Managing your own money is a precious life skill on its own. As a working woman earning a good amount each month is one thing, managing your finances is another. There might often be times when you’ll wonder where and when all your money went.
Monetary Salary Index Report states that in India, women earn 19% less in comparison to their male colleagues. And women tend to spend a lot in comparison to men when it comes to stuff like shopping, self-care products and restaurants.
No matter how much your income is, you can still implement these money management tips in your finances and can save a good amount for yourself.
Save for Yourself First
Whatever you earn, save the first 10% of your income for yourself. From my personal experience, I can say that this is one of the best money-saving tips. Keep at least 10% of your income aside as if it is not yours to spend. You’ll be happy to see the amount that you have saved with this method after a year.
After saving for yourself first, you can manage your expenses and spend on both necessities and luxuries as well. No matter how low you think your income is don’t miss out on saving money for yourself first.
Setting Financial Goals
Financial Goals are the things that you wanna achieve with your money. It can be anything like going on a foreign trip, buying a car or a house, being debt-free, upgrading your lifestyle or adopting a new hobby. Categorize your financial goals in between short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. Assign a date to each goal and then plan accordingly.
Start a Side-Hustle
If you feel your current salary is not enough to achieve your financial goals, then you should definitely opt for starting a side-hustle. There is a variety of stuff you can do like blogging, starting a YouTube channel, working as a freelancer on platforms like Upwork & Fiverr, affiliate marketing etc. Gradually, You might end up making more money from your side-hustle than you do from your job.
Invest Wisely
Saving your money is one of the nicest money management tips but if you need to achieve your long-term goals, investing your money is the way to do it. Do invest your savings for long-term gains. But don’t be impatient while investing, do your own research and invest in the assets that you feel connected with. You have a variety of investment options available like stocks, mutual funds, SIPs, cryptocurrencies, foreign currency, gold etc.
Tax Planning
In India, you can use various deductions, exemptions and incentives to invest your money and get tax benefits. This will help save money on taxes and invest your money in various government plans as well. Be aware of such provisions that can help you manage your taxes well.
Get Rid of Debts ASAP
If possible never ever get into debt, because living a debt-free life is a blessing that many people wish to live. But if you are in debt then make it a priority to get rid of it as soon as possible. If you are already paying monthly EMI, then try to cut out some extra amount from your income to speed up the debt-repayment process.
Track Your Expenses
Keep a track of all your monthly expenses based on different categories for instance how much you are spending on food, shopping or restaurants every month. Use any expenses-tracking mobile app for this purpose. It will take some time for you to build a habit of updating every single expense you make each day but with time you’ll love this process.
After a month, you can check where most of your money is going, if you see an unnecessary rise in shopping or cafe visits. You can cut down those expenses to some extent next month.
Save for Vacation, Not for Emergency
If you are an avid reader of blogs or books, then you must have come across the idea of “The Law of Attraction” dozens of times. If you are saving money thinking of what if someone gets seriously ill or what if there is any financial emergency, the law of attraction will carry on doing its work that is bringing your major thoughts into reality.
Instead, save your money thinking of the amazing places you will visit or the thrilling adventure sport, you always wanted to experience. With such thoughts in your mind save for vacations, and when the time comes spend it the way your heart desires.
If things happen to go in the opposite direction and there is some emergency you need to face, you can always cancel your vacations and use that savings to deal with the uncertain emergencies. But save your money with vacations and adventures in your mind.
In the process of implementing all these money management tips, don’t go out of your way to beat yourself up. If you are implementing all these money-saving tips, you’ll still be able to make space for all the fun stuff. Visit your favourite Cafe, buy that dress you want, invest in books, and make occasional movie plans. Life without all this stuff would get boring, so have fun managing your finances.