18. Financial education: Budgeting

I’ve recently starting working, so I didn’t have a salary before. I had been getting pocket money for a long time, and even then my expenses were taken care of by my parents and family. Now that I’m working, I don’t have that much of a privilege. I’ve learnt to accepted it - It’s part of growing up.

Living on my own has forced me to take care of my own living expenses- especially now that I am working. I have to make sure that my salary will be enough for my living expenses, rent being one of the most important expenses. This is where budgeting comes in, why it’s so important.

Budgeting is one topic that is seldom taught at school or varsity. In this blogpost, I want to talk about it from a personal point of view – from personal experience, so that it’s easier for anyone to relate.

After I got the job I have now, having already known the amount of my salary, the next step for me was to find myself my own place. I was fortunate to find a place for rental costs that are less than half of my salary, which is a great thing, because that means there’ll always be money left for other expenses and perhaps extra for savings or other luxuries.

From January, I started making myself a budget sheet in which I write my salary at the top and deduct all the important expenditure first, like tithe, rent, toiletries, transport (for work, church) etc. Some amounts are estimated, and it should always be estimated at an amount that is slightly more than what the actual cost would be. At least after deducting all that, I’d have a rough idea of how much money I can play around with in terms of things I want.

I must say, though, it had been an interesting challenge: in January, I managed to have some money left until my next salary (Yeahy me! – lol). Unfortunately, in February, I was on R0 during the last week before I got my next salary. Why? There were unexpected expenses and expenditure that came about which were not planned for. What I’ve learnt from this is that I must be sure and very careful of what I spend my money on. If it’s not necessary or if it can wait, then I should not spend on it. That’s definitely a lesson for next time. The great thing though is that all the most important expenses were already taken care of.

Going forward, I now know to:

•  first take care of the expenses that are of top priority

• whatever is left, there’s no rush to finish it.

• always have some money left for any unexpected expenses / expenditure that might come up

• think carefully before spending money on anything I don’t need – It’s probably ideal to spend on what’s not needed when the next income will be received soon. In cases where you might miss out if you don’t spend on that thing now – well would I rather end up broke and not have enough for future expenses that may be more important or necessary?

It’s the month of March now. I’ve already deducted the most important expenses and expenditure, and I know roughly how much I can play around with. That doesn’t mean I should spend it all, because I don’t know what expenditure I’ll need to make in future. I don’t know what might come up. Let’s see how this month will go.

I trust you enjoyed that and found it insightful. 

Please do share your budgeting strategy as well: how well you are, any additional tips, what other things to consider, even your experience with spending or money in general. You can also follow the blog on twitter: https://twitter.com/student_blog and facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Student-talk-blog-For-learners-and-students-496094020519505/

Until next time.