Talking about money.

I joined a twitter virtual space led by Bren, a lady I follow on twitter and it was on self-care and people’s thoughts and tips on self care. It was a pleasure listening to young people talk about things that have helped them keep their heads straight and be better human beings.

I also shared one of my main tips for self-care and that is on financial self-care. Self care is important and should not be relegated to the background, especially for working adults. A recent WHO-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity.

Personally, I have realised that planning in anticipation of ‘rainy days’ has helped me so much and contributed positively to my self care routine. There is a quote my Mum made us say over and over as kids (she even went as far as writing it on the wall of the hallway) which is ‘the determination of today is the success of tomorrow’.

You cannot self-care without money. In fact, not having a source of income or money at your disposal can make you stay longer in that toxic relationship, friendship, space or job. Most of the self-care tips you see online involve a level of luxury or another.

I will be dropping tips that have saved me stress and anxiety at each point in my life.

1. Have a source of income (salaried job/self-employment/trust-fund/being bank-rolled) and be accountable with your inflow and outflow. Study and understand your monetary flow, then have a solid money habit and plan.
2. Get a budget app like https://emma-app.com/ which will help you monitor your recurrent expenditures and help you plan better.
3. Anticipate rainy days and passively save towards them. Rainy days can even be the loss of a job or anything that can adversely affect your income flow. Have a stash that can sustain your feeding for some months at least until you get back on your feet. It is a tough world out there.
4. Save 30–50% of your money. I cannot say this enough, your saving game has to be lit! I don’t subscribe to saving all, because it is not realistic.
5. Have SMART plans (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound). This may sound highfalutin, but it is not. Don’t plan for things that are not within your ‘stretched’ means, and please don’t make plans with people’s money.
6. Invest money that you won’t need to liquidate soon, and only invest what you can afford to lose at every point. Forget about people that tell you they put everything they have in a business, their everything and your everything isn’t the same.
7. Do not lend money that you cannot afford to lose; however try to get your money back using every legal means possible. In the same vein, do not borrow money that you cannot afford to pay back if they turn you outside in, you know what I mean.
8. Learn how to postpone pleasures that cost money. Yes, self-care is good but must not be expensive. Treats are nice, but don’t let them interfere so much with your set goals.
9. Plan holidays and search out group travels. Most people you see going to Maldives and all, they started saving for it from months before. Do not be deceived by the spontaneity you see on social media. You have to make plans and stick to them.
10. Go for the cheaper options especially with clothes and shoes for regular events. There is nothing as stupid as wearing big brands with an empty pocket. Yes, you only live once, but you have to live well. If you cannot keep up with that life, why start? Everything has its time, remember when you couldn’t even afford the things you have now. There is a reason I like Dr Ola Brown, she does not hide the fact that she is minimalist with her wardrobe. Do not be tempted into buying on credit and then paying in instalments. There is nothing wrong with wearing what you can afford without stretching your finances thin, just be clean and presentable. Unless you make money from looking expensive, then by all means, rock your gucci-ness.
11. When buying gadgets, do not buy things without replacement warranty, if you can afford it. It saves you money and heartache.
12. Look out for sales and discounts. If you see something you want, and it is not an urgent need, save that site and wait for sale season, black Friday and the rest of them. Rich people buy on discounts. Be a rich person.
13. If you have a plan to put down a mortgage, you can search for investment companies that give incentives for saving towards it. For example, in the UK there is Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA), where the government gives you 25% of the saving you accrue each tax year, you can withdraw after 1 year to use it towards a mortgage for your new home. You can start saving a small amount of your income in that account; imagine if you save 400pounds every month for 10 months and you get an extra 1000 pounds for that. This is more convenient and you save at your own pace. So, if you need to put down a deposit, say 13,000 pounds, for a new home, you won’t have to pull out that large sum from your salary account or start running helter-skelter. This is all part of being intentional and anticipating events before they happen.
14. Search out meaningful investment opportunities, talk to people, have money discussions with your friends and ask questions.
15. Manage black tax as much as you can. Black tax is basically the tax you pay for being the one earning more in your family at the time. You love your family, you even feel guilty for not doing everything you can for them, but sometimes you can burn out from doing so much. Allow them to figure out things for themselves sometimes, resist the urge to be everything to everyone. They love you and will understand when you tell them that you have not planned for that particular expense. If you don’t say it, they will not know and you will keep having grudges and avoiding their calls.
16. Be open to your partner (if you have a sensible one) about your finances and make plans together.

These are the tips I can remember for now, and you may have heard or read about them before now, so I am re-echoing them to you. Resist the urge to impress anyone. There is nothing wrong with dissociating from a clique who you have to dress to match their standards or be a certain way to feel accepted. Find your own people and live.

What do you think? What works for you? Leave a comment if you can!

Cheers to more money!!!