Savings Mindset

New Attitude / Paradigm

When we get hold of money either from a windfall or simply from our regular monthly income, we tend to immediately think of ways to spend it rather than save it. The Spending Mindset, which is almost synonymous to Earning Money, has always been a problem.

Early this year, some of the New Year’s resolutions that are posted in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are promises of conscious budgeting for a wishlist of items that one wants but may not need. So I wonder, how many of these people are actually planning to set a budget to save and not to spend?

Most Filipinos know the different ways on how to save and reduce expenses, but many also feel that they are missing out on something by cutting back on spending. Advertisers in the Philippines have succeeded in convincing people that lives are more miserable or less fun by not purchasing certain products and services, hence, people always save to spend for these.

I believe that while we're still at the first quarter of the year, we must cultivate a culture of saving thru a Saving Mindset campaign which focuses on saving to invest and not to spend. The best way to change one’s mindset is by learning to take pride in actually saving money. Sure we can have instant gratification at times but generally, we need to make saving something that we almost want to boast about.

As I am part of the average income earners, I’d like to start influencing people around me to enjoy working hard and see work not just as a way to get money to spend but also to save money to enjoy the challenge of growing it. After all, we cannot work for our entire lifetime! And while our bodies are still able to absorb the stress and physical toll that comes from working 8 hours a day (sometimes more), we must think of saving and investing for our future. Delayed gratification as a habit can never harm us. After all, a financially healthy employee is a productive employee. We must start working on having a Saving Mindset now!