We all know it’s not easy to save money. The minute you get your pay-check, all you want to do is pay off your debts and treat yourself. You probably already know that doing so can have negative impacts on your future — but then, why is it so hard to stop? Below, you’ll find all of the information you need on why it’s so difficult to set money aside, and the steps you can take to overcome this difficulty.
Why you can’t set money aside
There are many reasons as to why it’s so difficult for people to set money aside. By understanding the psychology behind it, you can begin to take steps to rectify your spending habits.
1. Instant gratification
One of the reasons why it’s so difficult to set money aside is that we can be a little shortsighted. Of course, this shortsightedness is likely due to the fact that our society is moving at such a fast pace, which might have made us a little impatient. We’d rather have instant gratification than struggle to wait for something that will benefit us in the long run.
It turns out that instant gratification is just two separate parts of your brain that are at war with each other. The part of your brain that processes emotion responds positively to instant gratification, but the logical one responds negatively. In the end, you give in to the one that wins out. If the emotional part of the brain wins out, then that leads to impulsive decisions.
How to overcome it?
In order to counter your desire for instant gratification, you should learn to manage your environment. You can do this by understanding your triggers and trying to remove them from your sights — like deciding not to browse on your favourite store’s website, or removing UberEats notifications from your phone (or just deleting the app entirely). The less you are faced with temptation, the less likely you are to feel the need for instant gratification. If this doesn’t work, consider tying your emotions to the goals you’ve set for yourself. Remind yourself of the positive emotions you’ll feel as you get closer and closer to achieving what you’ve set out to do.
2. Getting older
The older you become, the more likely it is for you to be making a higher income. And the more your income increases, the more you begin to think that you can now spend more than you used to. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing! In fact, an increased income can definitely help you lead the life you’ve always wanted to live without restricting yourself too much. But this line of thinking does become dangerous if you’re spending all of your extra income on things that will not benefit you in the future.
How to overcome it?
There’s nothing wrong with spending a bit more when you find yourself with an increased income. You certainly deserve to treat yourself to things you’ve wanted — but that doesn’t mean your future self should suffer for it. So the way to overcome spending all of your extra income is to revisit your budget and make room for extra savings as well as extra spending. You’ll thank yourself in the long run!
3. You're not ready to face the consequences of your actions
Simply put: you’re too afraid to look at your spending because you already know it’s out of control. This line of reasoning is similar to the old saying “out of sight, out of mind”. You tell yourself you’ll face it eventually, just not now. But what you don’t realize is that the more you put this off, the more work you’ll have to put in later to dig yourself out of the hole you’ve created for yourself.
How to overcome it?
There’s only one way to overcome the fear of looking at your spending: just look at your spending. You’ll realize that once you do, it’s really not as scary as you thought. In fact, you might actually feel relieved that you didn’t put it off longer than you already did, because looking at your spending is the first step to bettering your financial situation. It’s the only way that you’ll be able to fix your habits and budget your money.
4. You don’t know how
Not knowing how to put money aside can come from a number of reasons. You could be thinking that you don’t make enough money to be able to set any of it aside, or you could be new to making a steady income and simply don’t know where to start. Luckily, there are solutions to both of those situations.
How to overcome it?
If you feel like your income is too low for you to be able to set money aside, try to revisit all of your expenses and see if there are some things you can either cut out completely or lower. If you’ve already done this but still can’t manage to set money aside, consider ways in which you can increase your income (like taking on a personal project, asking for a raise, or finding a better position elsewhere). If you’re new to having a steady income or you have too many debts to be able to set anything aside, rest assured that there are many online tools offered by Allevia that will help you budget your money, as well as analyze your financial situation to determine the best course of action for you.
Whatever your reason is for not being able to set aside money for your future, knowing that you can overcome your inability to do so is the first step to bettering your financial situation. The sooner you start, the more you’ll thank yourself in the future.
