Savings Word Origin

~ Ar taṣarruf تصرّف [#ṣrf V msd.] having the right and authority to spend, ownership, managing, processing < Ar ṣarf صرف spending → consumable

The Oldest Source in History

"the right to use and spend" [ Muqaddimah al-Adeb (before 1300)]
"use sparingly, not wasting" [ Kamus-ı Türki (1900)
"money accumulation, accumulated money" [ TDK, Turkish Dictionary, 1st Edition (1945) ]

Now that we know what saving means, we can move on to the text itself.

Saving money is hard work. Really...

Most of the money you get will probably go to rent, and then without realizing it, you will lose your precious pennies. Embugger¹ there are bills and travel expenses.

That little shaky voice in the back of your mind: "What the hell? I'll never be able to afford a house anyway, and I can't just pay off my debts. Let me indulge myself today and make a cup of tea."

I'm going to tell you about something that you will probably hear for the first time, at least I have to admit that it's a new concept for me. I was thinking about what to write based on the results of a poll I did on Twitter - I want you to know that I don't do these polls for nothing -

An interesting concept on home economics.

Kakeibo/Kakebo

Kakeibo was invented in 1904 by Hani Motoko, Japan's first female journalist, and was designed to help busy women overcome their financial situation.

The concept is like this: At the beginning of each month, you sit down with your kakeibo and plan what you will spend, what you will save and what you need to do to reach your goals. Then you review what you have achieved. It's as simple as that.

What you need to know

1. We need to shift our focus from saving to spending

We need to reshape our attitude towards budgeting - to "save well" we need to "spend well" and to spend well you need to save well.

We all work hard to live and enjoy things. It is important to remember this fact when saving.

Long story short, you may not be able to increase your income today, but you can reduce your expenses. A bit like you may not be able to choose your father but you can choose your father-in-law 🙂 🙂

2. Writing things down will help

Keeping Kakeibo is about recording your spending, but adding numbers to a spreadsheet is not enough. Putting pen to paper is a fundamental part of the practice.

Fumiko Chiba has written a book on this subject. "Most of our lives are lived on our phones or computer screens," says Chiba.

In this sense, Chiba says, using a kakeibo becomes a kind of mindfulness exercise.

So at the beginning of the month, you need to figure out how much money you actually have and write it down. Look at what you have from your salary to any free bits, from your mom to the £20 birthday money, and add it all up.

Next, take your "fixed expenses": the amounts you have to pay, such as rent and bills, and subtract them from your total. Easy enough.

This will bring you an amount that you can choose to "save" or "spend well". Don't worry if it is now in single figures - we are just getting started.

3. You need to be honest about your "challenges" and "aspirations".

Using a kakeibo is about distributing your finances. If you followed the last step, you know how much money is coming in and you know what you need to do - it's time to figure out how you spend the rest and how you can do better.

By looking at your spending in chunks (rather than a never-ending, guilt-inducing outgoing list), you can identify areas you can cut.

I found a guide that summarizes it very well and prepared in Turkish.

For those who speak English:

Again, I said I would write short, but I made it long. If you found it useful, please help others and forward this article to your loved ones.

Thank you...