Money well saved

One strategy we have come up with in our house is the "Money Well Saved List". When one of us really wants to buy something, maybe it's a latte or a new vinyl album...we decide whether we really want it or if we would rather have that money. If we decide not to buy it, it gets written on a list called MONEY WELL SAVED and at the end of the month we add it up and deposit that amount of money into our savings. It helps us keep track of how much we've been tempted to spend, but also gamifies it and helps us see in real time where our money could be going. Sometimes we will have a big purchase that we all really want and the Money Well Saved actually goes towards a fund for that item. So rather than just setting aside money into savings, we are actively reducing our spending and consumption while also saving. Maybe this will be helpful to someone!

I like this idea.

Sunny, this is a very good strategy. I love to see people doing anything that makes them more cognizant of how they are spending their money. Whether it's the system you outlined, tracking income & expenses in spreadsheets, or just writing down everything you spend money on over a week or month. It can be very eye opening.

The gamifying aspect can be very helpful and motivating for some people too so I love that you mentioned it. There are lots of colorful and engaging  money and budget trackers for sale on sites like Etsy. And creative, resourceful Permies can create their own. These types of visual tools can be especially useful (and again motivating) to track debt as you pay it down.

I encourage people as they spend money to think about if the expenditure is in line with their values and if it's moving them towards or away from their desired life(style). And not all expenditures will meet those criteria, but even just running them through those mental filters can make us more cognizant of how and how much money we are spending and what we're getting in return for that $$.

PS - As someone who's tried to apply all 12 of Holmgren's permaculture principles to personal finance, this is what I think of when it comes to "observe & interact" as well as "apply self-regulation and accept feedback."

I love this idea! Thanks for sharing!

I remember well at school having big charts on the wall for charity raising - like thermometers that gradualy filled up as the money grew.
I found a few online that might be fun to use:



all from 101planners.com

Those are great, Nancy, and exactly what I'm talking about. You can see how that visual progress could be quite motivating for people.