Saving money isn’t just a habit, it’s an emotional shift. Money in your account feels like money you can spend. If it doesn’t go anywhere, it cries out to you. To hijack that feeling, start your savings with an investment.


While we often recommend saving by simply putting your money in a separate account, it’s easy to feel like that money can still be spent if you need it. However, as personal finance site Mixed Up Money suggests, if you “spend” that money on an investment, you’ll feel like you actually got something for your money, and it will be just a little bit harder to access:

For me, it feels like I’m spending my money, because it goes away (#seeyanever), and I get to enjoy the feeling of buying something when all I’m really buying is my own future. If you’re planning on putting money away for some type of long-term goal, and you don’t know what to do or where to start, don’t be afraid to just try. After all, if I can do it – literally anyone can.


For some of us, investing feels like the step you do after saving. You know, once you’ve already got enough for an emergency fund and the rest is just sitting around not doing much. However, services like Betterment let you automatically turn savings withdrawals into investments that put your money to work. You can still withdraw relatively quickly if you need money for an emergency, but you still get the emotional feeling of having “spent” your money on something worth buying.

Investing Is the Savings Account I’ve Always Needed | Mixed Up Money via Rockstar Finance