How to stay money motivated

For many people, when you talk about saving money, starting is the hardest part of the process. But for some of us, the most complicated part lies in the lack of motivation to keep up with the pursuit of our goals. It's like a running challenge at the beginning of spring. You start seeing summer coming towards you, the idea of your upcoming vacation and your totally absent summer body starts being scary. This gives you motivation, and you magically begin running 4 times a week. One month later, the magic is over and you forgot why you even started. Basically, the same can happen with money. You have your best interests at heart, you have a long-term plan, but still, you tend to lose motivation and end up spending more than what you originally planned for your month. We're ready to give you some hints about how to stay money motivated. 

Pursue short-term saving goals

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We get it; saving for retirement is your ultimate goal. It's also becoming increasingly clear that our generation will never see retirement. Or at least, not in the traditional sense. So you have a clear plan in your head and want to allow yourself to spend a decent chunk of your future chilling on a beach in the Caribbean. The bad news is: saving for a long-term goal sometimes is not motivational enough. We're not saying "don't do it"; we're just saying that, while doing it, you can also pick some short-term saving goals that will help you maintain your focus and will reward you for your sacrifices once they are completed. Maybe you can choose to save for a holiday that will allow you to explore your retirement paradise (at least if you don't like it, you'll have time to change your final destination). Or maybe you can mentally accept that it's time to leave the 30mq apartment you share with your dog and move to something bigger. With your Vivid app, you can create up to 15 Pockets, which will give you all the freedom you need to achieve your long-term and short-term goals simultaneously. 

Translate euros spent into the hours you worked to earn those euros 

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We tend to forget that, but time is literally money. Every cent in your paycheck is the representation of how much time you spent working to earn it. And we don't talk only about your hourly wage, think about commuting to the office, evenings spent working due to an incoming deadline, evenings spent participating in weird team-bonding events and so on. Is that new camera worth the extra hours you made, or are you going to forget about it one week after buying it? The answer will tell you if the cost is worth the money, and we're pretty sure you’ll start seeing your expenses in a new light. 

Take a break!

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You don't need to spend every minute of your day obsessing about goals and finances to succeed in your saving plans. For example, when you manage to complete your monthly goal, you can think about a prize for yourself. In these cases, it's important to not break the bank with rewards. You can think about something free or almost free that will motivate you in pursuing your goal. For example, my guilty pleasure is looking at apartments listings online that I will finally afford if I stick to my saving plans. 

If you manage to complete six months of extra payments, you can decide to take a month off. You can even choose to reward yourself, spend part of the money you would have saved and buy yourself something special. Taking a break from focusing on your savings will help you blow off some steam, and you will be ready for a fresh start for the upcoming months.