What is your dream? In 5 days (how did that creep up so fast?) I will be off living my dream.
I’ll be traveling around the world with my partner, earning money online, living in cheaper, warmer and more exciting places.
I can’t imagine anything better. But this is my dream, and it might not necessarily be your dream.
It has taken 1.5 years for me to built up enough money in savings, enough money in monthly income and to wait for my partner to get ready for this dream, but now it’s finally helping and it feels great.
Your dream might be traveling the world, sipping on coconuts while constantly being warm and surrounded by beautiful beaches. It might be buying a brand new F-Type Jaguar and cruising along fast roads. It might be a large, luxurious home. It might be just having enough money to properly provide for your family. Whatever your dream, it is possible to achieve it if you believe it and if you implement good saving habits.
Saving can be challenging, trust me, I’ve had my issues saving over the past year or so. But in the recent months I’ve become really serious about my savings and it’s paying off. Here are some saving tips to allow you to live your dream.
1) Visualise Your Dream
Sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? But spending a bit of time each morning visualising your dream, imaging yourself living it (or driving it) really does make a big difference. I have been visualising random aspects of my dream, including how it’s going to feel to see Athens, finally, and how the sand in the South of France is going to feel between my toes. So random, but it really does help me.
2) Let Your Savings Snowball
If you’re paying off debt, chances are you wont be able to save as much as you want and it will probably feel a little hopeless. The truth is, every little bit counts and every little bit makes a difference in the long run. Start saving even when you’re paying off debt, even if it’s small and then once your debt is paid off, continue to allocate that money, but this time to savings instead of debt. This will help your savings snowball and will give the momentum, making it easier to stay focused.
3) Be Realistic
Not to sound like a buzz kill, but try to be realistic about your timeframe for achieving your dreams. Be ambitious, but be realistic. If you aim to have your dreams met in an unreasonable time frame, you might feel overwhelmed or disgruntled when you don’t reach your goal in a unrealistic timeframe, even if your savings have been on the mark. If you want a $100,000 car, you probably wont be able to afford that in a year or two, so adjust your timeframe to be realistic but motivating and see how it goes.
4) Cut Down Your Costs
Make small changes around your home or your spending habits to find spare cash for your savings. I had a 2-bought-coffees-a-day habit which I have trimmed down to a few coffees a week. I went from 10-14 coffees a week to maybe 4-5. At $5 a pop (roughly) that’s $45 a week I’m saving or a cool $2,200 a year, just from cutting back one thing. Track your spending for a week to see where your money weaknesses are and cut back where appropriate.