If you’ve been to this blog within the past couple of weeks then you will know a big focus of 2020 for me is money.

I want to use this year to get back on my feet when it comes to money and ensure that I’m saving more than I spend. Even though it’s only early days, I thought I’d come to you today with some advice.

Saving money is hard! It requires a lot of habit changes, mindset shifts and can often result in you missing out on some really fun things in the name of future financial freedom.

FOMO

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noun Slang.

a feeling of anxiety or insecurity over the possibility of missing out on something, as an event or an opportunity

FOMO is something we have all experienced at some point in our lives and I don’t think its an emotion that will go away with age or time.

Saving money and other changes to your lifestyle that you may be going through can sometimes result in FOMO, whether that is imagined or real. No one likes to feel like they’re being left behind, but sometimes you need to put your goals and security before everything else.

If you are in a similar situation, then I’ve come up with some tips that can help you keep on track of your personal goals without experiencing FOMO.

1. TELL YOUR FRIENDS

Tell your friends about your goals and plans so they can help you stay on track. Let the people closest to you know that you’re focusing on saving money at the moment so you won’t be as available as you have been when it comes to events.

When you let your friends know about your financial goals, they can actually help you and together you can come up with some fun things to do that will not ruin your plans. There is so much that you can do in order to spend quality time with loved ones that don’t require you to spend money, it just might take some group creativity to find them!

2. UNFOLLOW

Social media is a massive trigger for my own FOMO and I can only imagine that it’s the same for everyone else. It’s not hard to feel like you’re the only one sat at home when you’re scrolling through hundreds of pictures of people living their #bestlife.

When you really want to focus on saving money, a good thing to do is unfollow the people who trigger these kind of negative feelings – and that includes your friends. There is no loyalty in social media and you don’t need to follow people to prove that you’re a good friend.

Your social media feeds should be a place that inspires you and makes you happy. Replace those accounts you’ve unfollowed with people who are on similar saving journeys to you to keep the motivation going.

3. TAKE A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

If unfollowing accounts hasn’t reduced your FOMO, then why not take a break from social media all together? This is something I’m doing as much as I can at the moment purely because social media bores me and I’m getting tired of comparing myself to everyone I see.

Taking a break from social media will also give you more time to focus on things that are more important to you. You can use this free time to push yourself forward when it comes to the other goals and plans you have for yourself, besides saving money.

4. PLAN OUT FREE EVENTS

I mentioned the idea of a ‘local adventures’ list in one of my previous posts and I think this is such a good way to combat FOMO. Although you won’t be able to spend much money during your saving period, that doesn’t mean that you have to stay in all the time.

Take a couple of hours to scroll through TripAdvisor or even message your friends abotu some of the cool places they’ve been to in your home town. Note down the ones that sound most interesting to you – whether that is a gallery, a park, a free community event – and make sure to put a plan in place for it.

You don’t have to spend your entire spending period alone at home. There are plenty of fun things you can be doing in your local area or nearby towns that don’t have to cost anything. Again, this may take some creativity and more planning than going to your usual pub every Friday but it will totally be worth it!

5. FOCUS ON GRATITUDE

I know, this is perhaps one of the biggest cliches around when it comes to self-help but annoyingly it does work. When you are feeling FOMO, you feel like you don’t have enough. You are too busy focusing on what everyone else is doing that you’re missing all of the amazing things that are already within you.

Next time you feel a bout of FOMO – or you could set up a regular habit to combat it completely – try to think about at least five things your grateful for. These don’t have to be major things like your home or your family (but they can be if you want!), but something small like the t-shirt you’re wearing, your favourite coffee mug, or that glittery eyeshadow you love.

Bringing the focus back onto what you actually have and love is certainly going to reduce that feeling on FOMO as you realise you’re happy enough where you are.

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Do you experience FOMO? How do you combat it?

I hope you’re having a good time in 2020 so far. I’m trying to keep myself on track as much as I can – and let me tell you, it’s not easy!

Take care of yourself.

Speak soon,

Rachael.

Photo by Sarthak Navjivan on Unsplash