How will you grow your money?

We all strive to live out our values every minute of every day. Whether it’s deciding on who we spend our time with, where we shop, work and eat, or the words we choose to say or not to say – all of these reflect our choices, compromises and priorities, which in turn constantly reinforce our values in one way or another. The same principle holds true with how you save, spend, borrow, give and earn.

What do we do with the money that we earn?

When your finances are aligned with your values, Heartlines COO, Derek Muller says that, “you will quickly realise that you begin to have a sense of clarity in the direction that you want your money to go and grow in.” You may be familiar with the quote from South African football coach Steve Komphela: “If there’s a pair of sneakers you want and your budget is tight, forget the budget, look after your emotions, go buy those shoes ‘cause it gives you positive energy.” But the reality is that if we have nothing saved, it brings up negative emotions that leave us feeling ”stressed, anxious and fearful about the future,” says Derek. “However, if we save and plan for the future, it will leave us feeling satisfied and peaceful about our financial future.”

What does saving look like?

For a lot of us, payday can be stressful, and if you don't have a plan of action for your hard-earned money, you’ll never get to enjoy the benefits of watching the money you have worked for provide you with a better life. Derek says that we should “have a savings plan that lists all your financial goals and then budget for it.” Remember that “if you start small it will ensure that you stick to your budget.”

Here are some more tips from Derek to help you grow your savings muscle:

• Put any bonus or gift that you may get from your job into a savings account.

• If you are a parent, you can teach your children how to exercise discipline and self-control by practising what you preach and teaching them the value of saving on a monthly basis.

• One of the ways that you can ensure that you stick to your savings goals is to “lock” your money away in an account where you have to give some sort of notice before accessing it.

• You should also put your money into different savings models such as a life insurance policy, or a retirement fund.

• For those living with a partner agree on what your priorities are for the foreseeable future.

• Another tip for couples and families is to make sure that you are all on the same page when it comes to how much you should be saving, spending and giving away – only if we can afford to give away some, but remember that giving is equally as important as saving.

Saving isn't easy, instead it requires you to “sign” an agreement with yourself or your partner, depending on your circumstances, that you are going to exercise discipline and self-control when it comes to your finances in order to ensure that saving becomes a habit and you aren't going “to just dip into it in three months time and destroy what you’ve been able to accomplish,” says Derek.

For more information and resources you can do our Values & Money course, which examines your current attitudes, behaviour and values around each of our money values: honesty in earning, responsibility in spending, self-control in saving, wisdom in borrowing and generosity in giving.