November 2014 Blogs

How to Trick Your Brain into Saving a Down Payment:

Follow these 7 strategies to ensure you meet your long-term goals.

Why do we have such difficulty sticking to a long-term savings plan when we consider our future goals just as important as — if not more than — present goals? We generally like to think that humans are highly rational creatures, but the fact of the matter is: most of our decisions are determined by years of neural conditioning, rationality being only a small piece of the puzzle.

The rational side of the brain that communicates the need to save now for a future benefit is often drowned out by the emotional side of our brain. Swiping a card for a new laptop instead of saving that money for our down payment feels natural because the rational brain we assume is acting in our favor is also justifying a financial decision that doesn’t align with our long-term strategy.

So with our brain working to persuade us it’s OK to spend when we should be saving, how can we outsmart our own (very persuasive) selves in order to save?

Make it hard to spend

It’s time to make it really tough to access your savings account for impulse buys. For example, instead of keeping your savings in your easy-to-access checking account, keep these savings in a separate account or a brick-and-mortar. When we’re tasked with an inconvenient action to get a reward, we’re less likely to complete the initial process.

Automate your savings

One way to avoid the pain point of saving is to allow automation to take the task out of your hands (and out of your mind). Automating your savings is an incredibly easy way to divert your cash toward a goal without much thought on your end. Because it removes the rationalization whether to save or not, it also removes the emotional act of negotiating with your own mind.

Create specific goals and set reminders

Studies suggest that we tend to overlook our long-term goals in favor of immediate gain. To stay in tune with your long-term goals, set and showcase reminders that force you to acknowledge your long-term goal regularly. Some people connect with visuals (like posting a picture of a dream home in a highly visible area), others connect more with the numbers side of saving (like creating a clear savings timeline with specific, number-based savings goals). Depending on your personal approach, use these reminders to keep you on track.

Match impulse buys with an equal amount into your savings

Even if we’re not in a retail environment, our computers and our phones make spending an ever-present option. Inundated by these opportunities to spend, skew the act of spending to your favor. So you want to buy those new boots? Match that spending with an equal contribution to your down payment.

Sometimes the pain of doubling a cost is enough to deter a purchase. In the case you still choose to spend, the matched contribution ensures you’re at the very least taking measures to save.

Put away any unexpected savings

Consumers often excuse an unbudgeted expense with “But it was on sale!” To piggyback a good habit onto any impulse purchase, take the sum that was discounted and add it to your down payment savings account.

Use herd mentality to your advantage

While we’re most familiar with financial pressure in the form of “keeping up with the Joneses,” social pressure can also be used to our advantage. When social expectations are incorporated into a task, we’re more likely to feel compelled to complete it or to showcase our progress toward it.

This herd mentality can be applied to both positive and negative habits. If you’re comfortable chatting money with friends or family, use accountability from your acquaintances to encourage your saving habits. Changing your social environment to support saving strategies over spending habits provides the social pressure to choose saving over spending.

Maintain your spending status quo — even if your earnings increase
Lifestyle inflation is real and often tough to reverse once implemented. Maintaining the status quo for your spending will maintain a spending expectation. Instead of considering a financial windfall “extra,” consider it another piece of paper to add to the down payment pile.




CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE HOME PAGE

MLSLincolnWestonRealty

BUYING ADVANTAGES

  • Approximately 45,000 Mass. Listings!
  • Prompt Online Showing Requests
  • Most Professional Buyer Representation
  • Top-Notch Agents to Serve You
  • Over 30 Years Experience
  • Easy Click for Showing
  • Virtual Drive Around the Neighborhood
  • Spectacular Map Search
  • View All Property Listing Specs!

MLSLincolnWestonRealty

SELLING ADVANTAGES

  • Professional, Experienced Sales Force!
  • World-Wide, On-Line Exposure
  • Expert Real Estate Resources
  • Unmatched Property Valuation Methods
  • Specialized High-End Property Services
  • NO FEES unless we are successful
  • State-of-the-Art Marketing Strategies
  • We have the Most Important Selling Tips
  • We Respect your needs: Timing and Price

FEATURED INFORMATION

Take a Journey into the BEST BUYING or SELLING EXPERIENCE you will ever have! CALL US TODAY!
Tell us where you want be
and we will find you a home to
BUY!
Tell us where you are
and we will
SELL your home for you!

