I AM THE ULTIMATE CHEAP SKATE! HA!
My mom always argues that all I want to do is save all of my money and not spend any. Heck yes! Why? Because I know what it is to be broke! I know what it is to have no money! I know what it is to be scraping all the little money you have together just to eat! Or having to sell your pieces of your clothing or your phone just to pay the bills! So Yes, I want to save! I made a vow to myself that I would always be frugal with the things that I have to get. Today I am going to give you guys five quick tips on how to save in terms of business and your personal life.
1. HAVE A BUDGET!
The ultimate goal in terms of your personal expenses is to HAVE A BUDGET. I have been budgeting from the age of 10. I used to budget out my tiny allowance to the “T” so that I could be able to buy myself nice things or buy presents for my family for their birthdays and still have a little left over. I would budget out my main expenses first and everything else that’s left back would be for miscellaneous. Same thing applies today, just now I do my savings first and then everything else comes after. So HAVE A BUDGET!
2. IS IT WORTH IT!
Always ask yourself before you buy an item….”Is it worth it?” Ask yourself “Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?” For me, I always ask myself “Do I have something like this at home?” or “Do I have something nicer than this at home?” If the answer to either of those questions is yes then I do not buy it. Usually the thing that I have at home is much nicer and I may have only worn it once if its clothing or I not at all.
3. GET A SUPPORT SYSTEM!
Join a savings group on Facebook. There are so many that lend support, give advice and hold you accountable. A few of these are “The Live Richer Academy”, “The Budgetnista” and there is Tonya Rapley’s page “My Fab Finance”. All these groups will help you stay o track with your finances.
4. EMERGENCY FUND!
Ensure you have an emergency fund for your business. Include that as part of your budget and it must not be accounted for as saving but as BEF: Business Emergency Fund. A percentage of your income must go to this fund.
5. INVEST!
Always invest in quality tools so you won’t have to be spending money twice. For example, I decided to get a cheap, everyday laptop that I thought would last me a while. Low and behold in a few months, boom, laptop crashed, can’t be repaired. What is a non-working laptop that cannot be repaired? Now I have to invest in a brand new, functional, efficient laptop. Had I made this investment initially I would have saved myself time, stress and money.
Well there you have it, my tips on how to save during Financial Literacy month. I do hope they were helpful and that you out them to good use.
With Love & Hustle
Ameniki
