Remember the time when mom and dad were selective about buying stuff? You would have wanted a toy, and were refused. You would have asked them to get a bigger television but they got you an encyclopaedia instead.
Those wise beings were mature and knew how to handle money. Today, it is your turn to learn how and where to put your money. You know you earn it after a lot of hard work. Investing into temporary and materialistic causes is not really a smart decision.
As we grow older and start earning stable income, you can get fussy with your financial decisions and often end up buying things that you really do not need. That expenditure can be avoided, and that money can be used on something more useful in the long term.
Budgeting is a skill. You develop it over a period of time. Counting in the right factors and leaving out the unnecessary items is something that you develop over a period of time. Working with numbers is an art in itself.
Here in this blog, is a list of 3 things where your budget should be directed to and 3 things that you should resist spending on.
Say Yes.
Your income is limited, which means that you have to restrict your budget to a specific amount. While deciding which expense holds more importance over the others, make sure you keep these 3 on top.
- Education
Your education stays with you and your CV till the end. What you learn never gets wasted and just adds on to your knowledge pool. The more you study, the better you get. More courses, higher degrees, added certifications and greater research helps you not just in your personal life, but as a person too.
Do not think twice when you have an opportunity to learn something new. Every education experience will be an enriching one for you. Who knows what might come in handy someday in your daily life? When you are out of a job, you would already have a queue of recruiters in front of you because of something you pursued earlier.
- Travelling
The house you build and expand stays right at one place all through your life. Your cars, jewellery and clothes satisfy you for a temporary phase of life. Something that really makes you grow as a person is travelling. The world is large and your life might not be long enough to explore each corner of the Earth.
Each trip you take teaches you about the people and their varying culture. Going to new places, taking in the surreal views and learning about how different people are around the world really changes something inside you. Spending your money on travelling is the best use of your money.
- Health
All is well only if you are. You can do so much in your life if your body and health permits you. Therefore, never skip a health check-up. If you ever get a feeling that something is wrong, do not think that it would pass. Visit a doctor right then.
Take health insurance and stop resisting consulting a doctor. You earn money to give yourself a better life. You cannot expect achieving that if you are not ready to work towards a healthy life. A rise in your living standards comes attached with a healthy lifestyle too.
Say No.
Now when you know what matters in the long run, you should also know what things should be given low priority while making a budget.
- Impulsive Shopping
All of us have been gifted with this amazing way of wasting money. Whenever we are stressed, we tend to buy something to make us feel better. Just look around yourself. You would find so many items around you that were bought as a result of your impulse, and not your need.
Buying over-priced clothes, branded accessories, random magazines, irrelevant groceries etc take up a big part of your monthly income. If you write down the small amounts you spent on things you actually did not require, the number would come out to be big.
- Penalties and Charges
Your credit card bills and loan instalments incur heavy penalties if you skip the scheduled payment. If you have borrowed some credit, be on time with the repayments.
Stay alert about your affordability and budget. Borrow only what you can easily repay in the future. If your credit goes above your income, you would be liable to penalty charges for your irresponsible behaviour. These are expenses that you can avoid if you behave carefully.
- Decorating
For you or your home, decorations are never-ending. Your jewellery and expensive make-up does not help you grow as a person. Before buying something precious, just ask yourself how that investment would help you after 5 years.
The same argument applies to home renovations and decorating. Extravagant furniture, wallpapers and chandeliers are not always necessary, unless you are a high profile person in the public eye. Own what you need, and do not base your spending on the opinion of other people.
Be Smart about Money.
After all, it is your money and your life. You and your family are the only ones who are directly affected by your monetary decisions.
You can save up for the more important things, or keep wasting away your money in things that would not really matter in the long run.
