When we are surrounded by all kinds of nudges to spend money, be it on social media, google ads or bill boards, it is quite a task to have that much needed pool of savings. But, if you don’t save, you won’t be able to invest and if you don’t invest, it is likely that your future financial goals will remain unfulfilled. 

If you struggle with saving some surplus from your monthly salary, these three actions may help you out. 

1. Get a piggy bank – Even adults can have piggy banks. An envelope, a drawer or literally an earthen pot with only a small horizontal slot on top for you to slide in money. Whatever form you choose, ensure that you are unable to empty it before time. 

The objective of this piggy bank is to have a bigger pile of savings at the end of the month. Let’s say you want to save 20% of your monthly salary of Rs 20,000; which is Rs 4,000. Divide that by 30 days – roughly Rs 133 per day. 

At the end of every day, put that money in your piggy bank (round it off if you like). It’s not a big sum on a daily basis, when you accumulate it for 30 days – it adds up to Rs 4000. Now use it to begin your investments.  Do it for a year and you would have saved and invested Rs 48,000 from a monthly salary of Rs 20,000.  Go digital if you like and open a Recurring Deposit online.

emergency fund

2. Strike the last item off of your shopping list – We buy something every day. A chocolate bar, a cup of coffee, a train ticket and so on. On some days there may be longer lists, a grocery list, vegetables, clothes or maybe birthday gifts. 

Replace the first thing you buy every day and the last item on your shopping list with something that costs you much less. Coffee from the café with water, lunch sandwich with home cooked meal, an expensive gift with a heartfelt poem or a handmade card. In shopping lists, the last item is usually an after thought once all the necessary items have been put down. If that’s true, simply refrain from buying that last item. 

Whatever money you save doing this, put it inside that piggy bank we spoke about. Slowly but surely you will see your savings pool increase.  

In shopping lists, the last item is usually an after thought once all the necessary items have been put down. If that’s true, simply refrain from buying that last item.

3. End your useless subscriptions – Now there are both online and offline subscriptions. Often, we get excited at the time of signing up for something new. Magazines, monthly gym, digital news, bookstores and so on. However, you will find that you don’t end up using all the subscriptions all the time. Make sure you optimise your savings by pruning down on any unused subscriptions and memberships. Of course, don’t forget to physically save this money in your piggy bank. 

Following these simple behaviour changes will help you enhance your monthly savings. Which in turn means you can engage in more meaningful financial investment towards your future goals.