What to do on payday with a take-home pay of 230,000 yen

On Friday night, when I got home from work, my wife said, "Our savings exceeded the target amount this month."

"Oh, I see."

That was my only reply. I didn't open the household account book.

If I think back to myself five years ago, that response would have been absolutely impossible. If we had reached our savings goal, I would have immediately opened the household account app, checked the breakdown, and set next month's goal—that's how I used to track the numbers in detail.

But now, on this Friday night, I didn't need to check the numbers.

The change in what "savings increasing" means

Five years ago, my obsession with the household account book was abnormal.

I opened it every day. After waking up, during lunch break, after getting home, before going to bed. Over and over again, many times a day. I would be happy or sad over a 1,000 yen increase in savings. If I found out the savings pace was slower than last year, I would go into a mild panic that month.

Why was I doing that so much?

I think back then, I was convinced that "savings increasing" meant "my value increasing." I mistakenly believed that the growth of the numbers was directly linked to the success of my life. That's why I felt anxious if I didn't look at the numbers, and I couldn't settle down unless I was constantly checking them.

But in reality, I wasn't looking at my own life; I was merely looking at numbers on a smartphone.

The story of how "if you automate it, you don't have to think about it" was true

Once the salary comes in, it automatically goes to the savings account.

Since that day, I haven't done anything. I don't look at the household account book. I don't open the household account app. I don't even bother to check "how much we saved this month" at the end of the month.

I didn't know the savings amount for this month at all until my wife reported, "Our savings increased."

Honestly, at first, I was anxious about that. The feeling of "Is it really okay not to look at the numbers?" and "Isn't there a failure somewhere?" crossed my mind over and over again.

But when I actually tried it, nothing happened.

The salary is automatically transferred to the savings account. I cut fixed costs a long time ago, so I don't need to cut them any further. Variable costs (like food and daily necessities) don't fluctuate much to begin with. So, as a result, it just keeps accumulating steadily every month.

Whether I look at the numbers or not, the savings increase. What I was looking at was not the result, but only a part of the progress.

If it were me five years ago, I would have said this

You should definitely look at your household account book at the end of the month. You can't save money if you don't manage it.

You should open your savings app every day. It's important to grasp your current situation.

Once you reach a goal, you're being soft on yourself if you don't set a goal for next month.

That's what I said to myself five years ago. And the juniors and friends who heard those words mostly gave up within three months. 'I'm tired of looking at it every day,' 'Seeing the numbers puts me under pressure,' 'I end up trying to be too perfect.'

That's the reason everyone quits.

In other words, that method was necessary for me, but it wasn't a necessary method for everyone. Perhaps the obsession that I 'have to look' was actually making me hate saving money itself.

The desire to check versus the reality of not being able to continue

Recalling a conversation on a Friday night, I realized that what I lacked five years ago was the ability to control my 'desire to check.'

Whether savings 'increase or not' doesn't really depend on individual effort that much once you've set up a system. Salary -> automatic transfer -> live on the rest. That's all.

But while waiting for it to grow, people get anxious. That's why they want to see the numbers. They want to check. Once that checking becomes a habit, you start looking every day. When you look every day, you become sensitive to fluctuations in the numbers. When you become sensitive to fluctuations in the numbers, you start worrying about them, and in the end, it becomes stress.

It actually took me five years to break out of this loop.

What I realized from a single word from my wife

'My savings exceeded the goal this month.'

I noticed for the first time that I didn't feel shaken even after hearing this report.

In the past, I would have immediately started looking for the next source of anxiety, asking, 'It exceeded it? By how much?' 'Can't we increase it even more next month?' 'What if such-and-such changes?'

But it's different now. Hearing my wife's report, I just replied, 'Oh, I see,' and that was it.

That's because 'increasing savings' is no longer the top priority in my life.

Rather than savings that grow through a system, talking normally with my wife after coming home from work, playing with my children on the weekend, and the time spent making lunch boxes—those 'things that don't become numbers' have become more important to me now.

Savings come after that. It's fine if it just grows on its own.

Until I was freed from 'having to look every day'

I still get asked by younger colleagues, "I want to start saving money, what should I do every day?"

If it were the old me, I would have answered, "Open your household account book every day, record your daily expenses, and review them at the end of the month."

But now, it's different.

"You don't have to do anything every day. Just check your automatic transfer settings once on payday. You don't need to look at it after that."

That is how I have started answering.

The other person usually asks back, "Wait, but will that really help me save?" If it were me five years ago, I might have insisted, "It's fine. If you set up the system perfectly, it will grow even if you don't look at it."

But in reality, I spent five years confirming that those words were true.

It grows even if you don't look at it. Because you don't look at it, you don't get tired. Because you don't get tired, it has lasted five years.

The story of Friday night when I checked nothing

The reason I didn't open my household account book even after hearing my wife's report is simple.

Because there is no need to check.

Yesterday, and the day before, my salary was automatically transferred to my savings account. It was moved at the beginning of the month, and I did nothing until the end of the month. So, naturally, by the end of the month, my savings have increased.

It has increased. That is everything.

The precision of the numbers, like "how much it increased this month," no longer matters. Because it has continued for five years, it will continue next year. Because it will continue next year, it will continue five years from now. That is enough.

When I said "I see" to my wife on Friday night, I felt like I had finally been liberated from my former self of five years ago.

Checking isn't necessarily virtuous. Managing isn't necessarily the right way. If you are getting results, you don't need to look at the process.

I finally realized that.

In conclusion

If you read this article and think, "Wait, but don't you want to look?" then I think that just means it's different for everyone.

Some people feel more at ease checking every day. Some people find satisfaction in managing things. Some people find their motivation in feeling the growth of the numbers.

That is not a bad thing. However, if there are people who feel "tired of looking at it every day" or "checking it is stressful," there is actually an option to not look at it at all.

Honestly, once you set up a system, you don't even have to look at it.

The reason I replied that way on a Friday night is something my self from five years ago didn't know either. That is why I am writing this now.

If there is anyone else who is "tired of checking," please give this a try. Starting next month is fine. Just check the automatic transfer once on payday. After that, don't look.

Just by doing that, something might change.