Dear Reader,
It has been a whole year, and here’s my last post for the year!
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for reading, engaging, and using our contents over the year. It means a lot to me!
As we all know, end of the year comes with a lot of reviews and goal setting for the following year, I wrote an article on how you can carry on this exercise without getting overwhelmed. You can find it here.
I also promised to write out some common weaknesses and steps to improve on them in the coming year. They are outlined below:
- Spending beyond your income– If you find yourself always having expenses that exceed your income every month, here are some tips to help you out. Firstly, from what you’ve spent in previous months, list out your monthly expenses and the amount you spend in an order of priority (Your needs vs wants come in here). Also, list out your total monthly income. Next, tick out all the expenses your income can cover from your priority list. For the others that can’t be covered, can you do without them for some months? Are there cheaper alternative means to cover these expenses till you can increase your income? As much as this can help your finances a bit, it is a temporary solution, you would have to take conscious steps to increase your income to cover all your monthly expenses. What skills can you monetize? What side business can you start? Are there higher paying jobs you can apply for?
- Difficulty in saving/investing – If you have always found saving or investing a difficult task, here are ways to make it easier for you in the coming year. Firstly, take out an allocation for saving/investing before you start spending your income. Next, ensure you have a goal for saving or investing. It helps you stay aligned to your actions. If you’re new to investing, here are some investment options you can explore.
- Dealing with overwhelming requests for financial help – If you constantly deal with friends and/or relatives seeking your financial help, you need to put a limit to this, else your finances would suffer. Create a monthly allocation to meet these financial aids and try not to go beyond that allocation every month. Is it possible to defer meeting some of these requests to the following month? Is it possible to empower those depending on you to ease off the burden on you?
- Dealing with unlimited invites for hangouts beyond which your income can allow– Similarly as advised in the previous point, create a monthly allocation for hangouts (and other similar expenses such as aso-ebi and other party expenses) and ensure you don’t go beyond this allocation. There is also no crime in turning down some invites if your fund is already used up. Also, you can suggest sone cheaper alternatives like having a house hangout instead.
- Difficulty in sticking to your budget– It is one thing to create a budget, it is another thing to stick to it. To stick to your budget, ensure it’s a realistic one capturing the actual amount of all your expenses. Also ensure you have an allocation for miscellaneous to cover unplanned expenses. Finally, you would also need to say no to some expenses outside your budget and miscellaneous funds.
I hope these tips prove very useful and helpful.
I look forward to sharing with you more interesting, enlightening and relatable contents in the coming year.
Wishing you a prosperous year in 2023!
To your financial independence and freedom!
