The university years were a period of financial desperation for me, similarly to my course mates. The lack of a stable source of income made it hard for life to go by, with my only financial aid coming from my parents.
As a girl who was relatively into fashion and beauty, most of my monthly allowance ended up always going into me getting my nails and hair done. At the time, I never thought about it as me being financially irresponsible.
The trend of me living beyond my means didn’t only have me at a chokehold in my university years but also at my first job. As an individual who got her first job at only 17, financial literacy was not a form of knowledge I was working towards gaining. Being young and finally not financially dependent on my parent has a liberating feeling to it.
Neither the feeling of liberation nor my first job lasted. With my spending habits having it out to drained my bank account. Having to quit my job to join university was one of my parents set rules and compliance was always expected. After working for around eight months I had nothing to show for it except my collection of purses and branded clothes and not even a penny saved under my name.
Read Also: How to Control Your Spending Habits in this ‘YOLO’ Era
The venture into the job market as a graduate needs financial literacy. May it be so as to manage your finances or to plan them out.
Financial literacy is the ability to make well informed decisions in your finances that will have positive reflections financially. These decisions pertain to saving, debt management, budgeting and investments.
As you navigate the corporate world there are a few things you need to know when it comes to your finances and how to handle them.
In corporate, money in form of salary is mainly distributed to you as an employ on a monthly rotation. This raises the need for budgeting. When budgeting, firstly concentrating on necessities is highly recommended. Rent, your monthly grocery, commuting cost to and from work, insurance payments and any pending debt should be on the top of the list.
After prioritizing your primary needs the door for your secondary needs now becomes open. Here we have that pair of shoes that caught your eye or that new car you want to upgrade to or even that new restaurant you have been dying to try out. Following this structure when budgeting enables you to have everything well coved, without leaving glitches that will cause financial strains.
Read Also: Three habits that Consume the mind
Saving is a relatively important part to learn when it comes to financial literacy. Financial discipline is the only way to getting good savings. A number of us only save for rainy days, but what if I told you savings could be for sunny days too. Achieving financial independence is a big set goal for most of us, but to achieve this, investments that bring in reliable money are needed. This is where your savings come in.
Reinvesting your savings either into stocks or a business is one of the ways for you to liberate yourself financially.
The issue of debt is one that affects majority of us. There are debts that we take out due to argent raised matters that require us to chip in financially. In this case a payment plan of this debt that will be in form of a loan is needed. This will enable you to have an efficient way to clear it out at a manageable period of time.
Living within our means is the major way of keeping us away from debts taken out with no urgency behind them, such as going on vacation or buy an expensive designer product.
Investments are a way of us securing our future. With investments we are able to add on our earnings and enable ourselves to live more comfortable lives without use needing to stretch ourselves. A financially smart individual invests.
As we navigate life and try to become better versions of ourselves while giving ourselves the best side of life, discipline when it comes to our finances will be a winner in the long run.
