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How to live a financially balanced life

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By Abiodun Okunloye

The best way to save money quickly is to learn to have a budget and stick to it.

Many people struggle to live a financially balanced life, especially in a country where the economic condition is not favourable. Therefore, in this article, we will be looking at the steps to take to achieve stability. Learning to stick to a budget is the best way to save money quickly. You can take charge of your financial situation by making and sticking to a budget. It would help to get a handle on your monthly cash flow before setting money aside regularly. This necessitates an in-depth familiarity with your income and its disbursements, such as your monthly expenditures, savings, and payments on any outstanding debts. Having this knowledge will set your financial situation in a new direction.

It is highly recommended that you pay off any outstanding debts on your existing bills before you begin saving money. If there is interest accumulating on a loan, the balance of that due will increase according to the length of time it takes to pay it off. The interest and fees that you have to pay for borrowing money keep piling up over time. If you stop paying it, the interest that continues to accumulate on those bills can quickly eat up any savings you have been able to save. Therefore, try to pay up all debts on time.

Use the 50/30/20 budget approach, and get things fixed yourself.

Consider utilising a budgeting approach such as the 50/30/20 budget. The 50/30/20 strategy provides a straightforward method for getting out from under financial constraints. The procedure is as follows: Spend 50% of your salary on your needs, such as your monthly rent and energy payments, and others. Spend 30% of your income on your wants; this includes your variable costs like going out, subscription and others. And lastly, Put aside 20% of your income as savings.

If something breaks, it’s an excellent idea to see if you can fix it yourself because that’s an effective way to save a large amount of money. You can now learn how to fix almost anything by looking it up on the internet, with the help of websites like YouTube and the internet as a whole. This ranges from fixing your appliances and home electronics, chairs and other items. It is always more cost-efficient to fix these items yourself instead of having to pay someone else to fix them or change them out entirely.

Reduce your expense and increase your earnings.

Cut back on spending. If you’re having trouble saving money or starting a savings habit because you think you can’t afford it, cutting back on spending is another step. Tracking your current expenditures and classifying them as either necessary or non-necessary should help you to cut back on your expenses. Though Feeding, housing, transportation, and other necessities are inescapable costs that can’t be eliminated no matter how frugal you are. To that end, you should focus your efforts on cutting costs in areas where you have the most influence.

Increase your income. If lowering your costs doesn’t help you reach your financial goals, you can also try to make additional revenue. Increasing your income can be done in various ways: take on a side hustle; Start a freelance work with any marketable skills in areas like writing, graphic design, photography, website development, etc.; marketing your skills using social media; Consider gig work like driving with Uber, bolt, and others; Take on part-time work; Negotiate your current salary negotiations with your company; Or try to get new employment.

Have an emergency savings and get started with your plan.

Lastly, you might also consider having an emergency account to meet up your urgent need. Your personal earnings can be more stable if you have an emergency fund. No one is safe from sudden situations like losing their job, needing health care, having car trouble, or needing to take their pet to the vet, which can be expensive. Things can happen, and having an emergency fund can provide you the peace of mind and stability you need to handle an already stressful situation. Remember that the time to begin working towards your goal is now. Something will inevitably arise and demand your attention and resources. Regardless of what else may come up, you should always prioritise your financial life.


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