Periods of lack are always incredibly awkward. They are even more so when you are used to a luxuriant lifestyle and have certain standards to maintain.
In some cases, your friends, relatives, and acquaintances may start avoiding you because you’ve asked them to “lend you small money” with the promise to pay to back as soon as possible.
If you are fortunate enough, there would be someone you can rely on to bail you out whenever you are in a tight spot. But sometimes, even that someone may not be able to help because they are in dire straits themselves or just stretched too thin at the moment.
So, what can you do? You have no choice but to eat scrappy food, endure embarrassing confrontations from your landlord, leave your car parked because you can’t afford to maintain it, you name it.
However, all such inconveniences can be avoided if only you abide by a couple of principles that financially educated individuals never stray from.
Recommended Reading: 5 ways to trigger your financial downfall
Acquire a skill in demand
If you are not earning enough money to sustain yourself, you’ll always be in a state of want each and every month.
To increase your disposable income, you either have to set up multiple sources of income or, in the meantime, you can establish one source that pays exceedingly well. The only way to achieve the latter is by breaking into a line of work that can provide it.
Thus, if the set of skills you currently possess does not place you in a position to succeed financially, then by all means acquire new skills that will thrust you into a life of abundance.
Perhaps you already possess the skills you need to succeed but you are stuck in the wrong field or with the wrong firm. Take it upon yourself to seek out fresh opportunities.
Always budget
Not having a well-defined monthly budget could lead you to overspend or channel your hard-earned money towards wasteful or non-profitable endeavors.
A budget helps keep you on track. It’s the only way to ensure that every dime you make is spent optimally. Without budgeting, you’ll find it difficult to account for how you’ve spent the month’s earnings. So, when you run low on cash, you look up and think to yourself, “How did it all vanish?”
Therefore, once it’s that time of the month when your phone starts buzzing with credit alert(s), settle down and slice that pie (i.e., budget).
Set money aside for unexpected expenses
This is popularly known as an emergency fund. It saves you from being that “Urgent 10k” guy or girl.
In any given year, there’s a high probability that something you never foresaw will come up. It could be anything from a dentist’s bill, to a PC repair or replacement, to a time-sensitive investment opportunity, to something as unfortunate as income loss.
Why not take the initiative and put those costs into account when making a budget? A general rule of thumb is to have at least three to six months’ worth of your living expenses available at all times and safely stashed away.
Set a goal and save towards it
Some people are fond of waiting for a windfall before they can start living their best life. Avoid that circle. All you need is some planning and steadfast action.
Do you wish to own a house? It might seem out of reach to you until you start saving for it. However, the length of time it will take depends on how much you earn. But it doesn’t hurt to start small.
Setting a savings goal and actively striving to reach it keeps you focused and motivated. When you remember what you are saving for, you stop floating around and living a mediocre life. It helps you attract positive things into your life as you get more resourceful and find honest means to earn more money and reach your goal faster.
Tip: When saving, ensure that you take inflation into consideration. 100k today could be worth only 50k tomorrow. As the purchasing power of the naira continues to decrease, you may want to start saving into a domiciliary account or acquire stable coins.
