It can often feel like a real chore to save money. We might just think that it is easier to get a loan and borrow the money that we need rather than go through the hassle of saving up. However, there are things that we can do which will make saving less laborious and therefore you might be more prepared to do it.
Check interest rates
It can be fun to start by looking at what interest rate you will get on your savings. If you work out how much that will be over a year or perhaps even longer, you will be able to calculate the benefits of keeping your money in the savings account. Knowing that you will not have to do anything at all for that money to be coming can be satisfying. You do no work and still get paid! The more that you put in there the more you will get back and so this could encourage you to keep putting more in and then watching the amount you have grow. Some accounts will pay more interest than others though and it is wise to compare them and put your money in an account which will give the best return.
Concentrate on the end result
It is also really good to focus on what you are trying to achieve from your savings. It could be that you are saving up for something specific or that you just want a specific amount in the account in case you need it in the future. Whatever it is that you are saving up for you need to really look forward to it. Think about all of the advantages of having that money and what you will be using it for. Get excited about having it and then every time you are able to put some money towards it you will feel happy. It will make you more likely to want to put money towards it too as you will get pleasure every time that you do so.
Concentrate on the cash
There are different ways to save money and some people find that seeing the cash helps them. They have a glass jar and every time they save some money, perhaps by earning a bit extra or by spending less on something, they put that money in a jar. They watch the jar get fuller and fuller and then at the end of the month they will count it up and pay it into their savings account. Although you will make more money if you put it into the savings account as you make it, it can just be more motivating for some people to see it growing before their eyes. If you want to keep the money in the savings account but still see it growing then you could put a bead or marble in a jar every time you increase the savings by a certain amount and then you can still see how much it has grown without having the cash there.
Make spending less a competition
It can be fun to see how much you can reduce your spending so that you can save more. You could have a competition with your partner or with yourself and see how much less you can spend compared to the previous month. If there are two of you then take turns in doing the weekly shop and seeing who can spend the least when they do it. Or look form week to week or month to month and see whether you can keep reducing your spending by more and more each time. Some people get really motivated by competition and so by doing this you will be able to keep reducing what you are spending. You could so the same thing with earning as well. Perhaps see how much extra you can earn. Both ways you will be able to use the extra money that you have to put into the savings account.
So, you can see that you will not have to find savings to be a boring and difficult thing if you adopt some methods to make it more fun. These are just a few ideas and you may be able to think of things that will be better suited to you and to the things that you enjoy doing. It is just a matter of changing your attitude so that you focus on what you will achieve rather than what you will miss out on. Think of the advantages of having less money to spend, such as having less stuff to clean, tidy and dust or having less food to tempt you to put on weight or things like this. It is possible to think of a positive side to everything and this will help to make the whole process a lot more fun.