As a child, you must have heard a lot about the advantages of stockpiling your money. The kid that you were you had never really had the wisdom to figure out the cons of saving your money without really “doing anything about it”. The truth –however – is unless you’re receiving a really heavy paycheck every month, your savings will not really help you sail through your retirement days. Therefore it’s important – at first – to get rid of the most common misconception about saving money – save a percentage of your salary without really considering avenues of investing.
We are Not Investing
We probably are discouraged from investing because we end up losing control over our money if invest our money in the bank. Nobody really likes losing control over hard-earned cash. However, it’s also true that you’re hardly taking advantage of stuff like compound interests. Then there are financial experts who actually have opined that you should also invest in yourself – like learning some new skills or opening up avenues for professional development etc. Saving money thus is not necessarily about not touching your money which is not spent by you but it’s about exploring ways to multiply your money as well. Here are a few other money myths addressed
Myth #1: You will never be able to save if you take quick loans!
Wrong! You shouldn’t really think of these loans as long term financing decisions. People turn to Direct lenders for installment loans only when they’re in dire need to fulfill short-term financial needs like paying rent or semester fees. Piling up on these expenditures just because you don’t have the money to spend and you don’t want to explore possible options – is financially not a wise decision.
Myth #2: You’re saving money on your electricity bills by turning off the lights
You think you’re cutting down on your electricity bills by turning off the lights every time you’re going out of your room. If you are turning off the compact fluorescent bulbs that use 75% less energy than the standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer – even when you’re leaving the room for 10 or 15 minutes – then you are basically adding to your electricity bills instead of saving on them.
Myth #3: You are not spending because you don’t buy expensive stuff
Really? Nothing can be far from reality. It has often been pointed out that people who are not buying expensive cars or houses or any form of property are actually spending more on smaller relatively less expensive items that add up at the end of the year. So, be on your guard.
Myth #4: You are saving up because you are always buying from discount stores
Starting off from where we left – avoiding the shopping cart remains the best possible option in this regard—quite simply because more discounts can be equated with more impulsive purchases. Impulse buyers as we all know can hardly differentiate between what they need and what they want – that doesn’t really empower you even with the feeling that you’re actually saving money!
So make sure you’re steering clear of these money saving myths!