Scaling Your Finances Amidst Rising Prices

It can be really frightening the rate at which prices of goods and services are constantly on the rise. In Nigeria, goods are now double/triple their previous prices, and if you get an item at a price today, there’s a high probability than in a week’s time or less, the price would have increased. Our income, on the other hand, is not rising as fast as the cost of our bills and expenses. Hence, there’s a need for us to scale our finances to adjust to this economic shift. In today’s post, I have three tips to help us keep our finances sustainable at this period.

• Find your peace- Yes, my number one tip is to find your peace. There’s enough going around you to keep you frightened, anxious or overwhelmed. However, you can’t take a good decision when you are in this state. This is why you need to find your peace. Personally, when I find myself anxious about a period/area of my life, I draft out a plan to help me navigate it. Even if things do not totally follow as planned eventually, I find peace just drafting out a plan. Since it is no longer news that prices are rising, staying in fear or anxiety will not help, put a plan in place. Examples include ensuring you should continually have enough to cover your basic needs, buying food items in bulk (to mitigate rising prices), building an emergency fund, etc.

• Cut down on unnecessary expenses- I’m sure you’ve heard this tip before; however, I’m going to put a tiny twist to it. While this period calls for cutting down on certain non-essential expenses, it should be based on a scale of less preference. In simpler words, get all your non-essential expenses and list them on a scale of preference (i.e., those that would make you happy should be top of the list and others should follow in that order).  Next, start cancelling expenses from the bottom of the list till you’ve been able to cancel out enough to sustain your income. This way, you wouldn’t jeopardize your happiness (and eventually your peace).

• Generate extra sources of income- This is the period you should begin to monetize some of your skills, knowledge, or expertise. You can also look into less-advanced skills that are currently in demand. You might need to newly learn or master some of them e.g., graphic designing, photography/videography, freelancing (writing/editing), social media marketing, web design/development, etc.

I hope these three tips help you scale your finances at this period.

To your financial independence and freedom!