How to Keep More Money
Being bad with money was a big concern in my past. It was so bad I couldn’t pay my rent anymore and got a call from a lady working at the bank.
To this day I am grateful towards this lady. This is what she said:
“Hello Mr. Peet you can’t handle your credit, enough with this nonsense, you have to pay back €100 per month, and then we are closing that credit.”
I wasn’t even angry, it was all my fault and my misbehavior. Deep down, I was relieved that somebody addressed this problem and made me pay that back. It wasn’t my money anyway, so I had no choice.
As ordered, I started to pay back €100 per month. To my surprise, my comfort of life didn’t change for the worse. I started to like the feeling, getting rid of the debt. I paid back as much as I could some month €200 or €300. In no time the credit of roughly €2000 was paid back. They closed the credit option and I said to myself, I don’t want to be in debt ever again.
I realized when I could pay back €2000 I could also save €2000. That’s where my mindset towards overspending money changed. I found pleasure in saving money. I started to question my consumption.
Everything that I don’t buy is a gain on my savings account.
Here are the questions I am asking before making a purchase:
- Do I really need this?
- How often will I use this, is it worth the price?
- When I don’t use it to often, can I borrow it?
- How many hours do I have to work for this purchase?
- Is it worth this many hours of my freedom?
- Can I get this item used?
A lot of purchases are impulse driven. When somebody tells me with shiny eyes he is going to buy a plastic swimming-pool soon, I know what’s up: FOMO got him, he thinks and fantasizes this item will make his life better. We all know what will happen in one year and how frequently the dream pool will be used. I try to avoid this FOMO buys.
I have to admit I overdid the non spending for some time. Furthermore, I was sleeping on a mattress for several months because I didn’t feel the need to buy a bed. I also didn’t buy a refrigerator for three months, because I wanted to try out how it feels like to life without one. My girlfriend started to get angry, and it was time to buy one. This was a little over the top, and I try to balance the saving and the spending in a healthy way nowadays.
I found out it is possible to live very comfortable with the basic needs without spending too much. I have an iPhone 6 my PC is used, and my car is 20 years old. My hobby is not buying things.
