How to stop pulling money out of your savings

Putting money into savings and then pulling it right back out again is a common financial glitch we experience. We are not all born financially savvy or natural savers. We are not naturally inclined towards delayed gratification and saving. However, pulling money out of our savings for whatever reason is one of those things that hold us back, but when we work on stopping this behaviour from happening in the long run, it can propel us much faster toward our goals. Pulling money out of our savings is not caused by the same circumstance or mechanism, and it is worth paying attention to what is happening at different points in your finances to cultivate your financial confidence and autonomy over your money.

In this episode, your host, Emma, shares more about savings and how to stop pulling money out of your savings. It's a common misconception that the main cause of our savings failures is pulling money out of our savings. In reality, the problem lies in our initial approach to saving, where we tend to put away excessive amounts. We end up over-saving and attempting to do more than we can. Listen in and get the tools to help you shift your perspective and approach to what fits your finances.

Tune in!

Episode Highlights:

• [00:01] Episode intro and what’s in for you today
• [05:42] Slowing down and recognizing situations in which you are pulling savings 
• [09:09] The difference between reactive and responsive financial behavior 
• [10:51] Emotional problems and how we pull savings to fuel emotional behaviors 
• [13:06] The PMG framework to help you work on emotional spending
• [23:50] Mathematical problems in calculating saving and the best antidote 
• [27:21] Organisational issues and how to plan in a way that looks ahead for banana skins
• [29:27] The focus problem and how it comes up in our financial management 
• [33:50] Motivation, goal simulation, and understanding how your brain responds to reward
• [38:51] Prioritisation problem and spending on your highest values to get the most value 
• [42:31] Wrap up and end of the show

Standout Quotes:

• “When we put money into savings and pull it back out again, we are kicking ourselves and our financial mindsets in a financial gap and hurting ourselves.”- Emma [07:43]
• “If you try to do the right thing too hard, if you try to budget too hard or attempt achieve more than it's realistically possible, you are setting yourself out for failure."- Emma [08:19]
• “When you are pulling money out of your savings emotionally, you are taking money from the future you to change your emotional state in the present; you are choosing now over later but the antidote is making tomorrow more attractive than today.” - Emma [23:20]
• “Looking ahead for banana skins is one of those big hard hitters that is going to drastically change the sense of control that you feel you have over your finances and give you much more autonomy on where your money goes because you have that confidence that you have looked ahead and you are aware of what is coming up. ”- Emma [29:09]
• “Understanding how to balance your scales out and prioritise your way to financial confidence is valuable.”- Emma [41:15]

Resources Mentioned Free Financial Values Workbook: https://www.thebrokegeneration.com/subscribe

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