Are you a hamster, a cicada or an ant?
Saving money is not for everyone, but everyone can do it. It will never be impossible. You just have to want it and do it.
But how if money rarely comes in for monthly expenses, or in case if you have it you cannot control how to spend it?
Sometimes we look like “hamsters” that move on a wheel (the wheel of time) inside the cage. We get tired of moving, turning and turning, until we get exhausted, but the reality: we get tired and we do not leave the same place. We get stressed, depressed and give up.
That is precisely what we must not let happen or we must definitely end this impasse. Hence the
Rule # 2: Save Money and avoid The Hamster Effect.
What I call The Hamster Effect versus The Ant Effect. It helps. I explain.
You need to be consistent in the way you save, along with the time and amount invested, to accumulate enough capital for whatever you want.
Periodic savings mean that the amount needed to reach the final objective is lower, but it also guarantees greater investment stability. So you think.
Periodic savings are constant savings over time. This is one of the strategies to build the necessary capital and be able to live comfortably at the time. The time period during which you save the amount of money accumulated and the return on investments are other factors that determine the success of savings.
Even if the investment is small afterwards, over time you can always adapt and change, reprogramming in the face of periodic fluctuations.
Stop spending money on things you know you don't really need. If you can stop smoking, do it. If you only need to have 3 good pairs of shoes, why do you have 10? If you can live in a cheaper house, why do you live in a more expensive house? If you can have a simpler car, why do you have to have a top of the range? ...
None of these decisions will change the person that you are deep down or deprive you of dignity. On the contrary, it enhances your condition and wisdom, experience. You will be more financially educated and more successful as you will be ready for anything.
You can have all of that later, but only when you understand my metaphors and stories.
The ant works a lot, stores it for the winter, unlike the cicada that sings all year and then needs the help of the ant.
Although savings are small at the beginning, as the years go by and the employment situation improves, it is likely to increase the availability to invest more monthly. This will give a strong boost to investment or accumulated savings.
This is so clear to see that we find it difficult and even impossible because it is sooooo simple.
Any ant can become a superhero.
The cicada and the hamster are unlikely to get there.
Three types of different animals that can teach us something very important: the hamster, the cicada and the ant.
Maybe you're distracted. No problem. You are forgiven. It happens to anyone.
But you can change, if you want.
Which one is what you want to be and what do you identify with?
Choose well.