I did not have a good example growing up in terms of money management, much less in money saving habits. Every dollar of income was spent. Sometimes in things that were necessary and other times not so much. As a consequence, I acquired really bad habits, especially in the use of credit cards, which made spending easy and saving so much harder. So, money saving challenges and how to overcome them became my biggest learning goals during my adult life.

Everyone hits a wall and I have been hitting mine for quite some time. The pandemic made it real. Like for most of us out there, I just really didn’t want to go back to a desk job. However, I was too in debt to scale down. Started changing jobs after jobs, each one with more responsibilities than the previous one. And, even thou I was making more money, due to bad spending habits, I spent more and more with credit cards. This made such much harder to scale down. So, how could I get out of that?

You need to Recognize you have a problem

So, if you want to identify money saving challenges and how to overcome them, you need to recognize the challenges. The first step to change a bad habit, is to recognized that you have a problem. If you follow Finance & Flower, you may have read that statement before, and that’s because it’s so true, and I cannot stop saying it. For you to change or fix something, you need to recognize what is causing it. Hence, once you have recognized you have savings problems, you need to understand it. Are you ready? In this post I will list of what I faced in terms of Money Saving Challenges and how I overcome them.

First: Being drawn to common consumerism

If I see something cute, I am all over it. A cute notebook, a cute dress, a cute shoes, a cute lamp, I have to purchase it, I desire it just because I like it. Advertisement today is drafted for people like me (us). The colors, the locations of things in the store, the apps and Google algorithm’s; all of these are strategies to sell more. And are designed to make you spend.

For me, once again, it all goes back to my childhood. Nobody really, taught me to self-regulate desire. That everlasting struggle between what you want now (easy) vs. what you want for the future (difficult). Without that, when you are an adult you don’t have the discipline to say no when it’s needed. Which, for money saving habits, it is a problem, especially if you are not a millionaire.

The result of not being able to properly regulate desire, is purchasing whatever you want. Even if after you purchase it, literally, the rush from wanting it, disappears. Just like when you were a kid. And the consequence of that, is spending money you needed to save, to purchase things that will undoubtedly become clutter. So, this is the number one money saving challenges and how to overcome them: Stop, purchasing things you do not need, just to satisfy the desire of the moment.

How to Overcome it?

I will bring two examples from the book The Power of Habit, of Charles Duhigg. (Really recommend reading this book, it was a revelation for me, and it has helped me mountains. I Purchased the hardcover version, wrote all over it, and it’s my to go book, to inspire change). These examples helped the people in the stories to overcome instant desire. The first is about Mandy, a graduate student that could not stop bitting her nails. The second example is about the 1992 British study of adults recovering to knee and hip surgeries.

Example No. 1

While explaining chapter 3, The Golden Rule of Habit Change, Duhigg narrates the story of a colleague student who could not stop bitting her nails to the point of hurting herself. After their first appointment, her psychologist, a doctorate student in “Habit reversal training”, send her home with the following task: To keep track in an index card every time she felt a tension in her hands to bite her nails. At the end of this exercise, Mandy, was “acutely aware” of the sensation/feeling that preceded bitting her nails.

Example No. 2

Then, in the chapter 5, “Starbucks and the Habit of success”, the author presents the result of a study crafted to explain boosting “willpower of people exceptionally resistant to change”. The solution, was to give participant a blank page to detailed write their recovery plan, and again what they were going to do if pain showed up, when “the temptation to quit would be the strongest”. The result was that the patients that wrote their recovery plan “thought ahed about how to deal with inflection points” and were able to find a viable solutions to fight the discomfort.

These two examples have something in common: to write down the feelings or pains. This exercise makes you choose instant retribution instead of your end goal. What’s easy vs what you want for the future. It is in that writing that you become more aware about it. You see, the thing about habits is that you do them in automatic mode. If you write it down, the next time you have the desire to purchase something you don’t really need, it will prompt you to think about the end goal and reconsidered your behavior to benefit your objective. It makes you aware of the automatic habit and will help you to stop, to be aware and to prepare to deal with “inflection points” .

Second: Not caring about money by not caring about things

Something I have learned from one of my friends, who you can say, “comes from money”, is to take care of things. You don’t dispose a perfectly good jacket or a used coffee maker just because there is a new model.

So, number two money saving challenges and how to overcome them is: How to care things.

