This is part two of the I Was 28 When I Saved My First RM50 series. In part one of this series, I detailed my experience saving for the first time.

If you, like me, have encountered feelings of shame for not measuring up to the saving & investing prowess of your peers, I hope reading about my experience can help you take the first steps in just getting started and making a plan to stay consistent, without constantly comparing yourself to others.

You’ve read about how I started. 

Now, here’s an insider’s glimpse into the mindset barriers I took great pains in smashing, and the powerful mindsets I adopted and practiced to effect change in meeting my savings goal. 

Silencing my inner critic

Once I start to feel overwhelmed with the idea that I am not doing things the perfect way, or how it is conventionally approved, I am more likely to remain stagnant and do nothing.

Admitting that I had a problem was the first step. Next was convincing myself that my journey is my own and I can’t let the fear of other people’s judgement cloud my determination.

This second step was essential. Getting caught up in other people’s likely perception of my previously irresponsible approach to financials would’ve overwhelmed me and put me a few steps back. Hell, even starting this article took a lot from me to silence my inner critic.

Silencing my inner critic. Telling myself that my story is valid. Just because I’ve built up a series of mistakes based on my impulsive spending behaviors does not mean that I am not worthy of change. I could still tell a success story in which I turn my life around. 

My inner critic went a lot like this:

People are going to scoff at you once they find out you have been racking up debt so irresponsibly! It’s not even an acceptable kind like a student loan or a housing loan — you were just spending frivolously on luxuries! It’s better to hide it from people and ignore this problem. 

Can you imagine being in your late 20s with no ability to even put RM50 away? How shameful!

All your friends are earning upwards of RM5,000 — why are you such a failure? You can never get things done right!

Silencing my inner critic in this instance meant reminding myself that:

• It is okay to not be “on par” with my peers.
• It is okay to not have achieved financial milestones that the people around me have achieved at my age, or when they were younger.
• It is okay to carve out my own journey and just do things on my own terms. Better late than never; always remember that.

Recognizing what brings me joy

If you, like me, always look forward to trying your hand at the latest productivity apps, enrolling in the most-reviewed and top-of-the-list self-development courses, as well as experimenting with the daily habits and tools of entrepreneurs and creators you most admire, this is for you.

Present-day Nen has recognized that all the brightest ideas and most brilliant suggestions in the world will not stick if it doesn’t enable you to be consistent.

What matters the most is the personalized methods that bring you steps closer to the unique goals that make you happy.

There are a ton of guidelines and products out there to help you manage your budget and achieve your savings allocation:

• The 50/30/20 rule
• Dave Ramsey’s envelope system
• Platforms that automatically save/invest your spare change aka round-up apps
• AI-powered budget and spending trackers.

For me, I could finally let my savings goal stick, in my own way, because I adopted YNAB’s app and its Four Rules, learned about the rich life from Ramit Sethi, and picked up nuggets of information here and there.

All that I picked up from the resources I mentioned stayed with me throughout my journey to being debt-free and as I built my emergency fund, not because they were absolutely the best advice ever, but because I could adopt them and adapt according to the lifestyle I had and wanted to keep.

Learning to accept delayed gratification

It’s easy to feel discouraged and like a failure when life seems to be moving at a speed faster than you can keep up.

I am an easily excitable person, and I jump on new opportunities and experiences with minimal hesitance most of the time.

Over the past year, I’ve learned to work on my rational and logical sides and am now not the impulsive girl I once was, and I credit this to my work on delayed gratification.

Learning to budget with YNAB taught me how to anticipate my spending months in advance, and it also showed me how liberating it feels to put away a predetermined sum every month, to hit a particular budget category — a trip to Thailand; a treat-myself meal; a clothing haul from Topshop. 

This means that as I watched my friends talk about signing a lease for an apartment, I told myself that I am not at that point of my journey yet. 

When I overheard conversations during meet-ups with old university mates about the sums of investments they were making with different financial instruments, I told myself that I am on my way.

As I sat across from my peers and they confidently discussed upcoming trips to places I could only dream to go, I assured myself that I was playing the long game. 

Being patient was key as I worked with a take-home pay of RM3,200 then. The destination may not be in sight yet, but starting is better than not having started at all.

Final words

The psychological frameworks shared here are mental lessons I continue to practice every single day of my life.

Going through this journey shaped my approach towards financial health, but it bled over to all the other aspects of my life.

These mindset shifts have given me the daily assurance I need, even on the lowest of points in my days, that I am on the right track. 

Lastly, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I am able to get to where I am today by falling down and picking myself up — more than I’d like. But by god, it’s so, so worth it.