Savings Can Be the End-Goal

Savings 1 Minute

Have you ever set out to save money…just for the sake of saving money?

The modern era’s obsession with goal-setting, productivity, and efficiency teaches us that the best way to save is to set our sights on something.

Once we have a concrete image of what we want—a house, a car, a boat, a long vacation—saving is supposed become increasingly easy.

And most often it does—validating this approach. But from personal experience, I can tell you that it’s not always clear what we want (or if it is, what we want first).

This is a dangerous place to be in because not having a clear goal might actually stop you from saving. After all, why save if there’s no reason to?

These days, I make sure there’s at least a portion of my stash dedicated to saving for saving’s sake. We call it “Future Savings Goals,” but any name will do, really.

Because new and exciting savings goals do come up. And when they do, it’s incredibly motivating to start them off with a healthy influx of cash. (It might also turn out that you’ll need it right away!)

If you lack savings goals and it’s holding you back, break the fast and start saving again. Sooner or later, you’re bound to find something worthy of saving for!

Photo by alancleaver_2000

Published by Peter

Published

8 thoughts on “Savings Can Be the End-Goal”

  1. I’m definitely in this boat, but my question is how should I save? Where should I put my money? Sticking it in a “high”-interest savings account seems like a waste, as does paying off very low interest student loans (2.7%). At this point, I’m just waiting for the new year so I can fund my 2011 Roth IRA.

    I think after that, I’ll do some Roth 401(k) investing through work, though I won’t be able to withdraw those contributions until I leave (and I’m not sure whether to characterize this as retirement savings because maybe I’ll want that money in a few years).

    1. Good questions, and more reasons why people freeze–too many options!!! I’m asking myself some of the same things as we look toward a real estate purchase, but I know that either way, more cash in the bank will definitely help!

  2. Sometimes if there is no end savings goal in mind, it’s just fun to to look and see the balance growing. That can be motivation enough for me. I like how you term it as Future Savings Goals. That’s a good way to look at it too.

    1. How true! That motivates me, too, especially seeing little amounts that don’t seem like much accumulate to big piles over time.

  3. Debt is usually the savings motivation, but you never get to see all that money, because you are paying down debt. But like you said once all debt is gone, the savings motivation fizzles. Setting tangible goals will help you to keep on track with your savings. Thanks for the great ideas and advice.

    1. Interesting! I’ve heard a lot of people have the opposite problem–the thrill of getting their credit cards to zero is great motivation, but once they’re done, it’s hard to find the same drive for savings, since there’s no theoretical “ceiling” to how much you can save.

  4. The goal could be objective to have as much cash as possible for the short term to find and fund that next bad ass business idea

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