saving struggles

Seven Things You’ll Relate To If You Struggle To Save

It’s good to save; you know that, we know that, everyone knows that. But, sometimes your bank account and financial needs are in a constant feud and you’re always in the middle. You want to save, but you also want to spend and chill, because you really didn’t come to this world to suffer.

Here are seven things you’ll relate to if this is always happening to you:

1. Calculating every kobo in tears because you know an emergency will always come up and you’ll need to spend it.

The emergency comes in many forms; buying that bag you’ve been eyeing for weeks, repairing a bad charger, buying aso-ebi for a best friend’s wedding, buying that new phone that just came out because it’s more superior to the one you got a month ago, etc.

2. TGIF And The Ministry Of Enjoyment

Sometimes, you’re disciplined enough to hold yourself from doing too much. Other times, you’re home on a Friday night, on your own browsing through Instagram. That’s when you see your mates are doing TGIF and chopping the life of their head — essentially tensioning you. It’s in that moment you’ll remember the small savings you have stashed away in the kolo under your bed, and how the money will not spend itself. So, you finally say yes to going out with your friends for the weekend after they’ve been hounding you for the past two weeks.

3. You think of saving, but end up chanting “I can’t come and kill myself” as you eat the last meat in the pot

No lean diet for a rainy tomorrow. You want instant gratification NOW and you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is.

4. Buying food instead of cooking, despite the promises you made to yourself

You told yourself you’d only eat the food you cook, why waste money buying lunch when there are groceries at home? When you’re an excellent chef and can whip a better Jollof rice than any buka or restaurant. That was a week ago. Now, you’re looking at the remaining chicken bone in the plate of food you ordered while crying on the inside. Well, at least, you won’t have to wash the disposable plates; at least, you saved up on soap

5. When you read all the articles about saving but still can’t get yourself to do so

It’s just so much work: you work hard to make money, why not spend it anyhow you want?

6. All THOSE Bills.

Because, this is Nigeria, look how we living now. The prices of things go up astronomically, inexplicably and without adequate warning. NEPA will bring their own, LAWMA will bring their own, your service provider will bring their own and so on, so why are you bothering to save sef?

7. Can’t stick to a budget, can’t stick to a savings goal, can’t stick to anything…

It was your New Year’s resolution to save more. But you’ve long forgotten that now. You really tried to be good and improve your saving culture but everything keeps working against you.

Still having issues trying to save but want to achieve your resolution before 2019 ends? Tired of all your excuses, and all your unrealistic budget/savings goals? We’ve got a plug for you.

Join the Backup Cash 21 days savings challenge. By saving as little as N500 daily for 21 days on the online savings platform via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or the app, you can gain up to 13 percent interest rate on your savings.

Oh, and if you’re the kind to start and not finish–because you can’t help yourself–you can open a Steady Save account that automatically saves for you on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.”

Yeah, we know, you get rewarded for saving–AWESOME.

Gabriella Opara

November 13, 2019

Money, Personal Finance

21 day challenge, Backup Cash, money, saving, saving struggles, sponsored
8 Simple And Effective Techniques For Saving Money

Saving money is hard, you guys. You tell yourself that you’ll save more when you start earning more but you never do. Because in the immortal words of Notorious B.I.G:

It’s not even just that. You slowly (and subconsciously) upgrade your standard of living the second you start earning more. This isn’t a bad thing, but a lot of people overdo it to the point where it feels like the salary increase didn’t make a difference.

Saving is important and I care about your wellbeing. This is why I’m here with this step-by-step guide about saving money in 8 steps. Thank me later.

1. Track your expenses.

If you want to start saving, you have to figure out how much you spend. Track every single expense (the bottled water you bought in traffic, the 50 naira you paid the cobbler that fixed your shoe etc) because it’s those miscellaneous expenses you don’t give a second thought to that really hurt your bank account. When you have this info, put them in categories. E.g food, bills etc.

2. Organize your recorded expenses into a budget.

Your budget should show how your expenses measure up against your income so it’ll enable you to avoid overspending. Along with your monthly expenses, remember to include those expenses that are constants but don’t happen every month. E.g. car maintenance fees, etc.

3. Create a savings category in your budget.

Experts say to save 20% of your income every month. A higher percentage is fine but less is not advised. However, if you’re new to the concept of saving or 20% is too high, start small with 10% or 15% while you cut back on nonessentials (and some essentials you can afford to spend less on). The key is to consider the money you put in savings as a regular expense similar to other important expenses.

