SAVE MONEY- 3 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY FOR STUDENTS..

LIFE of students is indeed difficult yet the way we spend these years decide our path for the future. These years of dependence on parents teach us lessons that mould us into people who we are going to be in the future. Most of us in our youth do not focus on saving money. Our energies and social commitments are high during these years. There is immense pressure on maintaining a certain standard of dressing and accessories so that one is well recognised in his/her peer group. This leads to financial stress and leaves no room for savings. Apart from this, the added cost of clubbing and partying in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities drain resources in the name of enjoyment.

Clothing, accessories, latest tech are all craze when we are a student. To be really honest these things do define one's image. They make a person matter in a group. But all this recognition does not do any good. This false image and its maintenance robs away one's chances to have a strong hold on finances. When this habit remains, it manifests and can lead one to financial problems in the future with his/her hard earned money this time. 

For these following techniques of saving money to prove beneficial, one must first let go of all the above false notions and practises that in reality does no good. Once this is accomplished here are the ways you can start saving money and take steps for a financially independent future.

                1.SAVE FIRST, SPEND LATER..

This is more of a habit than a technique. As the words mean, one has to keep money aside first as a saving and then decide on the spending part. One has to inculcate this as a habit. Students have limited finances which they are very eager to spend. This step ensures that one remains in check by fixing a certain amount to be kept aside each month and carry on with all the remaining. This limits the chances of over spending. Once the money starts accumulating in the savings, this habit becomes sustainable. It's basic human nature. 

For doing this one can use the famous 50:30:20 rule. This rule states that 50 percent of the money should be used for needs. 30 percent for wants and the remaining 20 percent should be saved away. This technique is not only for students but also for adults who struggle with finances. This ensures that an individual learns to differentiate between needs and wants effectively.

It is also equally important that the saved money is not touched for wants generated during immediate burst of emotions. It is preferable that the money is tucked away in a good old and reliable savings account. It can also be invested so that one can not obtain access to it easily. But that I will discuss it later in a separate blog.

                              2. ROUNDING OFF.. 

This is a very beneficial habit. Although the amount seems to be very small but when it accumulates, it can be pretty amazing. According to this method one has to round off the money one has at the end of each day and save that rounding off amount. For example, if at the end of a day you have 126 rupees in your purse, then you have to round it off to 120 rupees and save the 6 rupees away. Thus you will have 6 rupees savings at the end of the day. This process needs to be repeated daily and at the end of the month this amount will grow into an inspiring sum.

Not only hard cash, this should also be done for amount in one's bank account. The cash can be kept away in a piggy bank where as the sum from the bank account can be transferred to the account designated for savings as mentioned in step number one. I have been using this method for years now and the result has been great. Almost every time I ended up saving away the amount accumulated through this method at the end of a month. This has taught me a great deal of self control which has helped me and my finances.

         3. CONSCIOUSNESS REWARDS TO ONESELF..

This is a pretty interesting technique. This helps one to decide between needs and wants. It also teaches a great deal of self consciousness. This technique can be best explained with an example. Suppose you went to a shopping mall just to wander about. But you fell in love with a dress and you immediately pick that up. Just before paying for the dress your consciousness kicks in. You realise that the dress isn't a need rather a want. You leave the dress and come back. As per this technique you need to be rewarded for your consciousness. Thus you save away the entire price of that dress in your savings account. You not buying the dress saved you money, you just give it the literal sense of savings.

This technique is really for the ones who have mastered the above two techniques. It requires a great deal of self control to achieve this feat. You need not save away the entire money if it feels like a torture. You can save half of the money and the remaining half you can use to treat yourself with something you like. This will boost yourself to carry this on in the future.



All of the techniques that I have talked about have been practised by me for more than 4 years now. One can mould the above techniques as per ones financial liabilities. But these moulding should not change the actual meaning of such techniques. Being true to one shelf is very important and it's advisable that one learns this trait early in life. A penny saved is definitely a penny earned. Jump start your journey towards financial wellbeing by following these steps.

Do comment and share some more of the practises that you follow for saving money..

 Here are some more important reads for you to dive in next..

https://archishmansardar.blogspot.com/2019/12/delayed-gratitude.html

https://archishmansardar.blogspot.com/2019/12/ideal-education.html

https://archishmansardar.blogspot.com/2019/12/let-actions-speak.html

https://archishmansardar.blogspot.com/2019/09/being-down-to-earth.html


   
  

DELAYED GRATITUDE..

