With Christmas just around the corner, and weeks of present shopping and partying tunnelling towards the New Year’s Eve blowout, we all know what is about to happen.
After the spending spree of Christmas comes the New Years resolutions: eating better, exercising, or saving money. But then the sales start happening, the idea of another turkey sandwich makes you run to a restaurant, and a winter vacation seems to be the only thing that will help you survive seeing another snowflake, and suddenly your resolution to save money is out the window faster than you can say ‘credit card’.
So all hail a revolutionary new book, Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money, which promises to revitalise our spending habits.
Pronounced ‘kah-keh-boh’, the kakeibo is a traditional Japanese journal that is sort of like a bullet journal for your finances. The idea is pretty simple; you sit down at the beginning of each month with your kakeibo and think about how much you would like to save and what you will need to reach it. To help keep things a little more exciting the kakeibo has inspirational Japanese proverbs throughout and beautifully designed spreadsheets.
At the end of each week and month, you can look back and see how you much you saved and how many lattes or shoes you bought that you didn’t need. By sitting down and completing your kakeibo, it ensures that saving is a part of your everyday life.
So with all that being said excuse me while I go buy, er, add this new journal to my Christmas list.
