It can be quite tempting to spend as soon as money enters your account. After all, it only takes a few swipes and clicks to shop for goods online, have food delivered directly to your home, or spend on little luxuries you didn’t plan for, like a last-minute concert ticket purchase. If your goal is to build real wealth, however, you need to learn to embrace delayed gratification so you can take solid steps toward achieving your long-term financial objectives.
Delayed gratification means resisting immediate rewards in order to enjoy bigger benefits later. When applied to your finances, it’s the practice of setting aside money to give your savings the chance to grow. The good news is you don’t have to rely on willpower alone to say no to immediate spending and put your savings to work. Maya, a BSP-supervised financial institution (BSFI) and the #1 digital bank in the Philippines, presents savings deposit accounts and time deposit options that offer high interest rates as part of its ecosystem of financial products. You can use these tools to build your capacity for delaying gratification and grow your funds. Here’s how.
Build the Habit with Maya Savings
The first step in mastering delayed gratification is building a consistent habit of saving, even in small amounts. Maya Savings is designed for exactly this. Unlike traditional accounts that require high maintaining balances, this high-interest savings account lets you start with any amount and avoid unnecessary fees.
The real motivation, however, comes from the interest you’ll earn. With Maya Savings, you’ll enjoy a competitive base interest rate of 3.5% per year. Furthermore, you can unlock even higher rates—up to 15% per annum—by completing everyday activities within the Maya app, like buying load, paying bills, or scanning a QR code to pay for your essential purchases.
In effect, the more you resist the impulse to spend, the faster your savings grow. The small act of delayed gratification today becomes a habit that delivers immediate satisfaction when you see your balance rise. This transforms saving into a rewarding cycle and gradually makes it easier for you to get into the rhythm of setting your money aside for bigger goals.
Stay Focused with Maya Personal Goals
Once you’ve developed the saving habit, the next challenge is to keep your discipline focused on specific targets. That’s where Maya Personal Goals comes in. This feature allows you to create up to five separate goal-based accounts, each with its own name, due date, and savings target.
Defining your goals, be it by creating a travel fund or building an emergency reserve, makes delayed gratification much easier. By having specific objectives in mind, you are actively changing your perspective on skipping an impulse purchase. Rather than feeling like you’re depriving yourself every time you deposit money into your savings, you can consider the act as a sure step in attaining something meaningful.
Each Personal Goal earns up to 8% p.a. on balances of up to PHP 100,000, with tiered interest rates that start at 4% for the first PHP 20,000 and gradually increase up to 8% for amounts above PHP 80,000. This means every peso you save today grows steadily until you reach your target. By using this feature, you turn short-term sacrifices into tangible milestones that reflect your financial progress.
Commit to Bigger Rewards with Maya Time Deposit Plus
If Maya Savings builds your habit and Personal Goals helps you stay focused, Maya Time Deposit Plus is the ultimate expression of delayed gratification. With this product, you lock your money for a fixed period of 3, 6, or 12 months in exchange for higher interest rates.
The concept is simple: by giving up immediate access to your money, you’re rewarded with stronger returns. A 3-month term comes with an interest rate of 5% p.a., a 6-month term comes with the highest interest rate at 6% p.a., and a 12-month term hits the middle ground with 5.5% p.a. Committing to a time deposit account requires discipline, but it’s also one of the clearest demonstrations of how patience pays off. And since you can open up to five time deposit accounts at once, each capped at one million pesos, you can structure your savings across different timelines depending on your needs.
Time Deposit Plus is best for funds you don’t need right away. It forces you to commit to your long-term goals, while rewarding that commitment with higher earnings than regular savings accounts.
Why Delayed Gratification Works
At its core, delayed gratification is about perspective. Choosing to make a bank deposit rather than spend your money on short-lived wants today gives you the power to achieve lasting financial security tomorrow. With the right tools from Maya, you’ll be able to multiply the amount that you have.
Maya Savings gives you the flexibility to start small and build momentum. Maya Personal Goals adds structure and ensures your sacrifices lead directly to meaningful achievements. Last but not least, Maya Time Deposit Plus rewards your patience with some of the best interest rates you can get.
Saving with Purpose
Practicing delayed gratification doesn’t mean depriving yourself forever. It means making smarter choices today so you can enjoy greater freedom tomorrow. By leveraging Maya’s savings products, you transform the principle of patience into a practical strategy. Every peso you set aside is proof that waiting a little longer can lead to bigger, better rewards.
