This year has been quite eventful on its own, full of new experiences, challenges and adventures.
A new phase of adulting is what it has been. One feature, that has been a prominent occurrence and my least favorite, is “financial worry” – having financial concerns, having to worry about money…
What I’ve learnt is how to PRIORITIZE, PLAN and BUDGET.
Choosing NEEDS above WANTS.
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PRIORITIZE
First settling your needs, your core, most basic requirements for sustenance.
Then, selectively dealing with, and handling your wants in order of importance. This also includes financial obligations (social and non-social) as well as requests.
For instance, choosing whose “asoebi” (wedding uniform material) to buy or not, when to do professional “pro” makeup or not, how often to eat out, take yourself out for treats… Or simply tell yourself there’s food (rice) at home. When to go for the premier of that mega blockbuster movie, or wait to download it online, when to buy new things, or stick to the old you have or simply revamp it.
A lot of it is deciding how many financial commitments to choose, or how much financial assistance you can offer others.
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PLAN
I’ve learnt that, planning ahead is quite key, to avoid a mess up or disappointment. Life is full of the unexpected, and unplanned events. I think and deem it wise to plan not just for the expected, but for emergencies.
I believe it’s important to spread funds, have emergency and backup funds, “not filling your eggs into one basket”. Having separate accounts for different purposes is a smart move. This also gives allowance for mishaps with the bank, funny ATM situations and other such instances that can leave a person cash strapped.
In a world that’s gradually evolving by the day into a cashless one, where financial transactions are either mobile or online, network fails are prone to leave a person stranded or helpless. Tips I believe can reduce the likelihood of such incidences include:
- Replenishing cash at hand with cash at bank before it’s completely exhausted.
- Having extra cash in your wallet than your planned expenses to account for the unexpected. Some might argue that this might tempt one into making impulse purchases. This is where discipline is paramount with the individual.
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BUDGET
This one often proves to be a challenge in itself. As its one thing to budget, it’s another one entirely to actually stick to it and be disciplined about it, not budging from it, except absolutely necessary!!!
I find it helpful to work with a formula, use percentages to separate your money. It’s better written as well than let it just be a vague information in your head. There are also apps that can help with this, making it easier. Becoming a smart money adult is a process, a journey to stick with.
An example of such formula breakdown is as follows:
- 10% – Tithe (God first)
- 50% – Savings (Emergencies, rent, investment, projects… Etc)
- 20% – Food (Important for sustenance)
- 10% – Transport (Work and others)
- 10% – Leisure (As per, all work and no play makes you dull, and you came to this life to enjoy… 😉. Get creative with this… Not everytime splurge on outings, sometimes buy yourself something new and tangible. Give yourself gifts).
A huge chunk of adulting, is learning financial responsibility, gaining financial wisdom and basically becoming financially intelligent.
I’d love to hear from you how adulthood has treated you so far. Share some of the wisdom you’ve gained, the experiences you’ve had… Kindly make use of the comment section below and let’s converse 😀👇.
Love and Grace,
© Zizi 2019.
The Plan part got me, so many times I have gotten myself into funny ATM situations 😁 its always wise put as much cash at hand and to plan for events ahead so as to avoid such messy situations.
Thanks so much for this Dara, I find your post very informative, keep up the good works, much love from here!!!
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Yes dear, networks failure are a thing, it’s good to plan ahead… You’re very much welcome 😄😊
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Wow. Nice read. Beautiful lessons.
Adulthood is a phase of responsibility. So for me, I have had to take conscious steps towards gaining financial literacy such as having a fixed deposit account and at least two savings account for specific purposes.
I also like your budget formula.
Another aspect of adulthood I find interesting is the area of networking. I’m naturally introvertive but I have had to come out of my shell when necessary to socialize and network with people.
Thank you Dara. Keep up the good work.
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Thank you Tim😊😄
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I’m scaling down from working at 2 jobs to working at just my full time job and I admit that I get a little bit of anxiety thinking about having to decrease my spending. But one of the things I spend my money most in is eating out!! When I look at my bank statement and see all the uber eats charges, I cry inside lol. But at least now with one job I will actually have time to prepare meals on the weekends.
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Uber!!! Instead of just taking the bus😂and eating out!!! Instead of home cooked meals. I like your new plan though, it’s cool. I really hope it works out 😀
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Adulting ehn 😭😭😭
Sometimes I enjoy the process, other times i hate the independence.. like no one gives me money again not even my parents.
I’ve learnt to be responsible and accountable. Having a budget works for me and I save up for emergencies. Saving up towards a goal also helps me to be diligent.
It’s a process and we get better with time. I try to avoid impulse buying, it’s hard but it’s possible and I indulge once in a while.
Pampering myself and celebrating me is key.
Thanks so much Dara. ❤❤❤❤
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You’re welcome love, thanks for sharing your growth😊😄
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This is a great piece. But It will be difficult to actualize when your income is so low. If my pay is 50k (which is very possible in this economy), then I can’t save 50%. 10% might not even be enough for transportation. I wish our economy was better than this. I believe we would be able to practice this. Who doesn’t want to get rich later in life?
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I very much understand dear. The budget formula I put isn’t cut and dry. It’d just an example. But all those components are key anyway. You still need to save even if it’s only 10% you can save from your income and I know there are many jobs in which 10% of income isn’t even enough for T-fare and housing isn’t exactly cheap either… But still we make do with what we have while desiring better… It is well dear.
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Wow just wow! So happy to have discovered your blog! I admire your view of life …. and I love how you link financial responsibility with our love and faith walk. The world definitely needs more of YOU! ❤️💜💚💛💙
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Oh my gosh, thank you so much 💖
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Well written dear. But in order to fully be able to really practice the suggested formular one may need to have more than one stream of income. That is, a regular full time job, and one or two other sidelines. Maybe an investment in a business run by someone else and/or having a fixed deposit a/c or treasury bills etc that produce some income/interests.
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Yes ma, you’re very right. The budget formula isn’t cut and dry though, it’s just an example, not a one-cap-fits-all size approach, it can be adjusted and made flexible based on an individual’s income.
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