Aaargh! Why Can't I Save?

If you live from pay cheque to pay cheque – the way Clara How does – but your friends are buying homes, putting aside cash for retirement, and just generally adulting, read on. She’s on a mission to change her spending habits so she can put more pennies in her piggy bank.

Eva* doesn’t know how much she spends every month. Or if she’s busted her budget. Or how much she’s got in her spending account. She depends on her bank statement to tell her. Out of the $3,600 salary she takes home every month, she reckons she saves $200- $500 – but that figure is down to chance rather than an active desire to save. Eva admits she’s got “bad spending habits” – she takes holidays every two months, and loves to shop. “Whenever I’m bored or waiting for someone, I kill time by shopping,” she confesses. “This applies to online shopping too. It doesn’t help that I like luxury goods.”

I wish I could say that Eva’s attitude is foreign to me. But even as I’m writing this story, I’m buying myself a new Fitbit. Do I need a Fitbit? Not really. So why have I bought one? Because it’s pretty. And I work out, don’t I? So I’ll totally use it, which means it’s an investment. This thought process sums up my attitude towards money.

The perennial problem of saving has never been more real. Just a little over a decade ago, when we wanted to shop, we had to go to an actual shop and browse the racks. When we wanted to go on holiday, we visited a travel agent to arrange flights for us (gasp). Today, online shopping makes it quick and easy to get stuff we like. Plus, credit cards, Paywave, and Apple Pay all help dull the guilt that comes with reckless spending. “When it’s not tangible, it feels like we’re parting with nothing to get something we like,” says Tan Huey Min, general manager of Credit Counselling Singapore. The point is, if I can barely keep track of my spending, how do I even start saving?