This is for all the independent ladies, hustling everyday and looking good while doing it. Statistics show that despite the rise in the income and education that women still retire with less money than men. Women are now earning almost as much as men and have the same opportunities as men so it seems the problem is not environmental but within the women themselves. The following are tips that may help you save more;
1. Don’t be a martyr
You do not need to bail everyone out. You do not need to save your boyfriends, girlfriends, parents and cousins from debt. When in school we are taught about STD’s and we become very wary and cautious when it comes to sexual intimacy. What we are not taught is Sexually Transmitted Debt. These is debt we acquire from our sexual partners. This is just as bad, it is important to guard your money from fraudsters outside your home and within your home. Partners who don’t carry their weight in the relationship are dangerous are to your hard earned savings. What is the point of working hard all week only to throw your money in a pitiless well?
2. Save automatically
It is crucial to save, very despite what you earn. You can arrange with your employer to put 10% or more into your saving account and the rest into your spending account. You also have the option of arranging an automatic withdraw from your account into your saving account. This removes any discipline or self control from the equation. For example if you earn 1000 dollars a month and only save 10 percent, that is 100 dollars a month it may seem like a small amount but in the long run this money grows and compounds allowing you to have a nice sum when you retire. The sooner that you start the better the more savings you have and the sooner you can retire.
3. Own your home
Money spent on rent is dead money, every time part of your salary goes to your landlord it gone for life. For most of us more than 20 per cent of our net salary goes to our land lord, that is money that could be going into our investments or savings.
Unfortunately, not all of us will meet prince charming and some of us will meet prince charming and if we do meet him, he may not be money savvy. As soon as you have enough money to make a 10% deposit on a home, go for it. A one bedroom in a safe neighbourhood is good investment. What have you got to loose? If prince charming comes along, you can rent the out the house and have some extra income coming in.
4. Act dumb but don’t be dumb
Ask the stupid questions, every time you are purchasing something, ask the vendor is this the best deal I can get? One day I was buying some lipstick and I asked the lady at the a pharmacy store is this the lowest price I can get for this brand? She quickly said that if I crossed the street I could get it for half price from the cosmetic shop. She blew my mind and I saved 4 dollars. It is not much but it makes a difference.
When making expensive purchases or any long term contracts. Negotiate, trust no one, be suspicious and complain sweetly. Don’t be afraid to ask people in the know, no matter how silly the question. If you think it will save you money it is worth asking.
5. Partying costs money
We are all guilty of it. Spending thousands on clothes, clubbing and frivolous things just to be relevant. The media is guilty of misleading us that our twenties don’t matter, its okay to make mistakes since we are young. The truth is a lot of us will spend the rest of out lives fixing mistakes we made in our youth. Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton may be partying it up but they make over 80,000 every time the show up to an party event. If you are not earning money from partying, you seriously need to consider cutting down.
At the end of the day money does not buy happiness but Robert T. Kiyosaki best known as the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad said; “I have been poor, I have been rich, I like being rich better.”
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Waruguru is an MBA graduate from E.C.U Western Australia . She loves fresh food, books, movies, travel, street cafes, and walks on the beach.