If you can't seem to get your rear in gear when it comes to your savings goals, it might be your brain's fault. 🧠
Speaking of busted brains, what was going through this crook's head when he carjacked a truckload of corvettes? Mega mid-life crisis, anyone? 🥴🚗
Anyway, back to the original point: it turns out that human behavior plays a huge part in how hard it is to hang onto our money. 💰
Here’s Five Fast Facts on why it's so hard to save:
- 👌 Easy Like Sunday Morning - Human beings naturally want things to be easy, and banks and companies know this. Today's payment technology is getting easier by the day. For example, in most places, we now just tap our smartphones instead of pulling out a credit card to swipe and enter a pin.
- ⚡ In an Instant - We also love rewards, especially when they're instant. Credit cards with cash back and bonus points perks make it seem like we're getting something for spending. The reality? You're going to be spending a lot for them to add up to anything meaningful - that's the twist. Also, saving is relatively boring compared to the immediate dopamine rush we get from buying a fresh pair of sneaks.👟
- 🤳🏼 Influencer Influenza - People have always wanted to keep up with the Joneses. It's our competitive nature. Today's social media culture floods us with constant images of who has more, which makes us want to spend more to keep up. Also, it's more fun to look at people partying on yachts than eating a home cooked meal in a normal-sized house. Yawn.
- 🏘️ Won't You Be My Neighbor? - One crazy study about lottery winners shows just how much our brains are influenced by our environments. The study revealed that if your neighbor wins the lottery, you're more likely to file for bankruptcy protection. Why? The theory is that if you see your neighbor spending more, you're subconsciously influenced to spend more, too.
- 🤯 Brain Busting - So how can we beat our brains? Automated savings strategies are a great start. For example, setting up an automatic transfer to an emergency fund account every payday helps you sock away money without lifting a finger. Companies with retirement plans sometimes offer an automated escalation feature, meaning the amount you save gradually increases over time. This helps people keep up with their retirement goals without thinking twice.
🔥Bottom line: Even though our monkey brains🐵🧠 might be working against us, it's no excuse for lazy financial habits! Yeah, sticking to your goals is uncomfortable, but the more consistent you are, the more you can train that brain to stay on track. Thinking about taking a pay cut to save your mental health? Read this to find out how that decision could impact your retirement plans.
Do you have trouble saving money?
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