To me, income is beyond just money or my earnings. It covers other items given to me by friends and family members. This was why when I stumbled on this week's contest, I had to pause for a while and think before I began to share my ideas on the topic.
One thing that has helped me so far in the management of my resources is living within my earnings. Over the years, I have lived within my worth. Anything I can not afford, I dare not attempt to get those things. This principle has been helpful. Therefore, I ensure that I live on budget. I spell out everything I need at the moment in order of priority then I begin to get them one after the other. Whatever that was not budgeted for cannot be bought because it will affect my finances.
Moreover, I save what's left over from my budget. I know that human wants are insatiable hence no matter how you budget your income, you may likely be stretched to get other less important things. Therefore in this case, after getting what I need at the moment, I then save the remaining amount of money. No matter how small it may be. The mistake I made some years ago was that I hardly saved a small amount of money. They appeared less important but I realized recently that little amount when compounded becomes a huge amount of money over time.
Meanwhile when it comes to investments, I ensure that only 5 percent of my income goes into investments. Since I have lost lots of money investing, I do more savings than investing. However, I still invest in less risky ventures. The returns on investment are also pulled back into the platform.
Finally on other incomes like food stuffs from friends and family members, I share very little with friends. I don't party and invite so many friends. When this happens, you'll likely finish your resources before the right time. So the little that I have, I spend them in piece meals. In addition, I am calculative in generosity. No matter how touchy your story is, I can hardly be generous with my money. People ought to earn money legitimately and not get it on a platter of gold.
