A friend’s post about vacationing in Dubai and Argentina to celebrate Messi’s win can encourage you to spend all your savings or take a loan to have a luxurious post as well and you start experiencing Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO).
But if you have taken a vow to stay financially stable after all the celebrations this year, then you’re going to set a budget and stick to it.
Is there a reason why we keep thinking Christmas and the New Year are expensive or are our wants and Christmas lists expensive?
This is when the budget comes into play, and your budget will decide if you are going out with friends to celebrate.
Most of the time, all we need to feel encouraged to go out is money and free time, and sometimes our free time is a result of a lack of income but we choose to use the little we have to spend with people who most likely are not in the same predicament.
With a budget, you might find yourself saying a lot of no this season, but you’ll be the happiest in January, feeling comfortable with no debts hanging over your head due to festive spending.
Envy is going to be an enemy of your new saving habits, but keep in mind that not all that glitters is gold.
If it helps, spend less time on social media and engage more with your family.
Take a nap, go for a run, do activities that will make your mind distracted, and not focus on all the things that you might feel you are missing out on.
Because it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out on something if you’re not doing the same thing.
Don’t feel guilty enjoying the festivities, but in all be wise and important within your means this way, you’ll be able to enjoy the days after this season without any financial stress.
Protect your future finances, no matter what your net worth might be right now.
– This includes saving up for an emergency, such as losing your job or having unexpected medical bills.
It’s a little funny to think about, during the pandemic some people learned the power of savings and others learned to live in the moment.
The difference between these two is that one has learned to spend and the other has learned to save.
Both have their problems, and there is one that has taken savings to a whole new level, to the point of refusing to buy anything, including their undergarments.
And then there is someone spending on everything, at times this is the person who will gift an undergarment to the ones who save way too much.
– Invest in yourself: Take some time to learn new skills or take on side hustles that can help you make more money.
Rather than scrolling through looking for pictures of your friends on your socials, you can use this time to discover easy-to-learn skills that you can develop and get paid for.
Try a skill that can be anywhere in the world, language, computer skills, designing, writing, or more.
– Invest in long-term goals: If you’re thinking about buying a house or starting a family, start putting away money now so you’ll be prepared when the time comes.
If you are planning to have a family in the future, you have probably calculated and seen how expensive it will be, saving as much as you can allow you to buy land, and start building for your future family.
I have recently crossed paths with a man in his late twenties who is almost done with the building of his house.
With savings, a side job, and the earnings he gets from a motorcycle he bought, and hired a person to drive it and pay him monthly.
This taught me that small savings used right can buy things that can get us more savings.
Saving up for your future may not be as glamorous as going on fancy vacations, but it’s more financially secure.
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