Creating a healthy saving system is an essential step towards achieving true financial stability. However, life is riddled with examples of times when you think you’re saving money, but you’re actually setting yourself up for a financial loss.
Below is a collection of such examples. Take note of the following points and keep them in mind the next time you’re debating a purchase or investment:
1. Impulsively Shopping at Sales
Shopping for essential items when they’re on sale is an excellent way to save up! However, the trouble begins when people start buying nonessential items solely for the sake of availing a discount, which gives them the illusion that they’re saving money just because they’ve spent a lesser amount than the original price. Tip: You may use a shopping app to list down essential goods to buy.
Sales cost money, too! So, just because an item was purchased on sale doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve saved a significant amount of money. You still had to let go of some amount, albeit a smaller one, to purchase the product. This results in them unnecessarily spending money they could have otherwise saved.
2. Compromising on Product Quality to Save Money
Although cheaper alternatives to certain products will help you save money in the short term, there’s a high chance they’ll end up weighing your wallet down in the long run.
This is because cheaper products are typically of lower quality than their pricier counterparts, resulting in them breaking down or malfunctioning sooner than you’d have expected them to.
Investing in a cheap product usually means you’ll need to replace it much sooner than its pricier alternative. In the end, you end up spending more money trying to either repair or replace the damaged, low-quality product than you would have needed to spend had you bought the higher-quality product in the first place (despite the latter’s heavy price tag).
So, be smart and buy the expensive, high-quality option. Yes, it will cost you more at the start. Try looking at it as a smart investment that’ll help you save money in the long run.
3. Compromising on Medical Visits
Doctor’s visits sure do cost a lot of money, but the good part is that they help you avoid spending even more money in the future on curing diseases that were caused due to negligence on your part.
In other words, although skipping your doctor’s visits may seem like a smart, money-saving idea right now, this decision could end up taking a toll on your health, leaving you with massive medical bills to pay in the future for conditions that could have easily been avoided had you not skipped your doctor’s visits in the past (for the sake of saving a few extra bucks in the short-run)
The key to achieving a healthy, balanced approach to saving is to spend money on investments that will benefit you in the long run instead of trying to save a few extra dollars in the short run. Build an emergency fund in case you need to have medical visits.
Saving money doesn’t mean you cut off all your expenses (even the sensible ones!) Instead, it suggests that you cut down on inessential purchases and redirect that amount towards your savings jar.