Most times, most of us find that by the time the month is getting to the end, we already have accrued debts, or we are left with just enough to get us to the pay date, and no more even in case of emergencies.
We mostly blame this living beyond our means, on low salaries and high costs of living.
All this can be solved by managing your payslip.
This will be done by first accepting your net pay. This is may be done by internalizing that whatever amount is indicated as your net pay in your payslip is all you have and nothing more, and have you to live by that.
Second is to list down, genuinely and honestly all your expenses. This may include rent, fuel, food, transport, every day coffee, couple of beers at the bar and every other huge or tiny expense that you incur on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. After listing down all expenses, you may discover that you actually spend more than you earn, i.e. living beyond your means.
Thirdly, make a budget. Here is where, you get to decide on what expenses to increase, reduce, or do away with depending on your priorities. A good system to use while deciding on how to allocate your funds could be to split your salary into six portions, where the ratios are 3 – 2 – 1.
Here, three portions out of six, of your salary are allocated to all your expenses. This will include food, housing, clothing, fuel, education, health and all other expenses you may have.
Two portions out of six of your salary are allocated to savings, and the remaining one portion out of six of your salary is allocated to personal investment, for instance taking educational or self improvement courses etc.
With this system of fund allocation, then you are able to know how much to use on expenses, and are able to scale your living standards towards that, and thus live a more comfortable life that does not go beyond your means. It also ensures that even with the meager amounts on your payslip, you are able to save something at the end of every month, and you are also able to invest on yourself positively.
