Saving money is vital for your future and peace of mind. Cash in the bank gives you more options when dealing with unforeseen problems. According to Investopedia, money can go to work for you if you take the right initiative, but you also have to be smart about it. Check out these five TED Talks that can help you do just that.
Unconventional Ways to Save Money
In this TEDx Talk, Kerry Taylor goes beyond conventional money-saving advice — buy fewer lattes, clip coupons and stop eating out — to look at unconventional ways you can save money. By looking in places you’ve never thought of, you could save a lot of money. For example, you could look for ways to save on groceries by cutting back on your food waste. Or you could use reusable items instead of disposable ones. There’s tons of great advice in this one, so it’s worth checking out.
When Money Isn’t Real: The $10,000 Experiment
Eye opening and thought-provoking, Adam Carroll explores how viewing money in the abstract affects your spending habits. When money is abstract, as in digital or credit, people spend more. However, they are more loathe to spend cold, hard cash. This means that you could spend less if you use a cash system, or if you learn to view digital currency as it really is: cash.
What if You Could Trade a Paperclip for a House?
In this Talk, Kyle MacDonald shares a story about the time he was able to use a paperclip to trade and barter his way up to a house. The story, inspiring in its own right, is a real-life experiment involving the power of contacts, taking risks and trying new things. The moral of the story? Never give up on your journey to bigger and better things.
3 Psychological Tricks to Help You Save Money
In the informative TED series, “The Way We Work,” behavioral scientist Wendy De La Rosa speaks about easy psychological tricks that can help save you money. For instance, she shows how people who budget weekly, rather than monthly, spend less. Planning to save a certain percentage of income before you receive money is also better than figuring it out after you have cash in hand. See the video for additional tricks to help you save even more.
Saving for Tomorrow, Tomorrow
In this TED Talk, Shlomo Benartzi outlines the strategy of saving for tomorrow rather than living for today. Some concepts he touches on include spending money on lottery tickets, donating your organs and buying bananas instead of chocolate. What do these things have in common? They’re all abstractly planning to do good in the future — win money, save lives or eat healthily. However, when it comes time to really engage in the behaviors, many people balk and opt for the chocolate. That’s why saving should be automatic.
Which TED Talk did you find the most inspiring? Did you learn anything you’d like to incorporate into your financial strategy? If so, begin to implement it immediately, even if you have to start small. For example, if you want to put back $20 per week but only have $5 to spare, start off with the $5 and work your way up. With saving, every little bit matters. What’s most important is that you get started.
~Here’s to Your Success!
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