8 Ways to make saving money fun
Do you want to get out of debt, retire early, or enjoy the vacation of a lifetime? To do this, you’ll need to start saving – which is often difficult and boring. There are ways to make saving more enjoyable. Why not make money saving fun and games if you’re having problems maintaining your motivation? Avoid the same old savings routines by learning from the pros.
Here are eight ways to make budgeting a little less of a chore and a little more of an adventure.
Set up a sinking fund – and reward yourself along the way
Do you have a particular purchase in mind, like that long-awaited vacation? Start a “sinking fund” to save up for it over time.
Suppose you want to take a vacation that will cost you R12 000. You can put R2 000 per month towards your goal. In other words, in half a year you’ll have all the money you need. Put aside R2 000 a month and aim to save R12 000 in a sinking fund.
If you’re able to save the amount you set out to each month, treat yourself. Certainly not one with a high price tag. That would be counterproductive. However, frugally rewarding oneself can help keep you going.
Try the pantry challenge
Test your culinary creativity and resourcefulness by seeing how long you can stretch the ingredients in your cupboard. Check what you already have in your pantry. Then, you can go online or ask people you know for their go-to recipes. Here comes the fun part: make a meal plan using the recipes you found and the food you already have on hand.
Set up a test to see how far you can make your money go
Can you and your partner eat out without breaking the bank? Can you celebrate your approaching anniversary with just R200 in your wallets? How long do you think you can drive on a full tank of petrol?
Challenge yourself to see how far your money can go. When you’re having a good time saving money, you’ll be amazed at what you come up with.
Make it a competition
When it comes to encouraging people to save money, a little healthy competition can go a long way. Challenge your partner, sibling, or pal to a race to see who can save R2 000 the soonest. You can also set a deadline and see who can save the most money by that time.
Whoever can save the most money the quickest wins.
Increase your savings goal by R10 each week
For all you number nerds out there, here’s a great way to save money!
This is a fantastic resolution to begin the new year with. R10 the first week of the year, R20 the next, and so on is a reasonable starting point. Put in your best effort and aim to earn R500 at the end of the year.
You’ll find that you’ve saved double that by the end of the year if you stick to the plan.
Get a piggy bank
Is it a fancy savings account? Nope. Is it a reminder of that childhood piggy bank your dad cracked open with a hammer? Maybe. But as long as you’re making financial gains, it doesn’t matter much.
Don’t forget to add to your piggy bank every time you have to break a R10 or you find spare change. You and your loved ones might even compete to see who can save the most money.
Leave a fun reminder in your wallet
Create some humorous memes with the question “Do I really need this?” as the central theme. Throw one in your purse or wallet. Use it to protect your bank card. Set it as your phone’s wallpaper. Put them anywhere you’ll see them before making a purchase so you don’t forget.
Keep track of how much money you’ve saved every day that the meme has helped you avoid spending on a frivolous item. Is it possible to save R100 in a month through humour alone? A week? Try it and find out!
Challenge yourself to a no-spend month
To begin, a “no-spend” month does not mean you skip out on obligatory payments like rent or utilities. Then you’d be homeless, in the dark, and have much more pressing concerns than our little game of saving. Don’t try that!
A “no-spend” month simply involves prioritising necessities above frills. Thus, you continue to meet your basic monthly needs such as food, utilities, shelter, and transportation (the “Four Walls”).
Make it enjoyable by rewarding yourself after each successful day of the challenge by sending a hilarious gif to your accountability partner or colouring in a box on the calendar.
And after you put all that extra cash away in savings, you’ll be the true winner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are 5 tricks to saving money?
5 top tips for saving money include:
- Paying off your debt
- Setting savings goals
- Paying yourself first
- Quitting smoking or drinking (even if for a while)
- Having a staycation rather than an expensive holiday
- Bonus tip: Packing your lunch to work
What is the envelope money trick?
The 100-envelope challenge is a fun approach to make saving money more fun. You will set aside a predefined amount in various envelopes every day for 100 days. You might have more than R5 000 saved in less than three months.
What is the best budget rule?
The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting approach that divides your money into three basic categories based on your after-tax income (i.e., take-home pay): 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt payments.
What is the TikTok money-saving hack?
The saving hack, which has received over 150 million views on TikTok, encourages users to label envelopes 1 through 100 to fill each envelope with the dollar amount of said envelope in chronological order. In other words, on Day 50, you’d take envelope 50 and stuff it with $50.
What is the 30-day rule?
The 30-day savings rule is simple: the next time you consider making an impulse purchase, stop and think about it for 30 days. If you still want to make that purchase after 30 days, go ahead and do it.