Homes for Sale In Lincoln MA

With previous property ownership and devel- opment experience in Lincoln, Mass., MLSLincolnWestonRealty possesses the direct knowledge and skills to help you thoroughly understand the real estate climate in Lincoln, MA, make the right decisions, and buy or sell a home with confidence. Our buyer or seller representation is unsurpassed anywhere in the State. With a limited inven- tory of homes for sale in Lincoln, MA, you need the best advice possible. Please contact us during our extended hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week.

Boston and Vicinity

Whether it's homes for sale in Lincoln, Mass., homes for sale Weston, Mass. or anywhere else in the Boston, Massachusetts area, MLSLincolnWestonRealty is devoted to being the best real estate brokerage firm anywhere in Massachusetts. Our techno- logical sophistication and innovations, over forty years experience in sales, property management, development, renting and leas- ing in both residential and commercial/ industrial real estate are just some of the reasons you simply must give us a try. You'll be very glad you did!  CALL US TODAY!

Homes for Sale In Weston MA

In this dynamic and exclusive market MLSLincolnWestonRealty offers the most powerful tools, professional service and invaluable expertise to find the right home for you if you are shopping for houses for sale in Weston, MA. Our extensive experience within the Weston, Mass. real estate market makes us the best choice for marketing your house for sale in Weston, Massachusetts Our extended hours and passion for our work are only some of the reasons we will do a better job for you than any other real estate broker out there.

Scope of Services

MLSLincolnWestonRealty provides expert real estate and relocation services for residential real estate, single-family homes, high-end luxury homes, condominiums, multi-family homes, rental properties, mobile homes, commercial/industrial real estate, land, business opportunities, and much more with special emphasis in Weston, Lincoln, Brookline, Newton, Wellesley, Lexington, Wayland, Sudbury, Concord, Cambridge, Boston, Belmont, Sherborn, Dover, Needham, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Hopkinton, Holliston, Hyannis, Falmouth, Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Metro West, North Shore, South Shore and all other surrounding greater Boston and Massachusetts communities. MLSLincolnWestonRealty can also assist buyers and sellers with their specific real estate needs throughout the entire State of Massachusetts. We are the premier luxury residential real estate brokerage firm.

With an Exclusive Buyer Agency relationship, MLSLincolnWestonRealty provides our loyal and dedicated home buyers with the absolute best tools, resources, services, skills and expertise to provide them with tremendous savings and great satisfaction with their real estate purchases. Finding the right home and making the right home purchase are not always easy, but with MLSLincolnWestonRealty at your side every step of the way your chances of success with buying the right home in Massachusetts will increase exponentially.

As a highly skilled listing real estate agency, MLSLincolnWestonRealty provides our home sellers and other clientele with unparalleled knowledge, marketing programs and hard work to succeed with the sale of real estate in Massachusetts. This turn-key real estate power-house will enable you, the seller, to obtain a premium market price for the sale of your real property in the least time possible.
OUR SERVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING TOPICS and AREAS: Homes for sale in Lincoln MASS., Homes for sale in Weston MASS., Weston MASS. Homes for Sale, Lincoln MASS. Homes for Sale, Boston Mass. Homes for Sale, Weston MASS. Real Estate, Lincoln MASS. real estate, Boston Mass. Real Estate, Massachusetts real estate listings, Massachusetts Real Estate Agent, Boston, Mass. Real Estate, MLSLincolnWestonRealty, MLS, Lincoln MASS., Concord MASS., open houses, school and community info, agents, offices, realtors, MLS listings, properties, home search, residential, land, adult community, mortgage, pre-approval, interest rates, relocation, moving, MA, Online Home Search, Find Homes Online, Mass Real Estate, Boston Homes, Cambridge, Mass. Real Estate, Massachusetts Real Estate, Massachusetts Homes PETER GOTTLIEB, BROKER/AGENT
(781) 235-7727