The Hardest Day to Save
Its getting close…just a few more days…then – Freedom! You get up, get ready for the day, and at some point cruise on over to the computer and check your bank account. YES! Its there! You just got paid…and now the temptation sets in.
This happens to each and everyone of us and it turns out that the hardest time to save is right after you get paid. This might seem like a no-brainer, but what you might not realize is the behavior that changes after this powerful day: Pay Day. For me, the day of and the day after are the most difficult because in conjunction with regularly scheduled payment, you know how much money you have in your account, or more importantly, how much extra you have in your account.
This is the time where you are bored at work or hanging around the house and you decide to go do a little internet shopping, or make slightly more extravagant plans with your friends to go out, or go to that slightly more expensive restaurant. These are the sorts of temptations that really take the punch out of your savings and then some how, almost magically, in the course of two weeks, you find yourself getting down to the bottom again and your just waiting and waiting for the next pay day. Rinse, and repeat as necessary.
This is natural though. We all feel like this. We do it for different reasons of course but the behavior for the most part is inherent. We might feel like we deserve a reward for doing so well with a payment we made, or want that one thing we have been thinking about off and on, and what better time to get it but right when our wallets and purses are the fattest? Another aspect that drives us to consume needlessly is the fact that sometimes we feel compelled to buy at this time simply out of fear and greed. We fear that by not buying something, we might not feel completely fulfilled, or if that doesn’t do it, then the idea of simple greed persuades us that its ok.
Again, its not the end of the world and this happens to pretty much everyone. How can you control it though? Well we have a few ideas:
Before your pay check hits your account:
- Make a list of your upcoming bills, put it somewhere prominent (think bathroom mirror)
- Add to that list your goal for a savings account. Don’t worry if its not something wild that will become a crazy amount right away, we’re trying to build habits so smart small.
- Make a list of the things you need, not want. This will show you the value in priorities as well as objectify what you really want versus what you really need.
- Keep the date in mind, as much as you can…don’t let the paycheck surprise you. Its not a gift, its what you have earned from working.
When Pay Day happens:
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Feel free to check your account, don’t avoid it. But keep the mind set that you have things to pay for and savings that need attention.
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Once your financial responsibilities are squared away, keep yourself busy but do it frugally. This is an important time to maintain discipline as its the easiest time to get a little more wild with your money than you normally would.
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Hold off on buying extra things as much as you can. Try telling yourself that you will get that one thing next pay period and then by that time you might have realized that you really didn’t need it anyway and you can cross it off your list as an item you don’t really need. That item will always be there. (For me its books. I am a sucker for the discount section at Barnes and Noble and have some sort of uncanny third sense for “deals” at Amazon. $15 book, not bad. $25 to ship it? Yes! Ugh, its embarrassing to write about.)
The next few days:
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So at this point you have shown enormous restraint and have salvaged what could have been hundreds of dollars. But we can’t live like monks, we do have lives after all. Well now that the influx money storm of cash has gone passed, now its a little more appropriate to make a purchasing decision without the glow of a fully engorged, juicy bank account. Just take it easy and remember, this is going to happen again:
in about 2 weeks. $
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My savings hit my automatic transfer in ING so I’m not tempted to spend it. Pay yourself first!