With inflation shooting in Spain and salaries to stay practically stagnant, many question how to get some money aside every month. The answer may be in the so -called “invisible expenses”, small daily expenses that seem harmless but accumulated over the years can mean thousands of euros, guarantees an economist.
Economist Iñaki Arcocha, at Podcast Roca Project, argues that eliminating expenses such as daily coffee or aperitif with friends is a simple and effective strategy for gaining financial margin. According to the calculations it presented, a coffee of 2 euros per day is equivalent to about 700 euros per year. Invested with a 5% profitability for ten years, this value can become 10,000 euros.
The impact of discipline in everyday
The logic is clear: small amounts, spared and invested in a consistent way, generate a multiplier effect. “We have to think about the little euros that exist in our lives and that we can eliminate to achieve a better future,” said the economist, quoted by the Spanish newspaper Noticias Workshop.
Although it seems like a rigorous philosophy, Arcocha warns that this is a matter of mentality and discipline. As you plan to go to purchases or a vacation, the expert argues that in everyday life there must also be financial planning.
Beyond Coffee: Subscriptions and Superfluous Consumption
“Invisible Expenses” are not limited to restoration. Streaming platforms like Netflix or HBO are another example of monthly expenses that, added to you can represent hundreds of euros per year. “When paid, you only see coffee or tuition, you don’t see the 2 euros or the 10 euros that accumulate month after month,” he explained.
This way of thinking requires a change in perspective: Instead of facing cutting as deprivation, it should be seen as an investment in the more solid future, according to the same source.
Between generations: change in consumption habits
The economist also highlighted the differences between generations. He recalled that the current renovated were used to spending less outside the home, simply because there was less offer. And that, as they evoke the habits of their parents and grandparents, each generation tends to look back in nostalgia, believing that “before it was better.”
Savings and investment of hand in hand‘
Arcocha was categorical: saving without investing is not enough. “Saving without investing is like paying a buffet and not repeating,” he compared. Inflation ends up eroding the money stopped, and only the investment ensures that the discipline of savings translates into real growth, also mentioned, quoted by.
Still, the expert warned of the risk of living in a logic of permanent scarcity. “Cracing the last euro everywhere is a mentality of scarcity. In the end you can choose not to spend anything, but at that moment your ability to save.”
Balance is the key
Thus, the key is in balance: eliminating unnecessary expenses, maintaining discipline, investing intelligently, and, above all, adopting an abundance -oriented mindset instead of deprivation.
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