Money-Saving Tricks: The Power of Financial Fasting

Financial fasting is a powerful tool for anyone seeking to take charge of their finances and make real progress towards achieving their financial goals. Essentially, it is a method of consciously restricting your spending to save money. It involves cutting out certain expenses or reducing your overall spending for a set period of time. Here are some tricks to help you save money through financial fasting:

1. Identify your spending triggers: One of the biggest challenges of financial fasting is figuring out what is causing you to spend money unnecessarily. Some common triggers include boredom, stress, impulse buying, and social pressure. By identifying your spending triggers, you can start to develop strategies to avoid them.
2. Set a specific financial goal: Financial fasting is more effective when you have a goal tied to it. Whether it is saving for a down payment for a house, paying off debt, or building up your emergency fund, having a clear target will help you stay motivated and on track. Be sure to set a realistic goal that you can achieve within a reasonable time frame.
3. Create a budget: A budget is an essential tool for anyone practising financial fasting. By mapping out all your income and expenses, you’ll see exactly where you are spending more on and identify areas where you can cut back. You can do this by simply writing them down on a piece of paper, using a simple excel spreadsheet or using an app or free online spending tracker.
4. Set your financial priorities: Once you take care of your income and expenses, your financial priorities will have the biggest impact on how you choose to allocate your savings. If, for example, you know you will need to replace or buy a car in the near future, you can start by putting money away towards this purpose now. Do not forget your more important long-term goals like retirement planning.
5. Make saving automatic: You can do this by creating a savings account and putting instructions such as standing orders to be able to deduct monies directly into your savings. This will minimise your interactions with your savings. You can even go a step ahead and lock them for a period of time. Let the money be far away from your easy reach.

Financial fasting can be intimidating, especially if you are not used to it. However, it is important to remember that it is a journey, and it is not always easy. Be easy on yourself and take it one step at a time. With the right mindset and a few simple tricks, you can easily save thousands of dollars every year.