The Japanese 7-step method to save more and better

A survey carried out by the World Bank shows that only 4% of Brazilians have the habit of saving, whether in savings accounts, investment funds or shares, for example. In a ranking of 142 countries, Brazil is one of the worst placed in terms of savings.

One of the main reasons for this behavior has to do with the fact that Financial Education is not taught in schools, which would help to create, from an early age, a discipline for saving and choosing the best investments.

If you are not in the habit of saving, this post from awesome.club will help you take the first step through the Japanese book Kakebo, on personal finance — the work has a Portuguese version. These are simple tips that will help you reach the end of the month with some money to save and, thus, start making your nest egg.

Kakebo is a very old but still current Japanese book on personal finance. Its first edition was written in 1904 by Makoto Haní. Since then, the method presented in the work has been proving to be efficient for more than a century. If you don’t want to buy the book, you can better understand how it works here.

Regardless of age or how much we earn, it is important to never abandon the habit of saving, whether for retirement, a trip with the family, studying for the children, buying our own home or creating an emergency reserve that is so important in case job loss, for example — experts recommend that this reserve should be enough to cover the total expenses for six months.

If you’re part of the group that can’t save money, maybe you’ve already wondered how to overcome this challenge that seems so difficult.

Well, we’ll show you that it’s simpler than it seems, following the 7 steps of the aforementioned Kakebo. Check it out with us and start fattening your piggy now.

Write down all items that represent income (earnings) and fixed monthly expenses, such as:

Property (payment of financing or rent. If you own a property and rent it, enter it as income). Water, electricity, gas, landline and cell phone, Internet, cable TV and condominium services. Transport. Gym/club. Education. Health. Credits/debts (for example for the purchase of a household appliance).

Don’t be lazy to check everything. After all, your money and your dreams are at stake.

The goal must be realistic and within your means, so that you can achieve it. Start with small goals that are easier to reach. For example, if you earn 2,000 reais a month, you can save, let’s say, 100 reais or 5%.

To achieve your goals, it’s important to think about the best way to do this. Saving always involves giving up some small pleasures, keep that in mind. But also remember that, in the long run, this will bring the joy of acquiring a greater good or a trip, for example.

Some simple options for strategies to save:

This month I will only go to the cinema once instead of twice. I’ll take food to work or, instead of ordering a pizza, I’ll cook at home. I will reduce expenses with water, electricity or Internet, for example. I will go to work by bicycle.

From the list of expenses made earlier, separate these expenses into 4 categories that we will show below. This will help you see more clearly what is important and what is not.

The categories are: (1) survival (indispensable expenses, such as food, water, electricity and condominium fees); (2) fun; (3) education (school, dancing or swimming lessons, for example); and (4) extras🇧🇷

Now it’s time to put your plan into practice and track your day-to-day expenses. This may seem a little annoying at first, as it will require close monitoring, but at the end of the month, it will make a huge difference, as you will know exactly where you are spending and which ‘drains’ where the money is escaping, preventing you from to save. You will have clarity of which categories are consuming the most and you can ask yourself to save a little more energy or water, for example. Or go shopping less.

At the end of each month, you’ll be able to analyze which days you tend to spend more, whether you reached the proposed goals and, if not, what you should do to get there. In this process, there are some questions that can help you analyze more productively what the numbers show:

What is my total earnings this month (salary, rent, sale of sweets or cosmetics)? How much do I want to save next month? How much am I spending in each category? What expenses can I cut for next month?

A smart way to assess your finances.

That’s great, you managed to save a month, then two, three… there goes a few months and you’ve been doing your homework. He even has a savings account to call his own and has started to be interested in investment funds and stocks. Easy there! First of all, congratulations on winning! Now is the time to increase the goals. How about checking if you can save a little more?

And another super important point: it’s time to talk about economics with your friends and family. In Japan, the land of Kakebo, children learn from an early age the importance of organizing their own finances and saving money. It’s time to show the benefits of having money saved to your children, friends, relatives and other people.

If you care about their future, teaching them these values ​​makes a great gift!

Are you in the habit of saving? What strategies do you use? What do you invest your money in?

Tell us in the comments!