Like most of her friends, Alexis, 22, has grand plans to see the world before settling into her career. Here’s how she managed her spending to reach her savings goals.
Alexis, 22, is loving her post-university life. Working in her first full-time job and living at home, she has an active social life and loves that post-shopping buzz — but she’s also planning her first big overseas trip. She doesn’t want to end up with a large credit card debt, so she’s looking to save as much as possible before she heads off on her travels. How could she meet her savings goals while still living in the moment?
To meet her goal, Alexis decided to restructure her bank accounts to align with her spending and savings habits. Initially she had just two accounts: savings and spending. As she progressed, she realised that breaking down her accounts even further motivated her to stay on track.
Alexis considered her spending habits, and structured her bank accounts to reflect those areas:
gifts
clothes
savings - “the Europe fund”
life - food, going out and transport
me - beauty products and the gym
Each pay, her salary would go into her life account, before being moved across to the other accounts. “Fifty per cent automatically went into the Europe fund, and I divided the rest based on where I expected to spend it across the fortnight, “Alexis says. “If there was money left in one of the other accounts at the end of the month, I’d move it into my savings account.”
Restructuring her bank accounts meant that Alexis could better manage her spending, which in turn meant she could reach her savings goal faster — while still enjoying her active social life.
Like Alexis, you might be looking to save for a big goal without sacrificing your lifestyle. Here are some things to bear in mind.
