With inflation being out of control and interest rates climbing each quarter, it can be really tough to deal with unexpected, large expenses. High-interest rates freak me out because they force us to pay even more for products and services that are already overpriced.
I try to avoid paying interest whenever possible.
How do I do it? By paying for things the old-fashioned way....with cash. More specifically, I pay using my credit card to obtain points and then pay the card in full when it's due. This is only possible because I believe wholeheartedly in the power of consistently putting money away into savings. If you're not someone who has a habit of "paying yourself first" may I invite you to gain a little inspiration from someone who saved their way into sought-after Beyonce tickets.
Beyonce is going on tour and a lot of people will probably incur debt to go see her live. The ticket prices are already high enough, let's not spend more than we have to. According to Shane, he's put away $20.00 per paycheck since 2018 for the purpose of seeing Beyonce live. If my math is correct, he's got over $4,000 saved in the account. Scraping together $4k for concert tickets is tough, especially when bills are due. But he doesn't have to worry about that because he effortlessly stashed away $20 every two weeks. I'm sure he didn't even miss those $20.00 but the experience of seeing Beyonce perform live again will stay with him forever.Ive been saving $20 a paycheck for Beyonce tickets since 2018 after I saw her at Coachella. I knew this day would come 😭 Shoutout to @allyfinancial for their “saving buckets” feature. pic.twitter.com/uj3Z1krfni
— shizzy shane (@shizzyshane215) February 1, 2023
He banks with Ally which offers a "savings buckets" feature that allows you to easily divvy up your paycheck into categories according to your greatest intentions. Ally bank is also offering high-interest rates on your saving so your money will go a lot further.
Ally's financial buckets savings tool is just a sophisticated version of the money envelope system where you split up all of your cash into various envelopes, each with a specific purpose. The cash envelope system is great but it allows your cash to be readily accessible. For some of us, that's too much temptation. The key is to set up a system that automatically pays you first from your bi-weekly deposits and let that money accumulate over time. That set dollar amount doesn't even have to be huge. Every single one of us can save $20.00 biweekly. And if you can spare to save a little more, you can create several savings buckets so you're striving to achieve multiple financial goals at once.
If you don't bank with Ally, you can check with your bank to see if they offer something similar. Or if they allow you to open up multiple (no fee) accounts that you can rename according to your intentions. Years ago, I opened up a new account and funneled any money that I made online into it. If I sold an item on eBay, the money went into the account, if I made any affiliate income from product recommendations, it was transferred to the account. Then one day, the car I wanted was listed for sale in excellent condition. The dealer marked $1,500 off the price and I knew I had to buy the car. Thankfully, I had consistently funneled small amounts of money into the account so future me could take advantage of this perfect opportunity.
Now that my car is secured, that same bank account is accumulating funds for any new opportunity that may come my way.
I believe that the simple act of setting up a money-saving system with intentions attached is like a spark that can help bring your intention into reality. It's easy to *think* about wanting Beyonce tickets all day long, but once you actually set up a method by which you will ultimately arrive at your goal, you're basically guaranteeing that your intention will manifest.
A while back I purchased a course on manifesting financial abundance and one thing that she was adamant about was that the have clear intention regarding what we want to do with the increased financial abundance we want. Shane established 2 savings categories then he created various other buckets for each of his specific intentions. Having a savings account is one thing, but having an account called "Bali 2025" creates a whole new set of emotions to the mundane act of saving. I've got a few savings accounts (some that are barely active) but they all have pretty standard, uninspiring names.
My very first order of business is to rename all of them to align with my goals. Then send a small amount of money to each account using automatic drafts. Such a simple plan of action that will compound over time and yield amazing results.
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