Saving is as important as Earning
Let’s talk about Savings and Spending.
Saving is the second part of the key financial guideline “spend less than you earn” (the first is to earn as much as possible) and is just as important as its brother.
Two Parts of “S”
As it relates to its use in this site, “save” actually has two important meanings.
They are:
Spending your money wisely, paying less than you need to for the things you want. In other words, “save money” when you buy things. This usually requires both knowledge (of prices, promotions, money saving tactics, etc.) and intentionally (not just spending haphazardly, but planning spending.)
Putting money aside (i.e. “saving” it) for future needs or, more related to this site, to invest for future growth and income.
At My Daily Cents we’ll discuss both sides of saving and how you can supercharge your saving capacity on your road to becoming wealthy.
Spending Wisely and Saving to Invest
By knowing prices, how to use promotions, the best money saving tactics and the like, you can spend less than others do for the same goods in services. In many cases, these savings are quite substantial. And even the ones that aren’t can add up to significant dollars over time. Put all these together and they contribute significantly to the growth of your net worth.
Part of saving is also just choosing to spend less than you earn. If you make Php 400,000 a year and control spending to Php 300,000 a year, you can put away (“save”) Php 100,000 that can then be invested to drive your net worth. This requires self-control and financial discipline, but if you can do it, you will grow your cash flow and rocket your net worth to new heights.
And by the way, I have lived what I’m preaching here: we saved 33% of our income over a couple decades.
On the other hand, some people can get carried away saving and live a miserly lifestyle. I don’t recommend that and prefer a more balanced plan for spending and saving I call moderate and selective frugality.
Don’t Overlook the “S”
As the second part of My Daily Cents' principle, saving is a vital step in becoming wealthy. Do not overlook, dismiss, or downplay it. You can make Php 1 million a year, but if you spend more than Php 1 million, you will be decreasing your net worth. Thus is the power of focusing on saving. It’s not a simple sideshow on the way to wealth, it’s the necessary step #2 that opens you up to great wealth.
Spend wisely, save often!