Hello my nonexistent readers
Today I had an interesting conversation with my mom. We talked about 'what kind of person you consider a failure?'
She said, "Someone who doesn't have savings"
I don't know what are most people will answer to this question, but hers was not something we would hear every day, right? I can see where she was coming from, and indeed it was something we all could learn from.
Money is always a relatable matter for all of us. We could see people who earn a little but they are living a simple and unpretensious life. We could also see people who have a big income, but it never seemed to be enough. And the worst of all, people who always spend the money they pretend to have.
I understand we are all coming from different backgrounds and situations, even my family had been through a situation where we didn't know whether we would have something to eat tomorrow, because we were that poor, or so I thought.
But looking back, I think it was not because we were poor, but because we don't have savings for that kind of emergencies. We are financially disorganized. Our idea of living was "We live for today. Tomorrow is a mistery" and that was a big mistake. We should have planned.
Life is a mistery, right. We could never know what tomorrow shall bring, also right. But it doesn't mean we should come unprepared. We have to save up, even when we earn so little, or all of our essentials are costly thus we think it is impossible for us to save our money because we have nothing remain by the end of the month.
How?
Here is some basic tips from me:
1. Save significant amount of your money right after you recieve your paycheck (for me it is 20% of my salary), then plan out your monthly budget with the remainings (basic needs, bills, food, gasoline, social life)
2. Always save up first before you spend your salary. Not the other way around.
3. Adjust your spending within your financial capability. Honey, If you are not Bill Gates, don't pretend like one.
4. If you want to buy expensive goods -and it's natural to have such desire, especially for a woman - instead of touching your existing savings, you have to start another one by cutting up your monthly budget. No pain no gain, dude.
5. Every time you want to buy something, remember this: "do I really need this? Will I regret it once I bought it? Will I regret it if I don't buy it? "
6. If somehow you ended up using your savings because of an emergency, or you simply could not resist that cute blouse, or those beautiful pair of shoes, you have to return that money you had spent the next time you recieve your paycheck. Believe me you will lose motivation to save up if the number is decreasing.
7. Do not owe money to someone unnacessarily unless it was crucial to your life.
These are how I manage my financial spending. Honestly there are times when I don't follow my own rules, because who doesn't like shopping and good food?? But I always get back on the right track whenever I see my bank account decreasing. LOL
It works for me just fine because I've been doing this for so long that I can't remember the last time I was totally broke. Though it it isn't much, I always have a back up whenever my spending is over-limit. Also, it is nice to feel secure about your financial status. That you know you wouldn't go hungry tomorrow.