4. Decide on something to save for.

One of the best ways to save money is to set a goal. Start by thinking of what you might want to save for (marriage, vacation, retirement etc), then figure out how much money you’ll need and how long it might take you to save it.

5. Prioritize your saving goals.

Your goals (after your income and expenses) have the biggest impact on how your savings are allocated. Learn to prioritize saving goals so you know which to start with. For example, if you’ll need to change your wardrobe soon, you might want to start saving for that now.

It’s also important to remember that long-term goals shouldn’t be neglected in favour of short-term goals.

6. Pick the right tools for your saving goals.

For short-term saving goals, take one of these into consideration:

– Savings account

– Certificate of Deposit & Short Term Investment Fund (locks in your money for a fixed period of time with an interest rate much higher than a savings account).

For long-term saving goals, consider:
– Retirement Savings Account (RSA) – Individual Retirement Account (IRA) – Securities, such as Mutual Funds or Stocks. Know that these securities are subject to investment risks and possible loss of your principal.
7. Automate your saving

Setting automated transfers to your savings account the moment your salary enters is great because you don’t have to think about it, and it greatly reduces the temptation to spend.

8. Track your progress

At the end of every month, review your budget and check your progress. Doing this will help in identifying and fixing problems, while also gingering you to stay on your savings plan and hit your goals faster.

I hope this helps you on your journey to saving. For what it’s worth, you’re not alone in this. We asked the cast of the new season of our show, Nigerians Talk, about their saving habits and the responses we got were pretty hilarious. Check it out below:

Astor George

December 24, 2018

Money

money, saving, saving money, saving struggles
Savings Struggles You Can Definitely Relate To

You know the feeling of setting a savings goal and with ginger you actually start to save, only for you to somehow sha break into it before you even reach halfway through your goal timeline? We can totally relate, so we’ve decided to create a list of some of our saving struggles.

Money? What’s that?

How do you take something out of nothing? Don’t angry me, please! *crying in unemployment*
How much am I even earning?

Man never chop finish, you’re talking about saving. I can see you don’t have my best interests at heart.
Automated payments

“Baba God, tell me I’m dreaming. These people have removed my last change. Who sent you? Who sent you?!”
Have you seen the price of garri in the market?

It’s like you don’t know what is happening in the country. You can’t even price anyhow anymore. Just leave me to be managing my life.
Food

How will I buy food if I keep saving? Please let me enjoy; life is one.
Internet

Ordinary small breeze will blow and all your data will finish. Oh, well. *buys more data*
I got 99 problems but saving ain’t one

And on the other end of the spectrum, we have the non-savers. “What is saving, please? Don’t insult my personality. I just keep making this schmoney! Call me OBO.”
What do y’all spend money on that you wish you didn’t have to? Tweet us @zikokomag!

Sade

September 3, 2018

General

lost money, money, Money Problems, Nigeria, Nigerians, saving, saving money, saving problems, saving struggles, savings

Seven Things You’ll Relate To If You Struggle To Save

1. Calculating every kobo in tears because you know an emergency will always come up and you’ll need to spend it.

2. TGIF And The Ministry Of Enjoyment

3. You think of saving, but end up chanting “I can’t come and kill myself” as you eat the last meat in the pot

4. Buying food instead of cooking, despite the promises you made to yourself

5. When you read all the articles about saving but still can’t get yourself to do so

6. All THOSE Bills.

7. Can’t stick to a budget, can’t stick to a savings goal, can’t stick to anything…

8 Simple And Effective Techniques For Saving Money

1. Track your expenses.

2. Organize your recorded expenses into a budget.

3. Create a savings category in your budget.

4. Decide on something to save for.

5. Prioritize your saving goals.

6. Pick the right tools for your saving goals.

7. Automate your saving

8. Track your progress

I hope this helps you on your journey to saving. For what it’s worth, you’re not alone in this. We asked the cast of the new season of our show, Nigerians Talk, about their saving habits and the responses we got were pretty hilarious. Check it out below:

Savings Struggles You Can Definitely Relate To

Money? What’s that?

How much am I even earning?

Automated payments

Have you seen the price of garri in the market?

Food

Internet

I got 99 problems but saving ain’t one

What do y’all spend money on that you wish you didn’t have to? Tweet us @zikokomag!