All in Budgeting

How to Budget & Release Frustrations About not Having Enough Money

Vangile
Budgeting

For the first time in my life, I have an investment portfolio and am focusing my attention on growing this portfolio.

Getting to this point has been a journey of emotional ups and downs.

One of the emotions I struggled with for years was frustration and anger about money and not having enough money to buy food, let alone save or invest.

Learning how to budget and plan my finances was one of the ways I saved money. Even now, a budget helps me see where my money is going and to keep track of all my finances.

How to Save Money & Create an Emergency Fund

Vangile
Budgeting

One of the things I’m still battling with on my financial journey is building an emergency savings fund with 6 months’ salary in it.

My focus thet last few years was to pay off debt and start building an investment portfolio, which I’ve done really well.

But the emergency fund?

Not going so well at all.

I don’t consider my investments in endowments and unit trusts, emergency funds. To me they're long term investments, for other things.

5 Important Personal Finance Questions to Ask Yourself

5 Important Personal Finance Questions to Ask Yourself

Vangile
Budgeting

I'm currently in the process of planning my 2015 , which has required me to ask myself some important personal finance questions:

 

1. WHAT'S THE COST OF CONTINUING WITH YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR?

 

2. WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO LOOK LIKE 5 YEARS FROM NOW?

 

The first question helps us understand the impact of our current financial behavior on our future.

This question helps us get clear on the life that we want to create. Write this vision down and start taking action to make it a reality.

The Difference Between Self-deprivation & Being Frugal

Vangile
Budgeting

I recently saw a video on Facebook of a lady who claimed she was saving money by reusing water that she cooked spaghetti in, making everyone take 1 minute showers, switching off the TV during commercials when watching a show in order to save electricity etc.

This behaviour has deeper emotional seeds than just wanting to be frugal, and would argue that it’s self-deprivation and miserly.

Ways to Save Money (and Applying For a Bank Loan)

Vangile
Budgeting

i. Save and invest 10% of your gross salary for retirement

Pay 10% of your gross income towards your retirement plan. It’s tax deductible, which decreases the amount of tax you pay on your salary.

ii. Create a budget

List all your income and expenses and subtract your income from your expenses. Save 10% of your net income in a savings account for emergencies. Open up a savings account and make sure you save 10% of your net income every month. This is your emergency fund.

Note: when you create your budget you should align your expenditure with your vision for your future. Eg: if your goal is to move up the career ladder, then part of your budget should be allocated to studies.

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