💰 Start Revenge Saving

🔍 Deep Dive: Revenge Saving: Is it a Good Idea?

Much of the financial world is a pendulum. We swing one way, then swing back to the other.

It doesn’t surprise me that people are aggressively saving following a period of splurging.

But a pendulum approach isn’t always the smartest option. You wind up waiting until you NEED savings to start saving, and then once you’ve got it, you splurge.

The Roots of Revenge Saving

Right now, people are:

1. Scared of losing their jobs and need a stockpile of cash to protect themselves.

2. Pissed about inflation and tariffs, afraid of how high they’ll climb.

3. Feeling guilty about past spending habits and now paying the consequences.

These are all driven by guilt and fear, which aren’t the most productive emotions to kickstart your journey to financial responsibility.

Sure, you’re saving more. But aggressively saving for a short period of time won’t change your financial habits for the long haul.

A Better Savings Strategy

I’m a big proponent of knowing your numbers. It’s why I built Refresh.

You should be able to answer questions like:

1. How much do I need in my emergency fund?

2. Which financial goals am I saving for?

3. What do I need to set aside each month to reach those goals on my desired timeline?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might be chucking cash into savings with no real purpose. And while that isn’t a bad thing, it’ll give you more peace of mind if all of your cash has a purpose.

Step 1: Determine Your Savings Goals

How much do you actually need in savings? It depends.

I think of it like this (ranked by priority):

1. Emergency Fund: 3 to 6 months of expenses.

2. Short-Term Savings: Anything in the next 1-5 years (e.g., a new phone, a vacation, car down payment, home down payment)

3. Long-Term Savings: Anything 5+ years away (e.g., child’s college, wedding costs)

Step 2: Set Your Monthly Savings Goals

Determine these 3 things:

1. How much you need to save

2. When you want to have it by

3. How much you need to save monthly to get there

Example: I need $10,000 in two years.

10,000 ÷ 24 months = $416 per month

Step 3: Alter Your Spending Habits

You’ll need to find room in your budget to save. But again, the pendulum doesn’t have to swing over to the side of total frugality to do so.

Instead, you can implement a few small changes:

• Buy coffee out 3x a week instead of 6

• Try one no-spend month

• Cut a few subscriptions for the rest of the year

• Negotiate a lower phone bill

Small changes compound to make a big impact. Once you’ve made a few changes, take what you save and send it to savings until you hit your goals.

Don’t Store Excess Cash

Think of your different savings goals like buckets.

Once the bucket is full, you don’t need to put more into it.

You have enough at that point. And seeing that you’ve fulfilled that goal gives you permission to ease up on the gas a bit and put money elsewhere moving forward.

Put It Into Practice

Take 20 minutes this week to:

1. Determine your savings goals

2. Alter your budget

3. Start saving

💵 Budget Breakdown: Working 2 Full-Time Jobs

This week’s WWYD comes from Jane. She’s a 26-year-old creator who works two full-time jobs so she can retire in her 30s.

Here’s what Jane’s schedule and compensation look like:

• Marketing Manager ($80,700) - 8 AM to 4 PM

• Call Center Rep ($18.70 per hour + commission) - 4 PM to 12:30 AM

This totals to 16 hours of work per day (not including break time) and around $120,000 in annual compensation.

Here’s what I think:

• She’s likely sacrificing getting enough sleep for this work schedule.

• While it’s an admirable goal, this could become a one-way ticket to burnout.

• Based on her marketing experience, she could probably land one full-time role with a similar total compensation.

🔗 Quick Links

😬 Trending money “hack” that’s actually dangerous.

📚 Back-to-school savings tips.

💰 10 apps that pay $100 a day.