Smart Budgeting Tips to Save More Money Every Month

Budgeting is a money management strategy that is put in place to ensure the proper use of monetary funds. Life can be tough for most Nigerian millennials. This can be due to inflation, unstable jobs, fuel prices, and family responsibilities.

However, a solid budgeting plan can help you manage your money efficiently during hard times. In this article, we will look at different tips that can be implemented to help you plan, save and manage your money more efficiently.

Table of Contents

Know Your Income and Expenses

Before making a budget plan, you need to know the amount of money you make and how much you will spend within a specific period.
A lot of Nigerians have different sources of income.

This can be their salaries, income from freelance gigs, and money from online sales. It is essential to note the amount of money you make in a month, then track the total expenses such as food, water bills, electricity bills, etc. This will help you know where to cut costs to avoid unnecessary spending.

Budgeting Tips – Create a Flexible Budget

After you have figured out how much money you spend and earn in a month, the next step is to create a realistic, flexible budget.
You can do it by using the 50/30/20 rule.

This works because 50% of your income will be allocated to your needs, such as your rent and food. Another 30% will be assigned to your wants, such as entertainment. The last segment will take 20% and it will be allocated to your savings.

If one segment’s requirements are high, ensure you adjust the numbers accordingly to make the budget flexible. This will make the budget easier to follow.
It is important to remember to constantly update your budget every month if anything changes.

Budgeting Tips – Prioritize Savings Before Spending

After you get your monthly salary, a wise decision is to allocate 10% – 20% of your salary to savings. You can automate the process using savings wallets like PiggyVest, Cowrywise, or Kuda to make it easier.

Most of these apps have different wallet segments embedded within them. They can also allow you to make swift transfers between your main and savings wallets. Once you can save part of your money first, you can spend the rest as you wish, being assured that you have some money left in the bank.

Budgeting Tips – Start an Emergency Fund

In Nigeria, different adverse circumstances can present themselves, and you must be prepared if they do. One month, your car might experience a breakdown, and the next, you might be hit with a critical health condition.

An emergency fund is the only solution to save you from these unforeseen circumstances. It is important to note that emergency funds are only used in critical cases. It is different from your regular savings.

To implement this, you can remove a portion of your monthly salary and keep it in a separate bank account. It can be 3% or 5% of your income, as the case may be. However, the money must not be touched unless critical circumstances unfold.

Budgeting Tips – Look for Extra Income and Start Investing

It is not advisable to rely on one source of income, especially in a country like Nigeria. We all know how unstable the economy is, as there could be an economic downturn. As a result of this, it is advisable to get an extra source of income.

You can do this by learning new skills such as graphic design, content creation, writing, web development, etc and start making money from it by rendering your services to different people.

Once you get paid for these extra gigs, you can invest the money in legitimate Nigerian platforms such as Bamboo and Chaka. You can also invest in treasury bills and mutual funds. Implementing this strategy will increase your money over time, bringing you good returns in the future.