The excuse many give to justify their inability to save is that they earn little. You hear statements like “what I earn is not even enough, how can I save?” “I barely manage to get through the month, what is left to save?” This is wrong. Irrespective of how little you earn, try to save something! You owe it to yourself to save some part of that income that has not been able to satisfy your needs.
The big question then is, how can you do that? Following the simple tips below will go a long way in answering that question.
The willingness to save must be there!
Where there is a will, there is a way. There is no way you can control yourself to save if you are not willing to save. This is especially so in the current financial environment. The best way to motivate yourself to be willing is to sit down and think about what savings can do for you in the future. Think about how it would lead to your financial freedom and ultimately allowing you to live your life the way you want.
Savings require discipline.
To save money, you need to be disciplined. Savings do not only help you achieve financial freedom, but it also disciplines you. You must realise that in order to be able to save money, you need to give up some lifestyle that you cannot afford.
Imagine when you earn fifty thousand naira monthly and think you can afford to live like celebrities. The result is that you might become a financial mess. You spend and spend until you have nothing else to spend. Then you borrow and borrow till no one will be willing to lend to you anymore. Then, you go back home and curl up on your bed and wonder what kind of life this is.
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So, you need to be disciplined with your income and expenses. With saving money, you plan your life in such a way that your income can finance your lifestyle and have some left. And that is not easy. It takes lots of discipline.
Start small
Yes, start small. Have you heard about this wise saying, “A little drop of water makes a mighty ocean”? It works. I know you have been waiting for a magical formula that will save you millions. There is nothing like that. It is that simple, yet, hard. The weekly or monthly amount you save, however, small does not matter as long as it is consistently maintained.
One of the mistakes people make about savings is that if the money is not significant enough, they will not save. This means that they will have to wait until they start earning so well to make room for that significant money. The biggest problem with this is that you never know when you will start earning enough. Years can be wasted without saving anything.
Savings can be likened to a drop of water. No matter how small it drips, it has the ability to fill a bucket given time. So is savings. Even if it is five hundred or one thousand naira you will be able to squeeze out, be diligent with it. Soon enough, you will have a reasonable sum that will enable you to invest in something tangible.
