She Gives, Saves, and Spends: Tomorrow’s drawer

Hi girls! We’ve reached the third drawer in our “She Gives, Saves, and Spends” series.

In this chapter, we’ll cover one of the reasons financial planning is so necessary! Yes, today we’re talking about how and why we should save our money on a monthly basis. The name of our 3rd drawer is “Tomorrow’s Drawer”. Ready? Here we go!

If you’ve just arrived or if already follow the series but need a quick review, in the previous chapters we talked about the first two drawers in our financial planning: God’s drawer and the Gratitude drawer. For the first one, we set aside 10% and 5% for the second.

Remember, the drawers aren’t listed in random order, rather it’s extremely important when organizing your monthly income. When looking at your bank account on the day your salary is deposited, it’s important to keep the order of the drawers in mind. Thinking about your money in that order will help you be better organized financially and to prioritize what should be prioritized.

Why does Tomorrow’s drawer come before Today’s drawer (our 4th and next drawer)? Because of a very simple rule: if you define the amount of money you will save only after having paid all your bills, at the end of the month you will probably discover that there is not much left to save!

The act of “saving” involves planning, and it’s very important that you always have a goal in mind. As we talked about in the first chapter of the series, the perspective we want to offer with this line of financial planning is that money should be the “how”, not the “why”. You shouldn’t save just for the sake of having more money in your pocket, because then your effort may lose its meaning along the way. If you have a goal, a “why” for all the money you refrain from spending, saving is going to be much easier, besides creating an intense sense of satisfaction when you reach your goal!

Tomorrow’s drawer should receive 30% of your monthly income, but the secret to motivating yourself to save is to divide that 30% into small goals. What do you plan to do with the money you are saving? What motivates you to save for later? A trip? Something you always wanted to buy?

In addition, one of the goals of having money saved is to be prepared for “emergencies”. Hold on! This isn’t to say you should prepare for something bad to happen. “Emergencies” can be unexpected and unplanned expenses, which can be covered without additional stress if you have money set aside.

Inside Tomorrow’s drawer, set aside three small boxes. For example:

1. Cash for emergencies ???? 5%
2. Travel ???? 5%
3. The Future ???? 20%

That way, you will have small goals, with clear targets, and you will know why you are saving money each month. It’s very important to keep in mind the amount you plan to save, so when you receive your paycheck next month, you will be able to withdraw the first two parts (the amounts in the God + Gratitude drawers) and then set aside what you plan to save for that month. We know that unforeseen events can happen and this money may need to be used within that very month, but it’s important that the first step is saving it.

An important point in this step is not only to save but to tell your brain that that money “doesn’t exist” unless it’s to meet your goals for it. The act of “setting aside” that 30% is important and didactic for your subconscious. You literally need to set aside that amount in another account, preferably in an investment account in another bank, so you won’t see that amount every day when you check your bank statement and think “I can spend a little more this month because I have this money saved up.”

The last step within this drawer is: invest your money. This doesn’t mean that you need to buy several risky stocks. We have many options in the financial market that will keep your money safer while you are saving. Try to find the one you most identify with! Remember that the important thing is to start saving. The rest can be adjusted as you build this habit.

Engaging with Tomorrow’s drawer in this manner will allow you to save money to live and not live to save money, because, in the end, that’s the goal. Money should help us help others and improve our daily lives in small and big ways.

Did you like Tomorrow’s drawer? I hope so! It was great to have you here with us, and it is very important that you follow along for the next two drawers! We’ll cover super important tips to finalize our idea of ​​how we, as Christian women, can look after our money!

See you in the fourth drawer! ????

Have questions? Can we help you understand any of these ideas in greater detail? Leave a comment, and we’ll get back to you with all we can do to help you succeed in your financial planning!