What is “Kakeibo,” the Japanese method of saving money?
Unfinished inflation, increased rates, skyrocketing prices, What is Kakeibo and a mission that, at this point, is almost impossible: to make ends meet. The numbers are in red, and it is necessary to control the expenses and save. Fortunately, a Japanese method that helps organize finances and saves money is coming to our aid.
Japan’s first journalist, Hani Motoko, popularized the method more than a century ago, allowing for a detailed record of the domestic economy in which she promises to keep up to 35 percent of the salary… at least in Japan.
Motoko wanted to use handcuffs to manage the family’s finances, according to that text.
The trigger for this fashion comes from “Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money,” a guide that the writer Fumiko Chiba published to apply this system in the West, which is common in Asian homes.
Kaeibo: What does it consist of?
and perhaps the most important thing. To put it into practice, you don’t need special apps, complicated Excel spreadsheets, or complex mathematical formulas. It is only necessary to have a pencil and paper on hand.
This accounting and financial approach involves writing down our spending in a notebook according to a structure to visualize on a screenshot how to manage money.
Consistently and meticulously reducing expenses by 35% without sacrificing comforts saves money. . The key is to write everything down and prioritize what to spend money on.
Step-by-step instructions on how to implement it
First, we need a notebook for the Kakeibo (or Kakebo) approach.
It must hold all payment tickets and receipts.
To track unproven spending, write it down.
Subtract monthly rent, bills, services, and taxes from income.
Culture, survival, optional, and extras (unexpected expenses such as birthday gifts, trips, car or home repairs).
User needs can add subcategories.
Kakeibo?
This approach relies on color, so each category must be painted.
Making a monthly report of what you paid in and what we spent is obvious.
We can do it in our free time during the day, or it can also be established a day a week for this purpose, but for this it is necessary that we keep the purchase and payment tickets. As time goes by, we will easily see which are the areas where money goes the fastest. Remember to be disciplined and write down how much the coffee we had in the confectionery cost.
Kaeribo is the savings key.
Before any non-survival expense, these questions are written down.
Can I survive without my purchase?? Taking into account my financial situation, can I afford it? Am I really going to use it? Do I have space to place or store it? What is my emotional state right now? How do I feel about buying it? And how long will this feeling last?
These questions help us evaluate each purchase’s value and whether it may harm us.
Kakeibo?
HOW TO MAKE ENDS MEET
The monthly report should detail spending.
This requires answering four critical questions:
Saved how much? ? How much money would you have liked to save? How much money are you actually spending? What would you change next month to improve it?
After a month of recording everything, we will be able to measure progress, know what our consumption habits are, start prioritizing next month’s expenses, and make the necessary changes to save according to the goal we have set for ourselves.