Do you know where your salary goes every month? If not, it’s probably about time to track your expenses and start paying attention to your money to stop living from this month’s paycheck to the next.
Making both ends meet is tough, but much tougher when you would not be able to provide for your family, especially when the need arises (emergency funds, tuition fees, etc.). Yes, the economy has made it even difficult for everyone to earn more than what they really deserve. Hence, it would not be a surprise that many would prefer to leave for a much higher pay in foreign countries.
Living paycheck to paycheck does not mean you’re stuck forever in this situation. It’s going to be tough in the beginning but definitely worth it when you get the hang of saving. We’ve listed below some ways to help you out:
Set aside savings
As soon as you receive your monthly pay, set aside a specific amount for your saving. Regardless if it’s just a couple of hundreds, put it in your savings account or your piggy bank. Push yourself not to touch your savings and keep them until they increase in value. You’d be surprised at how much you’ll be able to save in a short amount of time. Delayed gratification is the key; for money saved will be money well-spent later on.
List down your budget.
Start figuring out how much money you have coming in and how much you are actually spending. From your basic expenses to your luxurious spend, go through all your expenses in a month and figure out exactly what you’re paying for monthly.
From this, you’d be able to identify which items you can reduce what you’re paying for each month. The next step is to create your budget based on what you should be spending on everything – including recurring bills, those you’ve reduced and those you have to pay every month, as well as other expenses like groceries and emergency fund.
Then split your monthly paycheck to cover each item on your budget list. You can go the old-school style of setting aside money for your expenses on envelopes and paying for everything in cash. You can also set up different accounts for each area on your budget and manually allocate money on each account to cover all of your expenses. Then whatever’s left of your account will be automatically placed on your savings.
Live below your means.
The salary increase you received when you transitioned from probationary to regular employee does not mean you also increase the amount you’re spending for unnecessary items. Try to avoid sinking back into your old spending habits whenever you’re getting additional income from other streams. Keep living below your means and setting aside money for a brighter future ahead.
Once you are sure you’re in a better financial situation, then re-evaluate your budget and add back a few things you really want. The key is to keep spending less than the amount that you actually make.
Ask for help.
When you’re in the deep financially, do not be embarrassed to borrow from family or close friends. Transitioning from one milestone to another, such as graduating from college then entering the workforce, or moving from one job to another, can be overwhelming. Establish a payment scheme with them to make sure you pay them back.
You can even ask help how you can fix your finances, for handling matters of the money can really be daunting. Reach out for help or guidance from people you trust and know you well.
Get a part-time job.
If you’re barely scraping by with you have, you may need to look at working overtime, getting a second job, or possibly getting a new, higher-paying job. Of course, you must balance your obligations in order to perform well on both jobs, however, you must not forget to rest as well, for a healthy body would enable you to do more, rather than a frail one which would weaken you, even to the point of struggling on a single job.
Bottom line of all these is it’s important to know where your money goes. We all know how these tips are actually easier said than done. But in the end, these small sacrifices will help you achieve a financially-sound future. By adopting these simple steps into your lifestyle, you’ll wake up one day and realize that you’re no longer waiting for that paycheck and actually have savings set aside on your bank account.
With these saving tips in mind, you may want to find a trustworthy bank that may handle your hard-earned money well and safely. If you’re a resident of Bacoor, Cavite, and Batangas, then the Cebuana Lhuillier Bank is your one-stop spot for opening your own savings account. All transactions are real time, removing all the hassle that you may have experienced in other banks. Visit the Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank now and start living your way to a financially secured future.