Small amounts, surprisingly big results.

Two objections come up more than any others when people talk about retirement saving.

The first: "I'm already stretched — there's simply nothing left to save."

The second: "I might be able to put a small amount aside, but it's so little it won't make any real difference."

Both are understandable. Both feel true in the moment. And for most people — not all, but most — both are worth looking at more closely.

On feeling stretched

The feeling of having nothing left at the end of the month is real and common. It helps to start by knowing your actual retirement number — because once the target is clear, the gap between where you are and where you need to be is often more manageable than it feels. It is not a sign of failure or poor discipline — it is often simply the result of never having looked closely at where the money goes, because looking feels either too complicated or too confronting.

When people do look closely, spending tends to fall into three categories: things they genuinely need, things they genuinely enjoy, and things they spend on out of habit, convenience, or automatic renewal without much thought. That third category — spending that isn't really adding much — is almost always larger than expected.

This is not about sacrifice. It is about a simple question: is there spending happening that you wouldn't miss if it stopped? For most people who have never examined this carefully, the answer is yes — and the amount is often surprising.

ThatDay's Find My Savings feature is designed exactly for this moment. It takes less than five minutes, requires no budgeting expertise, and focuses specifically on discretionary items — the spending that is genuinely optional — rather than everything at once. Most people who use it find more to redirect than they expected.

On small amounts not mattering

The numbers are worth looking at directly, because they are consistently more surprising than people expect.

Consider someone who finds $50 per month in spending they won't miss and redirects it to savings. Over 20 years, at a return of 5% per year, that $50 per month — increasing by 2% each year in line with inflation — becomes approximately $24,500. $50 a month doesn't feel like much. Over time, it adds up to considerably more than most people would guess.

Double it to $100 per month and the result is approximately $48,800. At $200 per month, it's getting close to $100,000 — a meaningful retirement contribution from an amount that felt almost too modest to bother with.

These are not exceptional scenarios. They are what mathematics does with consistency and time.

The double effect most people don't see

There is a second dimension to this that makes the picture even more encouraging — and it is one that most retirement calculators never show clearly.

When you reduce spending, two things happen simultaneously. As explored in the three levers of retirement, spending is the lever most within your control. The money you no longer spend becomes available to save, which grows your retirement fund. But the retirement income you will need in future also falls — because the lifestyle you are sustaining costs less to fund. Both ends of the retirement equation move in your favour from a single decision.

This means the effect of even a small spending reduction on your retirement gap is larger than the raw saving figure suggests. A household that reduces monthly spending by $150 and redirects it to savings does not simply add $150 per month to their retirement fund. They also reduce the annual retirement income they need — which lowers the total lump sum required, which closes the gap from both directions at once.

Over time, even a modest monthly saving combined with a lower retirement target produces a noticeably different retirement picture.

Starting small is not the same as thinking small

There is one further thing worth saying directly. Starting with a small saving is not a compromise — it is a beginning. And if you've been putting it off, it's not too late to start — that article shows clearly what's still possible. The habit of saving, once established, tends to grow. As income increases, as debts reduce, as spending is examined more carefully over time, the amount available to save typically grows too. The person who starts with $50 a month at 35 and gradually increases that figure over the following decades arrives at retirement in a very different position from the person who waited until they felt they could afford to save a "proper" amount.

The retirement planning mistake that costs most is not saving too little in any given month. It is deciding that too little is the same as nothing, and not starting at all.

Find out what's possible for you

If you have wondered whether you have anything left to save — or whether the amount you could save would make any real difference — ThatDay is the most direct way to find out.

Find My Savings helps you quickly identify discretionary spending you might not miss, in a few simple steps and without complex budgeting.

And ThatDay's free retirement planning platform shows you exactly what different saving amounts do to your retirement picture — so the numbers, rather than the feeling, can answer the question.

Start your free ThatDay plan at thatday.co.nz

Further reading: When should you start saving?