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Saving Money AND Having Fun While Doing It

 Gamification:  Definition:  "adding game mechanics into non-game environments, like a website, online community, learning management system or business' intranet to increase participation." ...or in my case, "adding game mechanics into not-game environments like saving money....to increase participation."

Yesterday, while reading the monthly email that my thermostat brand sends me to tell me that I am thiiiis close being considered (amongst their customers in the area I live) the 'most efficient user' of energy, I started to think about what I could do to 'win' by moving the proverbial needle further along the spectrum to 'most efficient user.'  Needles to say, I bumped the thermostat down another degree (from 61 at night to 60) to see if that does the trick.  

In the 12 hours since that email, I've further realized over the course of just a half-dozen-ish blog posts that I regularly use the words 'play' or 'game' when talking about what I do to save money.  ..and it's dawned on me:  I really do treat saving money like playing a game.  No bad thing-I am an incredibly competitive person who loves to not only beat others...but I love beating myself.  I've been competitive as long as I can remember, and in many ways, figuring out how to make my monthly energy bill go down, or how to save a few more $$ on that round trip flight (to the point that friends exclaim, 'wow-that's a great deal!' is how I stay motivated to continue to find ways to save money.

It may already be apparent after reading just a few of my posts, but saving money (*regularly* saving money...and regularly saving money on every day expenses) isn't easy.  It requires attention to detail, persistence, and also a willingness to be patient.  Basically, really very un-sexy things:  It sounds sexy to save $300 on that trip to NYC, but it's not sexy when you realize that it's taken weeks of watching flight prices to know what's high and what's low, and months of booking and rebooking hotels when prices and rewards fluctuate. And even more months of researching places to eat (or visit) that punch above their weight in quality versus price.  So, when it takes that kind of effort to save a buck (or 300), at least for me, the only way to do that (and do it again and again and...) is to turn it into a game.

Maybe it's just me.  ...and that's OK.  But, what about you?  What do you do to 'play the game' of saving money?  What is your take/your process/your approach to turning the un-sexy tasks of saving money into something that you not only like, but dare I say-enjoy?  Leave a comment below-I'd love to hear from you!


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