Why Are Some People Good At Saving Money?

Tuesbetter Newsletter #105

The Ides of Tuesday are upon us.

That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It was inspired by the phrase “Ides of March” which means the midpoint of the month. I’m not sure you can apply that to days but even if you could I’m typing this at the END of Tuesday. Anyhoo, long live Caesar.

How’s your Tuesday going? I’ve been working on a video about money and really going back and forth about the purpose of it.

I posted on practically every social media (including YouTube community post) asking for your controversial takes about money. And thank you for all your great responses.

But I keep going back and forth because I’m trying to figure out the best info I can give you about saving money that I haven’t already. I think I’ve narrowed it down to a crucial question that I want to try to answer.

I’ve already told you what I think the best way to save money is. And EVEN MORE advice.

But it’s one thing to know the technical way to save money, and it’s another to actually do it! So I started asking myself, “What is it about me that gave me the ability to be good with money?”

That won’t be the title of the video. I’m thinking the title will be The Values That Help Me Save Money or something. Do you have title ideas?

I also asked Google why some people are better at saving than others. And I came across this interesting study that seems to show that people are better at saving money if their goals align with their personality traits. I think this makes a lot of sense but it doesn’t really go into too many details and I have a lot of questions about this study.

Of course, I also believe there are societal factors, your upbringing and education, etc. that have an effect on your ability to save.

BUT… I made a list of things about me, my nature… my values… my ways… my je ne sais quoi… my junk in my trunk, etc. that have given me the ability to be a good saver.

And here is that list which I will explain in more detail in the upcoming video (I think. It’s subject to change.) (Also, here’s the subscribe button before the list.)

I LIKE AND TRUST NUMBERS

and enjoy the feeling of progress. I get a dopamine reward from saving money. It’s like paying close attention to the points in a video game.

I’M STUBBORN

At least, I stick to my own ideas for a loooong time. I try not to be a jerk about it, though. I just believe in myself.

I DON’T OFTEN TRUST OTHER PEOPLE’S ADVICE

I like to “do my own research” but not in a conspiracy theory way. I find that a lot of people follow rules of thumb or common sense advice. There’s just a strong part of me that doesn’t trust old common advice and I like to challenge it (it’s not always wrong, though). And I don’t care if others judge me for it. In fact, their judgement fuels me!! So I’ll try out different money habits that those around me aren’t doing.

I HATE SHOPPING

This is just something natural within me. The internal reward for getting new stuff is smaller than the reward for saving money. Not all the time. It’s rare for me to want something, but when I do I REALLY want it and I get it. But I ain’t shopping much.

I ASSUME THINGS OUTSIDE MY CONTROL WON’T WORK OUT

I naturally assume things, especially financial or bureaucratic things, will just fail me or I’ll fail them. Like going to the DMV to get a new license or something. I just assume I won’t have the right paperwork. The whole system is too complicated. If it works out it’s a miracle!!!

This keeps me on my toes. And makes me crave the comfort of just having money.

I HIGHLY VALUE BEING FREE OF WORRY

That’s the number one thing money can buy me… a sailboat that takes my worry out to sea.

BUT I’M FLEXIBLE

I’m not so strict that I’m gonna ruin my life.

I’M OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MY OWN ABILITY (I HAVE A BIT OF AN EGO)

Another way of saying… I invest in myself. I save money but I’m also not afraid to spend it if I think it’ll give me a leg up. In 2007, I spent most of my savings and bought a pricey laptop to make videos. I knew I was capable. I believed in myself and the expense was worth it.

So that’s the brief run down of the video I’m gonna make! Look at that. The script is almost done!

Wink (ding)
Craig

Oh look, the subscribe button again.