Many people complain about the economy and how hard it is to
make ends meet. Others complain about their expenses and how their take-home
pay is not enough to take them home. Everywhere, money is hard to come by and
even harder to keep around. Here are a few simple steps to be money smart and
avoid some of the pitfalls in managing your money.
1. Always spend less than you earn
I know this may sound like a cliché but this is a time
tested, immutable formula for money smartness. No matter how much you earn, if
you spend more or even exactly how much you earn, you will never become rich.
Spending less than you earn is a discipline that must be cultivated at all
costs. Remember Parkinson’s Law? Your expenses will always rise with your earning,
as long as you do not develop any discipline. Without financial discipline, you
can never save any money, no matter how much you earn. So right from today,
make a conscious decision to always spend less than you earn. No matter how
small it is, it will give you momentum and before you know, you will be saving
a lot more. Frugality is really the foundation of money smartness.
2. Stop trying to impress other people. They don’t care!
Quit trying to be like the Joneses! Guess what? They don’t
give a hoot. Most people are caught in the quagmire of equalization. Their
whole life is lived trying to make an impression on their colleagues, neighbors
and even family members. So they buy the latest gadgets, wear the latest shoes,
shop at the newest boutiques and eat at the most expensive restaurants. I am
not in any way condemning dressing well, eating well or staying updated on
current trends. However I need you to ask yourself these questions. Do you
really need that new phone? Will that new dress really make you look better?
Does that expensive restaurant really serve better meals than your usual one?
These are the essential questions that you need to be sincerely answered. Most
people are spending money they don’t have, to buy things they don’t need, to
impress people they don’t even like. The worst areas are cable TV and mobile
phones. Most people are buying certain
phones and paying certain charges for certain services they neither use nor
even have any need for. Some others do not even know the functions of all the
extra things their more expensive phones have and have never watched more than
two channels on their cable TV package. Some are using two or three phones and
buy call credits on all these lines and yet still wonder where their monies are
going. If you continue to try to impress other people you will always be broke
before the month ends, every month and be caught up in debt. The worst part is
that, people will still not be impressed. Be smart and efficient.
3. Always delay an impulse need to buy.
This is perhaps one of the most difficult but highly
profitable disciplines to develop. Impulse buying is an extremely devastating
habit one could have. It destabilizes your budget and makes you regret most of
the purchases you made of things you didn’t really need or barely wanted. Shops
arrange items to induce impulse buying tendencies in shoppers. Words like
discount, free and reduced sales are the common triggers of impulse. This is an
idea for you. Always have a list of everything you need and intend to buy and
stick strictly to that list. Further still, carry just enough money for the
items on the list and a little extra for transport. Never, ever, take along
your ATM card to the mall. If all should fail, try this. Always delay an
impulse need to buy a particular item for at least a week. Sounds difficult but
ease will only come after practice. Remember, shops want to take your money,
your responsibility is to keep it.
4. Save the coins and small change
Most people are not careful enough with small change and
coins. They simply lose them or discard them carelessly. But coins and small
change are really the little drops that make the mighty ocean. This is an idea
for you. Get a bottle, a glass jar or a box and drop all your coins and small
change into it every evening when you get home. Before you know, you would have
amassed a small fortune. You can use that to pay for your bus and taxi fares,
to buy sweets and even bottled and sachet water. Remember, to be pesewa wise is
to be a cedi richer.
5. Take advantage of promotions and packages
The telecom industry is a highly competitive and exciting
one. Various networks are trying to outdo each other and it is in your interest
as a consumer to take advantage of the extra services this competition makes
possible. You can save a lot on call credits and data costs by being smart and
attentive. Why continue to stick to a particular network that does not meet
your needs? Be smart and move. The time of fear of losing your number and in
effect your contacts is over. These days, you can easily port your favorite old
number to any network you so choose. Don’t be stuck with bad service. Here is
an idea for you. Compare all same network and across network costs of the
various companies and choose the one that offers the best services, a lot more
incentives and cheaper prices. Also try texting a lot more times than you call
and be sure to make a lot more same network calls than across network calls.
These days, lots of people use more than one chip, so make sure you take the
numbers that are of the same network as your primary number and you will save
lots of money on phone calls. Use whatsapp to send messages if your phone is
enabled for it. Remember, multiple
options make for better choices.
In conclusion, there are a lot more ways to be money smart.
Discover them for yourself and put them to work. The discipline will be
priceless, the results profitable.
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