Want to Save Money? Here Are 16 Effective Ways to Trick Yourself Into Doing It!

Let Yourself Splurge Sometimes

In a lot of ways, saving money for your goals can feel like dieting. Like our counting calories example earlier, you can take a page out of the fitness book and apply the same principles to your financial goals.

That means that despite it sounding counter-intuitive, splurging every once in a while will actually help you achieve your goals sooner. That’s because the more you force yourself to ignore your wants, the more likely you are to step astray and ruin all your progress.

It’s important to treat yourself from time to time, but it’s equally important to do it consistently and with a plan in mind. Say you’re on a diet and you’re allowed to eat cake on Saturdays. You’re less likely to eat cake every day of the week if you can look forward to it on the weekend. In a similar vein, if you plan your splurges ahead of time, you can stick to them consistently and avoid making mistakes.

Whether you want to buy an expensive bottle of wine every week or you want to go to the movies every two weeks and indulge in overly-expensive popcorn, as long as you know when and how you’ll treat yourself, it’ll be easier for you to stick to the plan.