Saving
– just start somewhere
We don’t save like we
use to for many different reasons. Here are a few statistics to help show where
we are as a nation: 38% of American adults have an emergency fund. 41% save
something regularly, $ 35,000 is the average amount saved for retirement in
America. Out of people who do save for retirement only 18% feel they have
enough saved when they do retire. Now I
can try to make you feel bad and list all of the other countries that do better
at savings than us, or tell you how the generations past always saved better
than we save. Or I can fill you with
fear, doom and gloom to scare you into saving more, but you can watch the news
or go online and get that. I don’t want
to beat people up, it never works, I just want you to start somewhere so you don’t
have to depend on someone else when you need money. We will all have financial
emergencies in our life; saving helps us have a plan for them. I have had one for the last three months and figured
out I need to save more! (I am not perfect; I hope I don’t try to sound like I
am.) Let’s identify what keeps us in America
from saving more besides being taxed more.
The more we make the more we spend. The first thing we think when we
make more money in America is what can I buy next? We are endlessly advertised to by T.V.,
radio, internet, magazines, billboards, mail, cars wrapped with ads, clothes, and
everything else. All of the
advertisements tend to make us feel like we are lacking something and their
product will fill that void and we spend our hard earned money on the
product. Once we have it we will find
out that that thing is not the thing to fix our lives and make us happy forever
and we look for something else to buy to fill that void. We can stay in this
cycle for decades and spend what we could have saved and retire or enjoy life
more. Basically we turn these things into idols, and an idol is something we
look to, to bring us joy and satisfaction. We make it an ultimate thing. Be
careful that we do not make an idol with money also. Money is a tool, not a god. Enjoy your stuff don’t look for it you make
you eternally happy. Another problem is
that we are in a microwave society, we want it and we want it now. We are used to getting what we want instantly
from, cooking to information. If there
is something we don’t know we Google it
with our phones. How many of you
remember waiting for an hour or two while one of your brothers or sisters was
on the phone!? I was the younger one and
had the joy of bothering my sister while she was on the phone. A whole generation will miss out because
everyone has a phone now! So, don’t panic they make more than one of the things
you want and you will have time to buy it!
The next reason we spend and don’t save is because we want to keep up
with everyone else buying stuff. We are
always trying to impress people we may never see again, or don’t even
like. Also, it is easier to spend more when we do
not use cash. I myself can keep hitting
the “add” to cart button while online shopping and not realize how full the
cart is when checking out on Amazon! Use
cash when possible and set an amount in your budget when you are shopping. Lastly don’t get to the point where you think
you are too far gone that you say, what is the use of keeping up with what you
spend, there is no hope, just enjoy life. Usually there is a lot more life left
when we think this way and guess what, it requires money! Don’t give up hope. There is always hope because you can start
doing things differently with a plan for
your money. Not everyone can save
10-20% with their each pay check. Don’t panic,
start somewhere whether it is $5 a week or a $100 a week. Get in the habit of paying yourself first before paying others and budget
some blow money so you can buy some stuff for fun!
Tim West
Go West Coaching 6-9-13
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