How to overcome it

You need to start caring about money. Not about the one you don’t have today, but about the one you have. Like for example, having a bag of Coffee or a Nestle machine at home, but still stopping every morning to the nearest Starbucks for coffee. You are simple not caring about the investment you already made and continue to spend money.

Additionally you have to purchase good things (which by the way does not means the most expensive) and take care of them. Truth is, the most you take care of your things the most it will last and the less you need to purchase new things. So, invest better in the following:

• Do good research about a product so that you don’t need to be replace it at the first hardship.
• Try to be clear about what you want, don’t purchase something that you feel that needs to replace later.
• Do the things you have to do to take care of it. Clean it, put protective material, don’t over use it and so on. Do maintenance. Everything needs a little bit of caring. You need to add to your budget a maintenance line. In the long run, this is more beneficial than having to replace all the time.

Third: Not knowing how to spend without a credit card

Mi first credit card limit was USD 1,000. At that moment, I remember thinking that I was never going to use it and not pay it at the end of the month. The idea was to take advantage of the credit card benefits and perks (points, milage and so on). Then, I used it a little bit more, and needed two month of salary to pay for it, and without thinking I was using my credit card too much that it became a bad spending habit.

The worst part of it, is thinking you can actually afford things (car repairs, health bills, supermarket purchases, etc) because you have a limit in your credit card or you payed some of the balance. Bad credit card used is one of the main reason for excessive debt burden that leads to bankruptcy. Usually the root cause of this bad habit is to think that credit cards is cash availability, and it is not.

If you don’t have the exact amount you need to go to the car-shop, then you can’t go, specially if you can’t control that urge of use your credit card again before you pay it in full. Is like an everlasting Ponzi scheme with your own money, but the bank or entity that issued the card, are the schemer and you are the investor. So, the third Money Saving Challenges and how to overcome them is: Learning to correctly use a credit card or not use it if you can’t control the urge to spend the limit.

How to overcome it

Of all the Money Saving Challenges, I have to be honest, this one was the hardest one for me. Maybe because in a sense, it combines all of the others. Having a credit card makes you believe that you can buy anything, at first. It adds to the idea that desire can be fulfill instantly. So to overcome this challenge, it requires time and consistency in educating yourself and trusting the process.

In my experience the first step will be to find a mentor (it can be a book, a story, a friend, a blog, etc.) that will give you the generals of the things you have to do to change a habit. I have already mention one of my favorites books, The power of Habit. Another favorite is Atomic Habits, some reviewers say that this book is the “take action” of all the theory in The Power of Habit. And I agree. Both books became my mentors in changing my bad habits.

The second step is to start journaling and recording the process, like the recommendation in step one. Writing to become more conscience about a habit, will help you to crave the end reward. Another important step, is to learn not to be afraid of change.

Some actual strategies I started to do, to not use my credit card were:

• Decreasing my credit card limits.
• Hiding my credit card plastics.
• Not adding my credit card to the apple wallet.
• Using a Money Envelope system. You can create one of your own with envelope or use one of these.

Fourth: Not cooking and not knowing how to eat well

Uber eats and other food delivery apps became one of my biggest money leak every month. It made wanting not to cook so much easy, right? No washing dishes, no cleaning the stove or the entire kitchen, no food prep. It created the illusion of more time. You can keep naming good benefits of app food delivery services. The truth, these benefits come at a cost. Your health and your budget, so we could summarize that this bad habit had two terrible consequences:

• Less money in my pocket.
• More weight in my hips and thighs.

Preparing your own meal, if done correctly, will always be more cheaper than eating out. as well as keeping your weight under wraps. But also, and equally important, to do it right, you also need to know how to eat well. I mean, eating a delicatessen or a special recipe everyday will not help your wallet or weight either. So the fourth money saving challenges and how to overcome them is: Learning to eat well and cook on a budget.

How to overcome it

I don’t know your process and the stage you are at it. Maybe you know and like how to cook, but you simple can’t find the time to do it. Or you don’t like to cook and dread the idea of going into the kitchen. But if you stumble with this post, it definitely means that you need to save money or are struggling to do so. And one of the main lines in everybody budget is food.

In my case, I first had to learn to cook, and then to make sure I did it on a budget. I’ve always loved the idea of cooking or romanticize my cooking. But even more, all the stress I was living on from all those high paying jobs, zero time for myself, in a blink of an eye, I became overweight. I was sick, my body started to fail me and I was spending so much money in food. Which also lead to spending so much money in doctors and medicines. So I needed to change for both my budget and health.

