Blog: The Pringle Effect

Ah yes, that 90s sensation that was and remains the humble box of Pringles. You know the ones, those crunchy, addictive crisps that come in the tub, stacked one on top of the other with flavours such as The Orginal; Sour Cream and Onion; Cheddar Cheese and one of my personal favourites, Texas BBQ.

They coined the phrase:

‘Once you pop you can’t stop’

As we’ve since found out, there was a lot of science behind that cheeky little slogan, with the holy trinity of fat, sugar and salt giving our pleasure hungry brain all it needs to keep wanting more, and more….and more…

Now imagine taking that ‘once you pop you can’t stop’ approach and apply it to your savings discipline. How would it feel to squirrel away £500 this month and invest it for your future self? Okay, so how would it feel when month after month you kept up that discipline, and after 12 months you’d saved an impressive £6,000. Ooohh that starts to look quite appealing doesn’t it.

Being the clever investor you are, thinking about your long term future you embraced the inflation bursting potential of The Great Companies of the World (the stock market), which returns on average 12% p/a.

(actual historical long term average. past performance is no guide to future performance and there are no guarantees when investing).

When we instil in ourselves this monthly savings discipline, it can become a habit. A habit that repeats, and you’ll want to keep going and going, particularly when you have some future important event to aim for.

According to James Clear, a habit can take between 2-8 months to form as a new ingrained behaviour, so the key is to make it as easy as possible by automating the process e.g. 1st of month £500 auto moves into savings account.

What we find is we then start to allocate said savings into mental buckets (and yes its completely irrational, but we are human after all). It’s no longer today’s money, that’s the fund for little Joe’s first car in 10 years’ time; that’s the money for our home renovation in 5 years; that’s my freedom fund when I retire at 60 and travel the world. So even where there might be a need to dip into it, you’d rather look elsewhere than diminish little Joe’s savings. We can use that mental accounting bias to our advantage.

And so, you’ve got skin in the game. You’ve got something to aim for and the longer you can maintain that regular savings habit, the longer your funds have to play the ‘Great Advance’ that is the stock market. Sure it will have it’s wobbles along the way but with history as our guide we know the long term trend is positive.

So grab that box of Pringles and embrace that ‘once you pop you can’t stop’ and let the Pringle Effect work it’s magic into your money journey.

We’re experts in helping you invest your money wisely. Get in touch at team@spentwell.co.uk to pop open your box and set you on the path to financial freedom.

Keith Boyes

Chartered Financial Planner

Managing Director

Spentwell

Guidance only. Investing in the stock market does carry a degree of risk and returns are not guaranteed. Be aware and understand the risks involved before participating. If in doubt, please seek professional advice.