*This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure
When it comes to money, it’s not all about the numbers.
No, really!
When I first got on a budget and stopped blowing through all my money, I realized I could actually save a little money.
It was lifechanging!
But little did I know the amazing benefits that would come along with saving money, things that changed my life and relationship with money forever.
Here are a few surprising benefits of saving money that you may not have thought about!
Table of Contents
1.YOU STOP STRESSING OUT ABOUT MONEY
When you are saving money consistently, every paycheck, every month, your stress level goes down. Like WAY down!
This comes as a benefit of taking control of the money you earn, and realizing that you have the power to building wealth.
You no longer are living paycheck to paycheck, and no longer wonder whether you can pay the bills.
And once you have built up enough savings to get one month ahead, the day-to-day worries about money become a distant memory.
2. YOU START HAVING LESS “EMERGENCIES”
Most American’s don’t have enough cash set aside to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to a survey by Bankrate. A simple car repair or broken appliance can put them immediately in credit card debt, causing them to pay interest on the emergency.
When you start saving money, the first place to put it is an emergency fund savings account. And as your saving balance goes up, the amount of life’s “emergencies” goes down.
Once you have money in your emergency fund, things that use kill your budget become minor inconveniences. You can handle life’s curveballs and not skip a beat on your budget or your goals.
3. YOUR PRIORITIES START TO CHANGE
Human behavior is funny.
Especially when it comes to how you spend your money.
When I was living paycheck to paycheck, I didn’t feel like I had any control over my money. I had no reason NOT to spend it (because it was going to disappear anyway).
But once I got on a money plan and started to put money in the bank, I was no longer tempted to waste money.
Saying “no” to eating out, daily coffee and other financial temptations became easy, because I could actually afford it, but I had BIGGER GOALS.
My priorities had shifted from MALL FOOD to FINANCIAL FREEDOM!
4. LIVING ON LESS MONEY BECOMES NORMAL
One of the best tools for saving money is automation. Whether it’s investing in your 401k, or setting up an automatic transfer to your savings account on payday, you can save money every month automatically.
A side benefit to automatic savings is that it becomes your new “normal.”
When I first started putting away money in my 401k, my paychecks were slightly smaller. But after a few months, I hardly noticed the difference.
Honestly, I can’t even remember what I used to do with that extra money, and I don’t miss it at all.
Once you get into the habit of saving money every month, you no longer “need” that money and you will forget it altogether (while your bank account GROWS!)
5. SAVING MONEY STARTS TO BECOME FUN
Saving money doesn’t have to be lame. It can actually be SUPER FUN!
I’ve had so many people tell me that when they start seeing their account balances go UP, it becomes like a game. They can feel themselves “winning”, and even start challenging themselves to save MORE!
I remember when I first started implementing my Savings Buckets strategy (creating multiple savings accounts through CapitalOne 360), it was fun to look at my savings accounts after every paycheck, seeing the balances grow. And I started to think of ways I could save more money, because I wanted to hit my goals FASTER!
When saving is a habit, you start winning. And WINNING FEELS GOOD!
6. HOLIDAYS, BIRTHDAYS AND OTHER OCCASIONS STOP SNEAKING UP ON YOU
As mentioned above, creating multiple savings accounts for planned expenses can be a LIFESAVER.
Before I started this strategy, my monthly expenses would be all over the map. Holidays would come up, people KEPT HAVING BIRTHDAYS, and I had no money set aside for any of them (#facepalm!).
But once I started saving for each occasion, every paycheck, these occasions were welcomed events, not dreaded budget killers!
7. YOU START TO ENJOY SPENDING YOUR MONEY
I want you to think, for a second, about how you FEEL when you spend money. Do you enjoy handing over your hard-earned dollars? Or does it hurt a little bit?
When you start saving money, you are giving every dollar a name, and spending those dollars stops hurting.
In fact, you actually start to ENJOY spending the money that you diligently saved because you already planned to spend it! You can buy the perfect gift, or enjoy the party. Christmas is PAID FOR, and your debt-free vacation is SO MUCH MORE FUN!
8. YOUR MONEY STARTS WORKING JUST AS HARD AS YOU DO!
One of the biggest benefits of saving money is that your money can start to MAKE MORE MONEY!
There’s nothing better than knowing your money is working hard, 365 days a year!
My two favorite ways to watch you money grow:
- Open a CapitalOne 360 Savings Account. Best for short-term savings goals (less than 2 years) and larger emergency funds, this account earns almost 2%, while still being accessible. (Bonus: earn $25 when you open an account through THIS LINK and deposit $250)
- Open a Roth IRA! If you want to start investing and growing your money for the long haul, my favorite account is a Roth IRA. The best places I’ve found are Vanguard (if you have over $3,000 to invest), or Betterment (if you have less than $3,000). Putting your money in low-cost index funds will pay dividends many times over (literally!), and help you build REAL WEALTH for retirement.
SAVING MONEY CHANGES YOUR LIFE!
As you can see, the benefits of saving money go far beyond your bank account. Your life starts to drastically improve when you take control of your finances.
If you haven’t started yet, I highly recommend getting started TODAY by creating a budget, and start putting your dollars to work!
