How-To Save Money Without Affecting Lifestyle

Want to save money while living the luxury life? Here’s some tips and a few steps to help you

Save money and the money will save you. (PHOTO: VALERIE KOK)

“Even if you cannot afford a luxury item, you would still want it,” said Mr Billy Tan, 29, a financial advisor after recounting his past experiences with clients.

Most youths these days are willing to purchase an expensive, branded item, but what they do not consider when making all these purchases is whether or not they have enough money left for the rest of the month.

Are youths too focused on instant gratification rather than planning ahead? Is it too early for them to start thinking about retirement?

It does not matter whether you come from a low-income family or are well-to-do, saving money is beneficial for everyone. In a survey done by Epoch, it shows that 98 out of 100 respondents do save money, no matter their income background.

However, a common problem was that the youths who answered the survey found saving to be limiting their ability to spend on luxurious items, such as branded clothing and accessories or they are unable to go out with their friends often. Saving money was stifling their lifestyle.

A university student as well as part-time graphic designer, Ms Anna Natassha, 23, said that saving does limit her as the “budget is not always fixed”.

Lifestyle and luxury in this case is the ability to spend on a person’s wants. The wants could include food, clothing and entertainment, such as movies and concerts.

So, we have a few steps to help you save better and live life to the fullest without worrying about your bank balance.

Set Goals

Having goals to strive towards makes saving money much more rewarding. What do you want to achieve or buy after saving? You could even save up for a brand-new car!

“It doesn’t make sense for you to save your money and not do anything with it,” said Mr Tan, emphasising the importance of setting goals.

Budget Your Money

The next step is to budget your money is the best way to plan out how much you can save and how much you can spend. You can categorise your allowance into 3 parts. Necessities, regular expenditure and leftovers.

Save a Small Percentage

The key to saving some money is to have a small percentage at first to ensure saving up does not seem so daunting to a person. Start out at 5 percent of your monthly, weekly or daily allowance. If you earn $10 a day, that is 50 cents at the end of the day, and $3.50 by the end of the week. You can increase the percentage and frequency of saving based on your own goals and expectations.

Pay Off Your Bills

Settle all your responsibilities first. If you are paying for your own telephone bills or transport, you should definitely set aside money for these necessities and pay your bills. If you buy a special product each month or need money for monthly haircuts, there should be a money for your needs.

Keeping track of finances via mobile apps is a great way to save. (PHOTO: VALERIE KOK)

Save it, Keep it, Hide it

Once you plan out your expenditure, take the small percentage you intended to save and keep it somewhere inconvenient. Withdrawing the money and putting it inside a cookie jar is a way to discipline your mind from spending it.

An Institute of Technical Education (ITE) student, Dewi Khairunnisa, 19, admitted that she “recently started saving last year”.

Saving is not impossible and with the steps given, you could achieve success in saving. It is all about planning and putting aside the money. If you are ambitious, the brand-new car or that new game console is within your reach in a matter of weeks!

Putting aside that five per cent will not hinder your spending ability, hence you can continue your lifestyle without feeling stifled by saving.