Pressure to succeed am I saving enough to obtain my life goals

Pressure to succeed am I saving enough to obtain my life goals

Pressure to succeed am I saving enough to obtain my life goals

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”, Antoine de Saint- Exupéry once famously stated

The pressure to succeed is experienced by various individuals in society and can be applied by ourselves or others. Society often expects individuals to have their whole lives figured out from their relationships to their careers. Some people experience stress and being overwhelmed according to Statista, a 2020 study found, the most significant reasons people experience pressure is due to work, with 79% reporting work-related stress, and 60% experiencing ‘monetary financial stress’. Among those feeling affected by the pressure, young people are also struggling. According to the ‘Independent,’ with many worrying more than 6 hours a day, their main worries include having a job that pays enough, paying bills, reaching their chosen career goal, money, getting a job, and the future. The desire to succeed can also cause worry about how much is being saved for the future. Should you be saving a specific amount, will it ever enough?

The worry about not saving enough can negatively impact people, as some sacrifice their psychological well-being by significantly under-saving. According to current research, people are underspending for several reasons, such as fear of struggling financially, which can stem from difficulties faced from early childhood. In contrast, for others like Mr Groopman, a retiree who is financially able to afford life’s little luxuries such as going on holiday and social gatherings, instead spends his time watching television and watching TV. He has decided to do this because he is making sacrifices to save for his grandchildren. He also expresses being lonely. Kirsty Archuleta, a professor of financial planning and former president of financial therapy association, has said that individuals are “jeopardising their social well-being”; they might also be damaging their “physical health” (Gorce,2019)” and psychological well-being.

Recently a few participants in different stages of their lives were asked by Brand Analyst Nicole Amaral a few questions about their saving habits, such as whether they applied pressure to themselves to save as much as possible to obtain their goals and whether this has affected their well-being.

Luisa Dos Santos, a Housing Standards officer, has said: “I do not really apply pressure on myself to save because I think that if I apply pressure on myself am going to stress myself out and not save as much. However recently I try to spend on the more essential things. “Sometimes it affects my well-being a bit because sometimes I begin to think I could have saved a bit more but didn’t, which in this aspect could cause some stress”.

All the people that answered the questions reported that they did not apply pressure to save significantly; this seems to be because they would try to do better the next time. There is always next time, as is often said. In recent times my individual experience when saving is applying pressure to put money aside for rainy times because I feel I should have started saving earlier. Ironic that this time last year, saving was not a priority, but as we evolve and learn more about life, we can learn more about what to prioritise in life, such as finances, saving, working and education.

Some participants also mentioned feeling peace of mind because of saving. The individuals may feel like this because they are doing something towards their future and saving what they can, which is better than not saving.

Nikki Tomlinson, a customer representative, has said: “Can’t live paycheck to paycheck every month (that will stress you out more), so having some saving- or even controlling your money is good on the mind”.

We live in a society where happiness is related to material things and against how well you manage your milestones in life, making it even more crucial to make saving goals.

Tips and advice:

Do an action plan of what you would like to achieve and do in the next five years, and at the end of every year, revisit the action plan to see how far you have come since writing the plan. Update the plan as you meet goals and create new ones as you go along.Most importantly, do not pressurise yourself to save a considerable amount towards your goals as the most important thing is saving regularly, for instance, every month, as this will add up. The earlier you start saving and the more organised you are, the more likely you are to meet your saving goals. This plan should be an individual plan that you do independently without the influences or opinions of family, friends, or partners.Assess your situation; write down a list of questions and attempt to answer them, such asAm I happy with my current financial situation?Could I be doing more to save?What are my current saving goals?How far am I from achieving those goals?Where do I want to be in the next five years?If I become redundant tomorrow, would I be able to rely on my savings while I looked for other employment, and how long would I be able to rely on my savings?

It is crucial to balance spending and saving; it is essential to allocate some money aside every month. With an action or budget plan, you will decide how much you want to deposit into your savings each month; you should prioritise putting money into your account as soon as you are paid before the money goes to other expenses and lifestyle choices. There is no specific amount that should be saved, save within your means, saving is a learning process, as you advance with the saving journey, you start learning the best and worst ways to save, and what works best for you, you can research, saving related articles and the Intellisaving platform which facilitates access to accounts by enabling you to access multiple accounts on one platform; it also gives you a personalised portfolio suitable for every saving need. This should help decrease the stress and worry of balancing different savings accounts, as the app gives you strategic control of your finances. The platform also displays the best market rates for each type of saving account, including both the financial institutes that you already hold an account with and banks you do not already bank with, which will enable you to compare and assess the best saving accounts for you.

However, keeping on top of your finances ensures that you’re not underspending so much that you sacrifice your happiness and psychological well-being. Life is short, so live while you still and can go on holiday, go out for dinners, experience new hobbies and activities take every opportunity as one to discover and enjoy.