When inflation is high and the prices of products, services and housing rents, as well as water, gas and electricity bills, rise by a considerably greater percentage than the increase in salaries and incomes, many individuals, couples and families It is not easy for them to save.
Saving money as a provision for future needs can seem like a utopia when you have to juggle just to “make ends meet.”
However, despite the fact that the economic context is difficult, “saving is essential and anyone who does not have it as a goal is wrong,” says the doctor in Finance, Elisabet Ruiz Dotras, professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Open University of Catalunya, in Catalonia, Spain.
Many times, what makes it difficult for us to save money and save money is not only a complicated economic situation or high inflation, but also our own behaviors, shortcomings and habits, which act as true “saboteurs.”
Professor Ruiz Dotras, founder of the platform online of empowerment and financial education Elisabet.RD, describes some of those habits “spoilers” that obstruct or hinder our savings without realizing it, and explains what measures we can take to make them void.
Lack of spending control
How to disable it: Review your expenses.
For Ruiz Dotras, “identifying where you can cut is the first step towards healthier financial management.”
“Doing a simple review, you will surely find unnecessary expenses or forgotten subscriptions that can turn into a considerable amount of money at the end of the year,” he points out.
To achieve this, and taking into account that many people manage their finances online, the expert advises “downloading bank statements or analyzing expenses from the bank application.”
Excessive spending on leisure
How to disable it: Don’t spend more than 15% of your income on leisure.
By allocating a budget for leisure, you avoid sacrificing financial well-being for a few moments of fun, according to Ruiz Dotras, who advises setting a limit “of between 10% and 15% of our income” to allocate to that section.
According to the UOC professor, this limit not only establishes control, but also self-knowledge, since “it is crucial to understand our leisure needs and how they align with our economic reality, to avoid unnecessary expenses.”
Impulsive purchases
How to disable it: Think before buying.
“Several studies indicate that serotonin and dopamine (substances involved in brain chemistry and related to pleasure and mood) play an important role in impulsive purchasing decisions and spikes in these substances generate addiction,” according to the UOC professor.
Knowing this fact “can help us resist the temptation to buy unnecessarily,” he points out.
This expert also advises pausing, before purchasing a product, to reflect and ask yourself: “Is this a real need or a momentary desire driven by the search for instant gratification?”
Unnecessary purchases
How to disable it: Make the shopping list.
For Ruiz Dotras “it is important to go to the supermarket with a clear idea of which products are needed, in order to reduce the risk of making unnecessary purchases.” To achieve this, you can use “applications that can be shared with other family members and that allow us to electronically write down everything we need,” explains this financial specialist.
Buy expensive
How to disable it: Compare prices.
“Making a price comparison is important, because it allows you to purchase what is most convenient according to the needs of families or find good deals. It is a practice that must be carried out whether we make purchases in person or virtually,” says the teacher.
Inadvertent expenses
How to disable it: Control invisible everyday expenses and save systematically every month.
“Traveling on public transportation, taking food from home to work or studying online to avoid commuting will allow us to reduce those expenses that are generated every day without us being aware,” he exemplifies.
Other small gestures that can mean significant savings are turning off devices instead of leaving them on standby, unifying bank accounts to only have a single expense in commissions or buying the most efficient appliances and using them rationally, according to Ruiz Dotras.
Lack of knowledge
How to disable it: Financial education.
When looking for financial training on the Internet, it is important that it is a course that offers quality content, is done in a didactic way and is as personalized as possible, moving away from any training that offers to obtain quick and easy money, explains the teacher. from the UOC.
The objective of good training will be to “become financially empowered to be able to make the best financial decisions appropriate to our needs, without having to delegate them to third parties and thus be able to manage our money in the best possible way,” he highlights.
It is advisable to “start with training, aimed at good financial planning, and continue with investment training, aimed at creating a diversified portfolio appropriate to our needs,” according to this expert.
Lack of planning
How to disable it: Set realistic savings goals and live within our financial means.
This expert recommends replacing the usual but counterproductive logic of “first spend and then save from what you have left,” with the concept of “first establish how much we want to save and then adjust other expenses.”
To achieve this objective, he recommends that when we receive our salary or income we automatically separate the part destined for savings, so that it “is not compromised by impulsive spending decisions throughout the month,” as he concludes.
#habits #carelessness #sabotage #finances