Let’s talk money

I’ll start by saying that I’m not by any means a money expert but I do like to find ways to cut my expenses and save more money through out my life. Here are my tips!

Tip no.1-Many years ago a man named Classen wrote a book called “The Richest Man in Babylon”(which is my current read btw)…and the one principle that you ought to get from this book is in order to become financially independent you must learn to PAY YOURSELF FIRST. It can start by something as simple as taking 10% ,15% or whatever you are comfortable with; of your income off the top your paycheck each time you receive one. Pay yourself first and put in a special account for financial accumulation.

Tip no. 2-Cut off some luxuries. Ideally we can’t live like monks but if we cut  off at least one daily or monthly luxury and instead put it in that special savings account the it will go a long way for us. And I quote Jay-Z, “If you can’t afford something twice the you can’t afford it.” Basically the idea here is to not buy anything more than half of the cash that you have in your bank. I don’t think that’s good for anybody to be honest.

Tip no. 3- For those who keep receipts or have records of their spending (which I would highly recommend). This way we are able to  tick off the things that you are paying for and you don’t need or use.

Tip no. 4- Tell a trusted friend or a person whom you wouldn’t want to disappoint your financial goals. This will help you keep on toes.

Tip no. 5- Sell some of the things you don’t use online. I don’t know if OLX still works. If you know of any other platform that works , you can tell us down in the comments.

Tip no. 6- Don’t and I insist don’t spend money when you are emotional. It can easily become an addiction.  If you’ve ever heard of shopaholics then you’ll know you don’t want to become one. It’s as serious as being an alcoholic or a drug addict.

Tip no.7-  Find and do fun activities that are free.  I know for sure I haven’t reached to the point in life where I get to indulge in expensive hobbies.

Tip no. 8- Make the sale season your friend. You get to get yourselves items at crazy discounts. You can simply wait for a month or so. Keep in mind Patience is a virtue and it actually pays. Who else is waiting for November(The ultimate sale season). Yes to the black November! Anyone???????

Tip no. 9- Commit to lowering your  grocery spending. If you have the pleasure of  getting some extra space in your compound, you can try plant some vegetables there. If not we can always improvise.

Tip no. 10- Pack your lunch for work.  You can just imagine how much money you’ll save from that.

Last tip-  Use coupons or loyalty cards.

• Being my mother’s daughter I will ask for that 20 bob 50 bob discount.
• I’ve joined loyalty programmes especially for places that I tend to go a lot- actually you can start with these local supermarkets that we have; tuskys, naivas, powerstar, carre four(i’m not so sure about this though).
• Miniso coupons. You’ll thank me later.

The Last Tip- Don’t use that accumulated amount of money as tempting as it is. Work towards buliding a bigger pot for the future

So before you go out and slash your bills and flog your stuff, remember the golden rule: Any extra money that you can claw back- put it in that special saving account/jar.

***Lots of love***