SAVING
Tags: Financial Literacy, Saving Money, Teens, Finance, Finance Tips

“Do not save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving.” -Warren Buffet.

In my previous post, I talked about learning the boring stuff concerning finances and I think it is a good place for me to continue my blog posts from. So, most of my proceeding posts would be about the boring stuff, Yikes!

Today, I will be talking about saving. Saving is simply keeping aside a particular amount of your income for later. Note: Income involves earned and unearned money. Therefore, you do not necessarily need to WORK to SAVE.

Saving as a Nigerian can be very difficult. It is always the moment you decide to save that your family members will call you and tell you to send money because “your baby brother swallowed a spoon.” Two weeks later you discover, he did not swallow any spoon but you have already lost the zeal to save because you do not see the point of saving money that would eventually be spent.

For me, it’s when Domino’s pizza decides to send me messages about promos (for real Domino’s stop it, buy one get one frees’ are my weakness)

Why do we need to save?

While saving money as a student is not always easy, it is possible with plenty of hard work and a commitment to your financial security and well being. Here are a few reasons why we need to save:

1) For emergencies obviously: This one is a no-brainer. It is not every expense we have to let our parents shoulder. Most of the time we encounter unexpected expenses especially those of us in universities (if you know you know). Set aside money for those unexpected contingencies; do not let them take you by surprise.

2) For the future: there will come a time when we are going to be solely responsible for our finances. Saving up money during our teen years can easily provide a base for any future project we might have. It would also help to develop our saving habit.

3)Mastering savings is a key financial skill; Learning to save is a basic financial skill because being an effective saver is essential for everything from managing expenses to long-term wealth-building

3) Fosters self-reliance and independence; Saying you are no longer a little boy or girl is not by word of mouth. Independence goes for everything including finances and not just when we want to party or have fun. Being a successful saver could set you up for financial independence and self-reliance in your adult years. Before you start saving, there are certain things you need to do and questions you need to answer.

Developing the money saving mindset

To develop a savings mindset, you need to understand that saving is not just throwing that leftover #50 you forgot to spend into a piggybank. You need to monitor and be conscious of your spending. Do not be a scatterbrain when it comes to spending money. ALWAYS and I cannot stress this enough, keep track of your spending.

I like to divide my spending into regular, VIP and VVIP.

VVIP is for stuff I do not need but want to splurge on, VIP for semi important stuff like buying a fancy expensive pen for school or a textbook I could use at the library and regular is for necessities like food, transport and so on. When I do this, I easily know how much I spend in like a month, I cut back on spending on the VVIP and partly VIP stuff, and that mainly constitutes my savings.

Before I start saving, I always ask myself three questions: When, Why and How?

· When: constitutes the time. Do I want to start saving from December to January, do I want to save for a year?

· Why: I ask myself why because doing something without having a goal makes it pointless. It’s good to decide if you’re saving for an emergency new clothe, an iPhone 12 or one of those good things of life that makes us teens happy

· How: there are many options when it comes to how to save money. There is the traditional way which is using what Nigerians call a kolo (a wooden or metal saving box) or if you want to spice it up, a piggybank. You can save with your bank or better still since we are making smart financial decisions saving with apps that give interest on your money is the best, don’t you think? After answering these three questions, I think you can now move on to setting your goal. Depending on your income, you can set a goal within it.

Create a budget and stick to it, if you have problems monitoring you might want to consider using a money budgeting tool/application to track your purchases.

In conclusion, spend not where you may save; spare not where you must spend. Save a little money each month and at the end of the year you will be surprised at how much you have. Money has never made man happy, nor will it; there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

PS: Avoid Saving Fever. Saving too much which eats into the amount you will spend on your “regulars”. Yes, it is a thing. I have it, don’t ask!