Saving
One of the most talked-about elements of managing money is saving. Saving is the ability to put aside some money to achieve something either immediately or in the future. Therefore, a person may save for a project which might be to buy a car, house deposit, go on a trip, or just putting money aside for emergency and or retirement. Did I say retirement, how many people think of putting money aside for retirement?
How does one manage to save some money?
Saving has to be undertaken like a project, where a habit is developed so that consistency and discipline are key to achieving the intended goals. There are steps undertaken before saving can be realised and these are:
- Mapping one’s expenditure
- Ensuring daily living needs are met before putting money aside
- A budget is put in place to ensure that there is money to spend and there is a bit of extra
- Developing a habit to keep money aside
As mentioned above if these attributes are not met, then it is impossible to save any money. One requires to live comfortably while also putting money aside for bigger dreams. Below is a case study where a lady by the name of Sofie put down strategies for saving some money.
Sofie always wanted to save some money for future use, she intended to have enough for a house deposit. Houses were and still are very expensive and Sofie did not have job security since she was a casual worker and her salary was not very high. Instead of Sofie dreaming of ever owning a house but did nothing to achieve these dreams, she embarked on a journey where she took her first step in writing down her expenses and ensured that her daily living requirements were met. Sofie also undertook a budget where she allocated money according to her needs. After reviewing the leftover money Sofie realised that it was to take years to save for that deposit and with nothing to lose, she embarked on putting something small aside. After ten years of constant savings, Sofie had just enough money to put down for her small unit since that is the only thing she could afford. Sofie could comfortably afford to pay her mortgage instead of renting without putting too much stress on her finances.
To enable saving, one has to deny themselves some things to facilitate putting aside that extra coin. For instance, if one takes five cups of coffee every day and each coffee costs five dollars, reducing the amount of coffee taken each day can promise some savings. It might not be a lot but over time the little money can make a big difference. Alternatively, one can purchase one coffee per day and substitute the other coffees using the work coffee machines. These machines might not be as good as barista-made coffee but they reduce expenditure and that money can be put into savings.
Another area of improving one’s savings is to assess their lifestyle. Are people living a lifestyle that does not match their income and therefore there is a constant demand for money? In other words, living beyond one’s means. If this is the case does one need to adjust to their level of lifestyle? There are too many areas to look at managing finances which can help in sighting where money is wasted and this money can be put into savings.
How well do you manage your money and are you good at saving?