Our saving habits are a reflection of our values, anxieties, and even our upbringing. While simple on the surface, saving is actually a deeply emotional and personal act that we can’t always rely on willpower to carry us through. For example, PHP 100 in your wallet is far more likely to be spent on frivolous things than PHP 100 that’s kept in a safe in another room, simply because you have to go through more steps to get the cash.
These illogical but predictable patterns permeate virtually every aspect of finance, especially savings. Indeed, economists and fund managers have to spend significant effort figuring out these psychological phenomena as they can even impact entire economies. Once you begin to see these patterns, you can empower yourself to save more and set yourself on a path to financial stability. Here are several interesting psychological facets of saving that might, one day, help you improve your own money habits.
- Opening a Separate Bank Account Helps Create Mental Boundaries
You are more likely to save consistently when you keep an open bank account for different purposes. For example, you can have a savings account that’s dedicated to emergency funds, another for a future overseas trip, and another for your discretionary spending. Segregating your money in this way can create a psychological divide that makes important funds feel “untouchable”, helping them grow unimpeded.
- Saving Money Triggers the Brain’s Reward System
Once you make saving a goal, your brain will start to release the “feel good” chemical dopamine whenever you hit your savings milestones. If you ever had a feeling of pleasure from tracking your fund growth on your banking app, this is the chemical that’s doing it. Over time, consistent savings create a positive feedback loop that encourages even saving, keeping your funds healthy.
- People Tend to Save More When They Name Their Goals
Labeling a savings account (e.g. “Travel Fund,” “Emergency Fund,” or “Baby's College”) can increase your likelihood of contributing to it. This is because the act of naming something often creates an emotional attachment and, with it, a clear sense of meaning. If you can name your funds on your bank app—such as with Maya’s Personal Goals where you can create up to 5 different “envelopes” for unique savings goals—this may be an opportunity to further strengthen your motivation to save.
- Financial Scarcity Ironically Reduces Your Ability to Save
When you're constantly worried about money, your brain can release stress hormones that make it difficult to make good decisions. Indeed, multiple studies show that poverty directly reduces the amount of brainpower you have to improve other areas of your life. It’s partially for that reason that starting a good rhythm on your savings may be much more of a struggle than it is to maintain an already sizable fund.
- Setting Reminders to Save Is Key to Easy Saving
As mentioned in the last point, it requires serious mental effort to save. Taking this effort out of the equation with timed reminders set for your paydays reduces decision fatigue, effectively turning saving into an easy background process rather than a difficult choice.
- Social Influence Can Help Keep You On Track
While some people are uncomfortable publicizing financial challenges or “ipon goals” on social media, these can create positive pressure for you to stay on track with your savings. Consider taking on these challenges with a friend or coworker for some financially healthy competition.
- Your Upbringing Shapes Your Savings Attitude
If your parents practiced saving and taught you to handle money well, you're more likely to become a dedicated saver yourself. On the other hand, if you were raised in a financially unstable household, you may develop a “feast or famine” attitude that can be hard to break out of. If the latter applies to you, recognizing your childhood patterns and, perhaps, even seeking therapy for it may be crucial for moving forward and making saving more sustainable.
- You Can Use “Loss Aversion” to Trick Yourself into Saving
Most people hate losing money much more than they enjoy gaining it, a concept often known as “loss aversion”. To take advantage of this phenomenon, think of spending money from your savings as losing your future peace of mind. At the same time, stop thinking of your available funds as a way to gain an immediate benefit. This sort of framing can help you hold on to your savings, even when you see temptations like online sales.
- Visualizing The Future Can Help in The Present
There are studies that show that imagining yourself decades into the future can keep you centered in the present—potentially decreasing your urge to spend impulsively. In a sense, you are imagining your future self as a different person who benefits from current efforts. When you do this consistently, your current behaviour may begin to closely align with your long-term savings goals.
- Visual Aids Can Help Motivation
Many banking apps now show a bar or a pie chart that corresponds with the inflows and outflows of cash in an account. Evidence suggests that these visual cues can trigger your reward center and reinforce your drive to save. If your app doesn’t do this, even a simple illustration in a notebook or whiteboard can be just as effective.
Turn These Psychological Insights Into Meaningful Financial Action
Once you understand how big a role your brain plays in your saving habits, you can start hacking it to your advantage. Don’t beat yourself up over every mistake and start changes early on. So long as you challenge yourself a little bit more every few months and focus on staying consistent, you’ll do fine. Just know that your future self and everyone else they’re responsible for will be forever grateful.
