interest fees every month – the difference between the two experiences was vast.
As we think about savings and we feel those negative emotions start to arise, maybe we can envision how it feels to be in debt, vs. how it feels to simply have the money for what we need. Debt feels like heavy chains that press down on your soul. It can keep you up at night, worried about how to make each payment. Having money in savings, however, feels light and free. You might feel a little sad if you have to spend it and lose that cushion, but what a huge relief it is to have it to spend. You can sleep at night. You know your debtor isn’t going to come and repossess the item. It feels good to have met that responsibility head-on.
Once we truly understand what a blessing it is to have some money in savings, it will be easier for us to put it there. It still requires a sacrifice, sometimes of wants, and sometimes of needs, but down the road, we’ll be so grateful we did it.
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