A lot of people are of the opinion that the only way to save more is to earn more. Yes, someone earning an average of N5000 a month will not save as much as some making ten times that. However, the most important factors in saving money are your dedication, discipline, and the actual intent to save. Believe it or not, most people who have a considerably large income streams are not great at saving. They’re so accustomed to having so much coming in, they barely keep track of what’s going out. Once people start making more money, they realize their needs and wants change as well, which is why it’s not difficult to find that someone making N50,000 a month saving more than a person who makes N150,000.
So, if income doesn’t matter, how then do you save your earnings regardless of size? We’ve got a few pointers:
Try an All-Cash Diet
Paying with a card makes sticking to a budget easier, but some people go overboard sometimes. If you are one of such people, perhaps what you need is a cash diet. Confirm how much you have put aside for a week from your budget, withdraw the exact amount in cash, and then hide your cards or hand them over to a trusted friend. This way, you’ll have to think twice before any expenditure. Once you know cash spent is gone forever, how many purchases will really be worth it? A plus side of this is you may realize you’ve actually spent less money than you budgeted, and can figure out where leaks in your budget are occurring.
Cut Your Spending Wherever You Can
We’re not going to tell you something you haven’t heard or read before, but maybe the way we’ll say it will be the one that will touch your spirit. You can save a little more money every day by cooking at home, cancelling subscriptions and memberships you don’t really utilise, and walking or carpooling instead of always driving or taking public transport. As long as you don’t spend the money you save on something else, you’ll be surprised how much you’ve saved at the end of the month. It may not seem like much at first, but, as time goes on, you can increase your efforts and you’ll marvel at the results.
Start a Side Hustle
Okay. You’ve cut cost everywhere you can. What next? Well, if there is absolutely nowhere else you can reduce your expenditure, perhaps you want to look into a side hustle. Get a job on the side to diversify your income and support what you already have coming in. The great thing about side gigs is that a good number of them can be done remotely. So, make a list of everything you are good at and/or enjoy doing. Which of these skills are sellable? Right now, the most popular side hustles are freelance writing, graphic design, data entry, and retail. You can also apply for a loan to expand your side hustle and earn more from FINT
A Little Summer Cleaning Will Do You Good
Look in your closet. When’s the last time you wore those shoes you absolutely had to have the day you saw them? Or that jacket that you know would look amazing with those jeans? How about your old headphones that simply went out of fashion? A lot of people hold on to things they no longer use simply because they are sentimental when these things can actually be liquidated and give your wallet a little boost. Go through your storage and sort out things that aren’t damaged but simply are no longer of any use to you. Take pictures and post them up for sale on social media and you’ll be surprised how much you can rake in. Of course, these things still have to be usable, and there’s no need to try to be greedy.
Like we’ve said before, saving money is not easy. However, it isn’t rocket science either. You need to consciously rethink your financial habits and re-align your financial life. If you’ve been going through your financial life on auto-pilot, not really paying as much attention as you should, now is the time to flip that switch and assume the correct position. If your goal is to save more money, your answer isn’t really to make more money. Sometimes, all you need to do is take proper control of the money you already have.