One of the greatest challenges of a worker or a
small business owner is the ability to save money. The type of savings I am talking about is not
a case of putting your whole salary or income in your checking account at the
end of each month, only to withdraw every penny you have saved before the month
runs out No! The kind of savings I am
talking about is setting aside a portion of your salary or income where you
will not have access to it for a period of time or until the time of its
purpose.
The inability to save is the reason why small income
earners find it very difficult to meet up their expenses. Every little problem
encountered amounts to running from pillar to post looking for help. When this happens, it is always blamed on
poor income. Even so, a worker or small business owner should be able to pay
his bills and solve his little problems without begging.
Well, what I am saying is that no matter how little
your income is, you must be able to set aside a portion of it for the rainy
days. Think of what will happen to you
if suddenly your work or business stops.
Peradventure you want to start a little business and the banks and
people around are not ready to lend you money, what will you do?
You need to prioritize your needs and set them in
order of importance. But before you start, open a separate account aside your
checking account with a different bank and call it investment account. This is
where you will be putting all the little savings you have made at the end of
the period. You also need to know your
total expenses for a period of time, let’s say a month. This is done by writing down every penny you
have spent, you need to do this to determine whether you are spending more than
you earn, if this is the case, stop and cut your expenses. There is no way you
can save if you are a spender.
However, to do this you need to discipline yourself;
you need to deny yourself certain pleasures and privileges after all your aim
is to save and improve your life.
There are several funny ways I am using to save little
amounts of money which I usually put together at the end of the year but I am
going to discuss 4 ways. If you are
finding it difficult to save like me, and you want to follow my style, keep
whatever you are doing and learn so that you too will have a good story to tell
in no distant time. Let’s go!
Go
the Old Way (Kolo)
You may buy the wooden, toy or clay type. This is
used to set up little projects; let’s say you want to buy a bicycle for your
child in December, 2015. Divide the cost of the bicycle add some percentage
because of the dollar fluctuations by 365 days, then put the amount and every
remaining little change you find around the house in the kolo. You need to
encourage the child that owns the project to save too, the money given to
him/her by the aunts and uncles, the change that remained from his transport,
instead of using it to buy sweets, persuade him to save it for the
project. If you have other projects like
buying a refrigerator or computer you can buy more kolo and do the same. At the end of the year, you will not only
achieve your goals, you will have some balance which you will save in your investment
account for bigger projects or investments.
Join
Local Contributors (Esusu)
Look around you for those who have formed contribution
groups. If you cannot find one, call
people in your neighborhood or working place together and organize your own
group, at least 10 people. I always
advice that you look for credible people who will not take their turn and run
away, so make sure you know the people you are dealing with very well.
If you really want to save the money for a project,
do not take your turn early. Struggle to
contribute for others and take the last position. At the end of each round, save the proceeds
in your investment account until it is enough for the investment.
Organize
Equipment Schemes
If you are a member of an organization i.e. social clubs,
family or town meeting, age grade etc, find a way of helping yourselves by
organizing contributions towards acquiring equipment or machines. This year you can propose to buy one kitchen
equipment or the other. Contribute at
every meeting day and at the end of the year, you will go to manufacturers or
importers of such products and buy them in bulk at cheaper prizes. Next year, you opt for another type of
equipment.
Cut
Down Your Expenses
One Reverend Father told us that ‘you must be stingy
to save money’ and we all wondered why he was saying that. He further said that
‘you don’t act Father Christmas if you are not one’. Spending your money unnecessarily will only
make you poor. You need to cut down your
expenses especially on food; this is because food can gulp 90% of your income
if care is not taken. Look for
alternatives of those expensive foods and cook them yourself instead of eating
out. Eat only natural and healthy foods instead of unhealthy and expensive processed
food. Stick to 2 or 3 square meal a day
and avoid eating in between meal. This
will not only help you save money but also healthy for you.
If you know any other funny way to save money, share
it in the comment box for others to learn.