We’ll be the first to admit that we probably spend way too much of our wages on weekend brunch and €4 morning coffees, but when you hear how much the average young person saves each month it might make you think twice.
Finance expert Paul Merriman from AskPaul.ie told Lovin.ie: “The average [among my clients] I’ve seen is €350-€500 monthly for discretional savings for no particular goal – holiday, car etc. For those saving for a mortgage deposit this rises to over €1,000 each month.”
Note to self: No more avocado toast.
Merriman believes that the key to successful saving is to “save little and often”, and that small habits like buying a coffee every morning could be seriously affecting how much money we spend.
He said: “If you could stop buying your morning coffee and did clever grocery shopping you could save just €20 a week. That’s just over €1,000 in savings per year.”
And for any of us who find it difficult to save the pennies, Merriman recommends making saving fun and interesting, like setting up a saving competition with friends or family.
He added: “So how about if you and some friends are saving for that holiday of a lifetime then set up a little competition – for example the first to save X amount etc.”
Merriman said that some other big contributors that hinder our saving are impulsive spending, not being in control of our money, overspending and using debit cards instead of paying with cash.
By constantly using our debit card to pay for things on a daily basis, Merriman thinks it is more difficult to keep track of how much you’re spending.
He said: “Cash is king.”
“If you put €50 in your wallet/purse at the start of the week it is easy to see how much you have let after a couple of days. When your wallet is empty, it’s empty and using cash cuts down the impulse buying.”
He added: “If you see the fancy shoes for €40 in the sale on a Tuesday, and you only have €50 to last the week, you will definitely think twice about buying them.”
That’s us told.
READ MORE: This New Cent Challenge Is A Genius Way To Save Cash In 2018
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