Saving Money Using Eastern Philosophy

It seems like money never pays off in the end. Sometimes getting through the month just becomes an arduous journey.

There are plenty of things you can spend your money on and your salary will go through it in no time. Fortunately, however, there are also various methods to save money at home and to ensure that you have enough to pay all bills. Some of these methods come from Eastern philosophy.

It’s all about the right method. You may never know exactly where your money is going because you don’t keep track of it. It may seem like you don’t have enough money because you don’t manage your money well.

Saving money at home is essential to keep your finances in order. You don’t have to have a huge salary at all to enjoy some slack. What you do need is willingness, dedication and patience.

So in this article, we look at some ideas from Eastern philosophy that can help you manage your money better.

Saving money at home with the Kabeko

The Kabeko is a Japanese method that was developed in 1904. This method is now more than a century old, but it is still used worldwide. The method was developed by Motoko Hani. Her goal was to save money at home by strictly managing expenses.

The Kabeko is a simple log. It works in a very simple way. At the beginning of the month, the income and fixed expenses are recorded. This is the amount of money that is somehow coming in and the amount of money that will have to go out anyway. Once we have established these amounts, we know how much can be allocated to other expenses, if possible.

Based on this information, we determine how much we would prefer to save. This applies to both fixed and additional expenses, if any. It is also important to know what you want to spend your savings on. This is only the first part of the method.

The second part consists of writing down all your expenses. You can do this one at a time, each time you make an expense. At the end of each month, look at how much you spent in total and where the money went. This gives you better insight into how you spend your money and makes it easy to see where you could save money.

The 52 Week Challenge

This is a very old method of saving money. Recently, however, this method has become quite relevant. What’s especially important is that you’re willing to take on the challenge. You will have to stay consistent and be patient. In that case, the results can be extraordinary.

Basically, this method means that you save money every day for 52 weeks:

1. The first week you only need to save one euro per day.
2. The second week you are supposed to save two euros a day…
3. …and so on, until you have completed all 52 weeks.

Since the amounts at some point simply become unfeasible for some, you can set a maximum of, for example, 200 euros per month for yourself.

You can also try this 52-week challenge in reverse order. This means that you start by saving 52 euros per day and then subtract one euro from this each week. Sometimes this can be easier to stick with because you are always more motivated in the beginning.

Other tips to make it possible to save money at home

Eastern cultures have a philosophy that is more focused on rejecting than collecting. Therefore, they have managed to create a frugal lifestyle where they have more control over their spending.

Representatives of Zen also offered advice on how to save money at home. Here are some:

• Go to the library more often. You don’t spend a cent and in return you can enjoy yourself and learn something too.
• Replace your car with public transport or, even better, a bicycle or just a good pair of shoes.
• Bring your own lunch to work. Eating out costs a lot of money.
• Reduce your tobacco and alcohol consumption. Not only will this save you money, it will also help you improve your health.
• Drinking water. Substitute soda or other drinks for water. This is good for your body and also a lot cheaper.
• Try to do chores around the house yourself. It is not always necessary to pay someone to do minor repairs that you can easily do yourself if you put in the effort.

• Try to save energy. There are plenty of ways to save electricity, gas, petrol, etc. All you need to use is your common sense.