Following the step by step of what I did:

• Followed the habit loop to break the eating out habit that I had acquired since I started living alone. My motivation was the feeling of having the same amount of money in my food account at the end of a week. When I was able to do that, I used it to purchase me something nice. That became my reward. Purchasing me something nice was a stronger desire than spending the time cooking.
• Bought three cooking books: 1) One with calendars of meal preps and best ingredients to lose weight, 2) Another one with preparing things from scratch, 3) and a third one with fancy meals (you know, to romanticize it and don’t get bored). Keep in mind that these purchases are an investment in your health. And this will only work if you are capable of change the habit of eating out, hence the importance of the first step above.
• Went to the supermarket week by week. As I was living alone and cooking just for me, if I made big purchases, I ended up throwing half of the veggies. Also, started going to the closer farmer market around.
• Completed the meal calendar from step 2, before going to the supermarket or farmers market. I think it was Jim Rohn, the one that said that you need to finish your day before you start it. Well, the same goes for a successful meal prep, dieting and maintaining your budget, you need to finish your meals before you start then.
• Did not meal prep on the weekend. And this one I guess is debatable. I don’t like repeat meals during the week. I will not eat it. So I had to teach myself to make time during the evenings to cook a super delicious lunch for the next day. Kayla Itsines book really helped me to mix and match meals, and to enjoy the process. The colors and illustrations of the book were a real inspiration for me.
• Arrange cooking dates with my boyfriend and friends. It created a better experience and was much cheaper than dining out.

Fifth: Procrastination, too much TV

Procrastination is robbing too much of our time that can be invested in learning how to save money and overcoming challenges. Jay Shetty, the famous pod caster, said in a speech:

“The smartest people, healthy, wealthy or wise, choose education over entertainment. The most unsuccessful people of the world, un-healthy, un-wealthy, un-wise, choose entertainment over education. The Majority of the people of this world is setting themselves up tp num their mind, escape and loose focus.

Jay Shetty

Stream apps and social media are the result of wanting everything in the moment, and not knowing how to wait. But also, the main source of excuses to procrastinate and “num your mind”. Imagine all that time that you could be using learning a skill to help you make more money either by starting a business or getting notice at your job. So yes, the last but ver important Money Saving Challenges and how to overcome them is: Stop watching too much TV or streaming tv shows.

How to overcome it

According to wikipedia, procrastination is “the act of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so.” I thought that this was a powerful definition of it. We do wrong to ourselves when we procrastinate. There is no one you can blame for the negative consequences as result of procrastination. Watching streaming app, not only add as line in your budget that could not be that necessarily but it creates an addiction. So to be able to overcome this were the steps I follow:

• Recognize that your favorite (s) streaming app is a type of mild addiction. And I know, watching a movie is not bad, but watching series after series, non stop, is not good either.
• Understand what are you afraid of. We procrastinate because are afraid of the process of completing that task we are avoiding. Most of my procrastination was related to my fear of failing. When I finally learned and really taught to my subconscious mind that failing was ok, I started to stop spending time watching shows on my favorite streaming app and started to do the work I needed to do to start saving money. Like I Started to have more time to cook and not eating out so much.

Closing Thoughts: Finding Balance and Overcoming Money-Saving Challenges

Saving money isn’t just about numbers on a budget sheet; it’s a journey that requires us to rethink our habits and values. By challenging consumerism, we can start to care more deeply about where our money goes, choosing to invest in what truly adds value to our lives. This can mean swapping unnecessary extravagant spending for meaningful purchases, and cutting back on credit card use to live within our means and avoid debt traps.

It’s also worth remembering that social outings and entertainment are important, but if going out too often is derailing our financial goals, perhaps it’s time to explore more affordable ways to connect with others and unwind. Taking control of our money also means tackling procrastination by using your time more wisely. These steps can create a ripple effect, helping us stay focused, confident, and on track with our savings goals.

Ultimately, overcoming these challenges requires mindfulness and a willingness to prioritize our long-term financial well-being. By staying committed to the bigger picture, we can redefine our relationship with money, allowing it to work for us rather than against us. And remember, every little bit saved is progress toward the future we want—one where financial freedom is a reality, not a dream.

I hope you had enjoyed reading this 5 Money Saving Challenges and the steps on how to overcome them. Let us know what other challenges have you find in your money saving journey!