Here's a money-saving tip: It’s easy to be committed to saving money when you realize that;
A). You have no money
B). You can’t pay your bills
or
C). Your spouse will kill you when he/she finds out how much you’ve spent on that new purse/ power tool.
After these moments come and pass though, most of us fall back into our comfortable habits of spending money here and there on things we really don’t need, and after a while we wonder why we don’t have as much in that savings account as we thought we were going to. What we need is to be reminded, constantly, to save money. The way I’ve found to do this is write two simple words down on many, many pieces of paper. Those words are; Save Money.
Enter the Paper
It may sound silly, but in the past I have taken scraps of paper, written those words on them, and taped them everywhere. And I mean everywhere, on the fridge, on my nightstand, in my daily planner, on my desk at work, in my textbooks…even on the steering wheel of my car!
After several days of seeing this phrase everywhere, it got in my head. I found myself saying these words over and over in my mind, not even realizing I was doing it. And then when it came time to open my wallet and spend money, it was almost impossible. It’s like those two words became a part of my being, and to go against them felt like a crime against nature.
This isn't me just being uber-nerdy, there is actually some science behind this, based in neuroplasticity. Basically that means that scientists now think that the brain is a much more dynamic, flexible organ than was once believed, able to change and adapt based on what information we absorb and what we learn. By reading those two words over and over, I had in a sense re-wired my brain to, well, save money. It’s the same concept that was used in a Harvard study a few years ago.
The Study
In the study, there were two groups of people. One group spent time imagining that they were playing a keyboard while looking at sheet music; the other group actually played the keyboard. The brains of the people in both groups were scanned before and after the experiment.
As the scientists expected, there was obvious growth in the section of the brain that controls the fingers in the group that actually played. What wasn’t expected however was the discovery that in those who only imagined playing, their brains responded the same exact way, without ever playing a note.
In essence, the second group changed their brain just by thinking it.
Apply the Study
So let’s ponder the implications. While not as easy as I may be making it sound, one could conceivably change the way they think and act, as long as they concentrate long and hard on it, practice it, get it in their heads (so to speak), and imagine themselves actually acting and being the way they want to be, over and over again. If nothing else, this technique will at least get you thinking about saving that money.
