Why We Can't Save

Blindly spending - Image from Wired.com

Based on my own experience, the one reason why I don't routinely save is because I didn't plan to save. Once I planned, I started saving though it's not a significant amount but it's still saving. Some people might feel that saving is only for people who are in a privileged position to do so, but that's very far from the truth. Everyone must save. Everyday I pass by beggars and I wonder how they they eat for the day. They save for it. And they probably budget too. They know how much they need to live for the day, and save the money they have for tomorrow.

So, if we feel like we can't save, there's probably an amount that we can save but seems too insignificant. In the end we choose not to save. Or, we actually lack the knowledge of how much we can actually save because, like I did for the past 10+ years I didn't plan to. Budgeting or planning is a duty implicitly mentioned in the Quran.

They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they should spend. Say, "The excess [beyond needs]." Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought.

2. Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow; 219)

When people are asking how much they should spend on charity, the answer was "the excess". How much is excess? We wont know if we don't write it out on a piece of paper and break down our spending. Not planning is intentionally blindfolding yourself from your money. And if you blindfold yourself from your money, you are risking of going in circles doing what you've always done with your money. Which was not an ideal situation for me.