Building A Financial Compass:
How To Save On A Limited Budget

If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough. – Vicki Robin

In life, we can’t really have it all, especially when it comes to our financial status. We all have our own dreams to accomplish, a long “wish list” to work through, places to visit, and countries to see…

How can we save up for our dreams given our limited income? One of the foremost things to realise is that the sooner we set our financial direction – our financial compass – the sooner we can accomplish our dreams.

There are many rules concerning saving money, one of which is saving under the 50-20-30% budget rule. For some, this is virtually impossible. Our full salary barely lasts an entire month and is rarely sufficient for our financial needs. So how can we build a monthly budget plan without depriving ourselves and at the same time save without dreaming of earning more?!

One suggestion: you are free to increase the percentage as much as your salary permits.

1- Track your spending:

After you create a budget, track your spending to verify your “actual” spending habits. Budgeting worksheets can help you compare your “actual” against your “ideal.” Write down every penny you are spending and categorize your expenses. You will be shocked on how you allocate your money!!

2- Open a saving’s account of USD/GBP 30 or a 1% of your salary:

You will soon learn how to live on USD/GBP 30 or 1% less of your monthly income. You will just have to adjust by spending less. For example, you can spend less on lunch breaks – we all know how tempting it is to buy that piece of cake for dessert or that cup of coffee after lunch. You will be surprised how those little payments can add up and affect your budget- every $/£1 matters.

3- Keep on increasing an additional 1% or X% every month:

Keep that habit of cutting 1% of your expenses on a monthly basis. By keeping this habit, you will get used to automatically cutting down on expenses. Why not buy your favourite coffee beans from your favourite coffee shop and make your coffee at home, reduce your online memberships, have a no-spend day? Yes you can do it!

4- Start investing in yourself:

Start investing on education: shift your magazine subscription to an educational subscription, or take that course you are interested in. Invest in yourself; invest in what might give you something back in return! Ask yourself:

• What can I learn to improve my skills (visit free learning websites such as coursera.com)?
• Where can you evolve?
• What drives you, what motivates you and could be a new source of income for you?
• What can you offer a new product/a service?

By the end of the year you will end up saving more than you expected by simply applying a few rules and thereby reducing some of your expenses. The earlier you start the more financially powerful you will become. And always remember: slow & steady wins the race”.

START DESIGNING and controlling YOUR LIFE!