Managing one's income is an important part of our lives and a survival hack that one mustn't joke with, because how well you manage your income and finances goes a long way in determining how your life will turn out during the days, weeks, or months that follow. Despite how important this is, it's worth knowing that I'm not an expert in this regard; in fact, I can as well be regarded as a novice because, despite my efforts and sleepless nights of doing calculations and budgeting, different things just seem to play out that make it feel like I did nothing, but overall it's a great thing to manage our income properly, and below I'll walk you through how I do mine.
When it comes to managing my income, the first thing I do is to first recognize or know how much I'm earning, where they come from, and when I can get access to them. I believe before you can begin to manage your income, you need to understand all of the above, and that's the first step towards managing your income, because when you know the right response to the above, then you can proceed to the next phase and properly manage your income effectively.Take, for instance, myself as an example. I know my income within a month is mainly from my salary as a teacher and a few of my earnings here on Hive. I also know I can easily gain access to my earnings on Hive whenever I want, while my wages don't come until the end of the month.
After recognizing how much my income is and when it'll come in, the next step in managing my income is itemizing all my needs for the month, such as food items, transportation, electricity bill, funds to buy petrol, and an emergency fund, amongst many others. Each month comes with its unique demand, so managing income is kind of very complex because you really don't know what to expect or what the month has in store. So after distributing my income for the month on all my needs and the likes, I must make sure to have enough in reserve for emergencies, such as in case something I forgot or unexpected comes into the picture, so I won't be stranded or face financial embarrassment.
It's also worth noting that it's not just about writing down a budget that helps you manage your income; you must also possess the ability to stick with the laid-down plan. The ability to stand by those lists and do everything on the latter is what makes financial management and income management more effective and makes the month less dramatic, because a lot of people truly did make an effort to manage their finances, but in the end, they don't follow everything they've written down, and that's due to their inability to control themselves and avoid impulse buying and spending.
So that's about it on how I managed my income. Do you have a better way of doing yours? Kindly share with me in the comments section.
Thanks so much for your time. This is my entry for the IndiaUnited writing prompts. Click on this link if you'd love to participate as well.
All photos are taken and edited on canva.