An obsession with quick savings hacks can give you the illusion that you’re being financially responsible by constantly chasing nifty ways to shave a few dollars off your expenses.
While you’re collecting points to get $50 off or scouring aisles for discounts,you’re probably not focused on bigger long-term problems.Simon Letch
This can fuel spending anxiety and perfectionism. You become hyper-aware of the price of everything,constantly look for bargains,and second-guess spending decisions. “Is it worth it?” “Do I really need this?” “Can I get this cheaper elsewhere?”
This might sound like a good thing,but having spent years helping people turn their financial lives around,I’ve noticed that people who watch pennies can get fixated on penny-sized problems. They fall into the trap of becoming “penny-wise,pound-foolish”.
After all,you can’t fix $100,000 problems when you’re busy fixing $100 problems.
While you’re collecting points to get $50 off your next holiday or scouring aisles in the grocery store for discounts,you are probablynotfocused on problems that are worth more to you in the long run. Researching a better-performing super fund,learning about tax saving opportunities,or learning to invest,will have a bigger impact long-term than hunting for cheaper petrol.
Am I saying penny-pinching is bad? No. There are stages in your financial journey where this strategy can be useful. The question isn’t whether it’s good or bad,it’s whether this strategy is helping you create the life you really want.
Given how heavily reinforced penny-pinching is all around us,it can be difficult to see when this strategy is helping or harming. Here are some questions that can help:
When you do it enough,penny-pinching becomes part of your identity.
Shifting out of the penny-pinching starts with recognising you have a choice:you can spend your whole life chasing pennies,or you can decide to focus on the big things that matter.
If that’s a shift you’re ready to make,here are some steps you can take that will help:
You will createway morefinancial ease when you stop focusing on small things that make little difference and start focusing on big things that make all the difference.
This will allow you to live a bigger life without stressing over the little things. It turns out that when you watch thedollars… thepenniestake care of themselves.
Paridhi Jain is the founder of,which helps adults learn to manage,save and invest their money through financial education courses and classes.
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