On Savings.
I want to shamelessly admit that I don’t have any savings anywhere right now.
I’ve never actually had any paying job, I’ve never worked for anyone, never earned. My only experiences of an allowance only includes being in romantic relationships where my partners put me on some kind of girlfriend monthly allowances and the monthly allowances I used to get from my parents back in school, which I stopped receiving shortly after my dad got sick. I’ve also run my own little skincare business but I wasn’t consistent enough to get big returns from it, it took more than it gave because I didn’t know the first thing about running a small business.
Anyways, I’ve never had a savings, unless you count piggy banks which I’d break at the slightest inconvenience. The habit religiously putting a certain percentage of one’s income away into a savings account is something I’m unfamiliar with. Lately I’ve been thinking too much about my relationship with money and I’m grateful for it because I’ve been too laid back, too comfortable, too dependent on my family and friends, but I’m just done with all that. I’ve recently just finished my university program and I want to start taking my finances more seriously and be more intentional about my financial future.
About savings, it is quite easy to tell someone to save without caring to understand if they possess saving capacity, the worst is the finance people on social media always telling low income earners to save their way out of poverty. So ridiculous. It is insensitive to expect someone who lives below a dollar daily to save their way to financial liberation. You have to have a stable means of income for one to think about saving a certain percentage. It is also difficult for people with monthly salaries to save and that’s understandable because responsibilities is nobodies mate.
Savings exist for different purposes; savings for emergency funds, savings for investment, savings for retirement. There is 70 20 10 budget rule for anyone who is interested in saving. 70 percent of your earning is allocated for monthly expenses, 20 percent goes into savings, while 10 percent can go into donations, investment or retirement savings. There is also the 50 30 20 plan. Everyone’s earning capacity is different, and everyone has different expenditures and lifestyle so I don’t think a one size fits all approach can apply to everyone. Hence, when I start earning enough to save, I’d work with the existing saving principles and tailor it to suit my financial capacity.
It is one thing to have the intention to save and it is another thing to actually start saving so I’ve been thinking of ways to help me become a saver. I’ve come up with some points which I’ll be discussing in my next post.
Thank you for stopping by.