Let’s be real, navigating money is tough. For anyone. Be it child, comrade, mini-adult (25-30 years), and even our parents. Allow me to hold your hand when I say this, the secret was always right in front of your eyes. Nothing too complex. No degree in finance needed to see this. No formulas; and I promise, no math (you can breathe now LOL). Rather, no fancy math. Just the usual addition, subtraction and the casual division. The secret is, *drum roll*, BUDGETING!
I was holding a conversation with my friend, as I love to do. And we were talking about real things of life, as I love to do. As the conversation proceeded in the waves of time, it evolved into money talk. Both of us are young campus boys, blinded by the chase for richness and ultimate wealth so of course, this is the direction our talk took. And we found ourselves going back to the basics.
The basics
Both of us had been seeking to grow wealth in all the wrong places. Fast money. The fast life. Emblazoned on our minds, was the picture-perfect Instagram influencers living large and preaching the gospel of get rich young. FOREX, damn, am I right?
And this is not wrong. Morality is only a game for those who play. The topic of morality is not on the table of contents for today. The influencers are allowed to preach whatever they so desire. Matter of fact you too are allowed to preach whatever you desire. However, with time, it dawns on the gullible village boy that that life is not the rule, but the exception. He eventually is able to see through this façade and the reality is daunting.
Making money is hard.
Making money is hard
Do not be fooled. Nothing comes easy. I always try to doubt popular sayings first before I believe them, and here is one I doubted but I believe more with each passing day: diamonds are produced under pressure. Take your lessons from nature, if from nothing else.
Youngins and oldies alike, have to apply pressure to see a breakthrough in their finances. Apply that pressure in whatever field you have committed yourself to, and the diamond has no choice but to concede and appear. The one thing that is yours inherently by being human; a couple of things actually, are: time, energy, mind, and consistency as the special sauce that holds everything together. Call it glue.
Today though, this was not my aim. My aim was to talk about something simple. Budgeting
Why
Budgeting is the process of getting all your expenses in a list, including what they cost. When I say all your expenses, I mean ALL YOUR EXPENSES. Be it the data bundles you buy during lunch hour to enjoy Tiktok while you are outside, or the sweet treats like Big Daddy that you buy on your journey back home from wherever. All of it. I need it in a list.
The thing about budgeting is, you have to be honest. Honest with yourself about the things you need. Don’t hold back. Abundance exists, but it begins by speaking your needs. Be sure to include the amount you would like to save too. Saving money is akin to paying yourself. Come on, don’t be shy, put yourself on the payroll baby! Next, put a price tag on the items in the expense list. Here, you would rather overprice your estimates rather than underprice them.
Next, I need you to outline your income, and with absolute honesty. This is between you, pen and paper. How is it that some people find it hard to tell the truth even when they are alone? Even when there is no one there to lie to except yourself? Let’s embrace seriousness guys. But on that, I digress.
So now you have your expenses and your income. Some simple subtraction gives you the difference between the two. Is there a deficit or a surplus. If deficit exists, it is up to you to fill it up. If surplus there’s a surplus (strictly assuming you budgeted your savings and debts if any), then you are free to enjoy that surplus the best way you deem.
And voila! You just took the first step to a successful financial life.
Lastly, just like any other practice, for budgeting to be effective, you have to do it regularly for it to produce results. Happy Budgeting my people!
Learning a lot already! So much truth. Thank you.