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Four ways to trick yourself into saving more

Laine Gordon avatar
Laine Gordon
- 3 min read
Four ways to trick yourself into saving more

Worried about your mentality towards saving money? These tips could help you trick yourself into becoming a thorough and organised spender.

Match your kids

According to Roy Morgan Research, our saving habits start young. Their survey of young Australians found that 40 percent of our kids between 6 and 13 who receive money from their parents say they put some away in the bank, while 28 percent even have a specific item they’re saving for. 

But how to help them stick to this? Consider saving alongside your kids. If you give them pocket money, agree on what percentage of this will go into savings, and do the same with your own income. You’ll be slowly generating a healthy savings account balance, while also teaching the young ones some fantastic habits. Don’t just talk the talk with the young ones — walk the walk! 

Reinstate the swear jar

A hallmark of pop culture, the swear jar is something that could help you sneakily save a significant amount of money. If you’re unfamiliar with the premise, it’s quite simple: You place a coin in a jar every time you swear around the house. It doesn’t have to be specifically for cursing either — it could be for every time you don’t do the dishes, or even leave the toilet seat up.

Setting one of these up in the home is a fun way to curb unsavoury habits, and also a method of tricking yourself into putting aside a lot of money. Coins start small, but left alone over time, a swear jar can build  up a lot of funds. See if it works for you! 

Just as a reminder to myself 

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2011-2012 the average credit card debt per Australian household with a credit card was $5,300. It’s easy to mindlessly swipe the plastic, but there could be a way to halt this spending and improve your saving. 

Is there something you’re saving for? Or perhaps a debt you are trying to get out of? Fix an image that represents this to your credit card. That way, every time you pull it out you’re reminding yourself of debts or goals, and perhaps thinking better of that spending. It could be the house you want, or your child — anything to trigger a response that keeps you saving money! 

Keep the results front and centre

Sometimes, putting yourself in a savings frame of mind is as simple as seeing the tangible results. If you use a high interest savings account, perhaps set up alerts that tell you how much money you have earned through interest once a week. 

Keeping tabs on this means you have tangible results right before your eyes, and perhaps even greater incentive to keep saving money.

Saving is a long term process, but it doesn’t have to be an impossible one. Adopting some of these tips into your daily routine can trick your brain out of being predisposed to spending money, which in turns lets you build up a savings account that little bit more easily. 

When you want to compare credit cards or account to see which ones fit your newfound taste for putting money aside, make sure to use our savings account calculator or one of the other tools available. 

Disclaimer

This article is over two years old, last updated on July 31, 2015. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent savings accounts articles.

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