5 Ways to Make Saving Money a Game

WHEW – we’re just a few short weeks away from Black Friday & Christmas – and if I had to make a guess, I’d say most people are already planning.

Planning what to buy.

Planning what stores to shop at.

And planning what to gift.

I’m SO happy I don’t get into the holiday shopping frenzy – the sheer thought of it stresses me out so I can’t even imagine navigating stores, trying to hide “things” from my kids and even worse, making room for more things in a house that’s already somewhat cluttered. Being a non-gift buyer makes the holiday s a really different experience. Sure, we love the holidays, but instead of gifts, we find the gifts of time and experience to be far greater than anything any gift could do for us.

Being so close to the holidays is also a stark reminder of the importance of having a savings. Many tend to lose sight of some of those things that are incredibly important at this time of the year, get wrapped up in the gifts, that they forgot about having a savings.

It’s almost too easy to put off at this time of the year.

Maybe, there are too many awesome things you would really LOVE to do that require money – money that you would rather use to do those things than put away.

OR, sometimes you just need help getting started.

Perhaps the “I’ll do it tomorrow” leads to another few weeks of procrastinating and eventually you find yourself in the new year with a savings that’s still not working on your behalf.

Putting money away doesn’t have to be boring. You can make it fun – creative in fact.. it’s all a matter of how you approach the task. I love putting money away – my husband, on the other hand, just loves to spend it. He has short sighted vision. I, on the other hand, find putting money away a very fun and challenging thing – almost like a game.

I hate video games (oddly..) but to me, the challenge of saving money is probably comparable to someone who loves video games, except you don’t have a screen or controller. Just the mental challenge.

A game that I love to be the winner of. Every time.

Here are 5 ways you can turn saving money into a challenging game.

Try Not Spending

This can be so incredibly hard for many – but it’s not impossible!  Just like you would give up meat, sugar or even soda, give up spending – as part of a whole financial body cleanse.   We’re not talking about forever.. but do it for a short period of time.

Try a week – and commit to NOT spending at all during that week. 

As you push through the days, you might realize it’s easier – you’ll therefore gain confidence, and then from there you can make it a longer period of time – perhaps 2 weeks, or even 3. It’s certainly not impossible and if anything, it’ll make you become more resourceful.

Pay Yourself First

Instead of paying everyone else FIRST and then paying yourself, try to pay yourself first – by taking out how much you want to save. Then, set up your budget after you take out that amount. If you don’t have enough after ALL of your expenses, then you will force yourself to cut your spending habits instead of cutting how much you are saving or, paying yourself.

To do this effectively, start by saving a small amount and then cut back on your expenses as needed – if you find yourself spending too much, get creative in what you cut out.

Going to Starbucks every day?

Then make some adjustments. 

Dropping in at the grocery store daily?

Avoid going. Use what you have at home (get creative – you will be surprised what you can pull together!)

Start with 1%

This is a great way to save without feeling like you are having to make a big commitment. To do the 1% savings challenge, start by saving a percent of your earnings – then continue to save another percent each month.

For example: if you save 5% of your earnings each month, then boost it to 6% this month, then 7% the following money. Keep that up to the end of the year and you will have a sizeable savings.

Sneak Money into your Savings

While saving money isn’t exactly sneaky…. I guess we could relate it to finding a ‘hack’ to help you save. It works. It really does – you’ll be tucking away money you didn’t even notice that you had.

Most of us have kept loose change in a jar – that works well, but so does the 52 week savings challenge. OR, when you shop at the grocery store, take the money you saved and put that in your account. Or, deposit your rebate checks. Every little bit helps.

We have some ideas here.

Reward Yourself

Saving money should always come before spending – but if you find yourself unable to do both, get creative by spending on yourself. Eating out can add up rather fast and is one of the easiest ways to blow your budget – if you can afford to eat out, then you can afford to tip yourself. So for every $5.00 you spend eating out on fast food or a restaurant, tip yourself $1.00 – or, 20% – and put it in your savings account.

If you can’t afford to tip yourself as a reward, then you might want to think twice about eating out.

The same goes for purchasing gifts, or… spending money on entertainment.

Saving money isn’t so much hard as it requires a refocus – by turning your spending into a game, you might be able to gain a different perspective for putting money away that will make it much easier.