Our world today is filled with materialistic attractions. People today live paycheck to paycheck to fulfill their lust for such materialistic demands. They are not needs. This is true because such materialistic distractions are outcome of capitalism. These things are advertised in such a way that they grab sudden attention. People are made to believe that they absolutely need it. Thus these luxuries become needs rather than being just demands.

There have been studies that prove keeping cash away every month can result in good wealth accumulation. While this is true but the sad reality is that people spend this money on such luxuries. This results into stagnation and they do not move up the financial ladder. People believe that they could have better lives if they would get a pay hike. But this does not solve the problem. Once this spending habit gets embedded in our life style, with a pay raise we just increase our spending, thus remaining financially stagnant as earlier. The money is just a tool. It becomes powerful only if we give it the power.

The method or may I call it the practise of delayed gratitude is a habit when incorporated can do wonders in our life. This in the most simple way means postponing the wants for a later period so that we can concentrate on securing the future first. It does not mean that we should give up our wants. This practise in turn tells us to have conscious purchases. To give our purchase some time so that we can categorise it properly as a need or a want.

The categorisation is crucial. When a thing is a need and we can afford it we should do it right away. But once the thing falls under the second category we should give it time. We should ask ourselves whether our lives would be better when we incorporate that thing? Whether we have any alternative for that thing which is cheaper but can do the task equally well? Such questions will give us time to think about our purchase decision. And as seen, most of the times people avoid buying that thing. Thus hard earned money or soul kept savings is saved.

Some individuals may argue that we have one life and we should live it to the fullest. YES, we should. But having material possessions does not always make one happy. Happiness is a choice and we should only allow those things into our lives which can compliment our joy of living. Being financially deprived leaches away happiness and no one wants that. That is the reason we see people working soo hard to secure a living. But then these people give away their hard earned money is search of happiness in material things. They come out depressed.

We should have a balance of everything. We should delay possessions but not happiness. In the race to obtain more materialistic things people forget to live and end up having a half life. A life of regret at the end is what they get. Thus practising delayed gratitude can do wonders. Incorporate it as a habit and see dramatic changes in your life and personal finances..

ECONOMIC GROWTH IS A MEANS TO ACHIEVE AN END, NOT AN END IN ITSELF..

Our societies have gone through a complete overhaul after the industrial revolution kicked in. This changed many values that were widely accepted earlier and brought in a generation that had different kind of desires and aspirations. This flow emerged as the basic human necessities were met and there was scope to venture into new arenas. The social establishments that came up had to work towards making those aspirations a reality.

These establishments emerged but had a hurdle they had to overcome first. This hurdle was not prominent in western European countries but was itself an aspiration for many others. This was the hurdle of economic growth that was crucial because the dreams and aspirations of public could only be a reality if government had enough funds.

From the very first it is clear that economic growth was not an aspiration of the general public, rather it was a tool to make the actual aspirations a reality. In the 50's when UN set targets of economic growth for member nations, it had in mind that development in these newly independent countries needed funding. The funding as aid was hard due to the aftermath of second world war , hence economic growth was given priority before everything else.

Economic growth thus became a development indicator in early days. Most of the studied indicators of development established this fact. The well off countries were able to fulfill the aspirations of the public which made them stronger. Every country that came up in the later years followed the same trend which was thought to be the way to glory.

To elaborate this above fact we can sight some examples such as GDP, HDI, HPI and many others. They all aspire to give the depiction of reality. Thus the modern day nations focus on them and improve them through time bound developmental plans, priority sector lending, fiscal targets etc. They are all multi dimensional but aim to achieve a good standard of living for the people. The one thing that is common in all of them is that all of them require funding which is possible through economic growth. The economic goals are thus mere necessity to achieve the set goals.

Now if we consider economic growth to be an end product we are somewhat wrong. Yes, there are factors like trade, FDI etc that boost economic growth. To better explain it we can sight the aspirational target of India to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024. There have been plans etched out to achieve it but it can not be said to be an end of growth. With changing times and growth of population the demands and aspirations will also grow. Thus a day would arrive when even better economy would be the need of the hour hence pushing the boundaries further.

Arguments can be many. There can be many examples sighted. But with all of them we cannot deny the important role money plays. Everything we do or aspire to do has a monetary aspect attached to it. Thus economic growth cannot be considered a stable target but rather it is dynamic. It changes with time. It never is the end but it surely is the most important aspect to achieve many ends..