– By Funke Olayiwola, ABH Press
I like to see myself as a saver by nature.While I was in primary school,mom bought me a wooden box to save my pennies everyday. Even before then I was prone to bringing back home at least 10% of my pocket money everyday.It had become a habit for me.
Howbeit some people are natural savers and frugal,yet very happy, some others are savers and hardly save a penny.
Whichever category you fall into, I will be sharing top 5 tips on money management in this article.
1) HAVE A FINANCIAL TARGET
You probably have heard thousands of motivational speeches and read series of articles about setting goals on any area of life,but you really thought they didn’t matter.
When it comes to money, your goal setting is of utmost priority. At the start of each year and month, have a target goal of your every single penny that comes in and goes our of your hand. By so doing,you can coordinate your cash flow appropriately.
2)SAVE!SAVE!SAVE!
Back in the days, people saved in wooden boxes in their homes.But thanks to technology,you could be seated in the comfort of your home and save right away on your gadgets.
The best way to save is not to plan to save,but to actually save. Many people make the singular mistake of planning to save whatever is left after they finished spending, but the rule of savings says you save a particular percentage out of that income before you begin to spend because at the end of the day,you realize that there are many things staring you in the face to actually spend money on..
“A fundamental key to wealth creation is an adequate savings system”.
3)CUT THOSE JUNKS!
Simply put,junks are unnecessary things and irregular stuffs that you do not need,and you spend a huge chunk of your income on..
If you are a spender by nature (which isn’t a bad thing except when in the extreme),you could cut back on the things that are “wants”, things that you spend money on that you do not really “need”.
Have a monthly budget split into categories,with headings such as “Needs”, “Wants”, “foods” etc..Accord a certain percentage to each category,with the lowest or minimum of your expenses going to your wants because your wants are majorly things you “desire” to have but you can actually live with them.In other words,cut on the unncessary variables in your budget plan.
4) LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS
The fastest way to run into debt is to live above your means.This happens when a person is indisciplined with money and they constantly go broke because they spend more money than they earn.
Start by step number 1 from above:”Have A Financial Target” either per week,per month,per year.
Your financial goals helps to curtail your extras and gives you a red light signal when you are about to cross your budget line. This keeps you in check and saves you from unncessary debt.
5) HAVE A PLAN
Frugal people have a plan.
This singular point cannot be over emphasised.You need to have a financial plan you work and live with it per time.
There are tons of free template budget spreadsheet on google and free financial saving apps you could use to aid your planning.
I recommend expense tracker app on play store or any other great financial app.
