Based on an article written by the Huffingtonpost, one of the most popular aspirations in life is to become more financially stable and responsible. Overspending and overextending ourselves often comes from a place of lack and not feeling as if we have enough. It is an emotional issue as much as a material one.
Sometimes we feel as if by controlling and increasing the material volume of lives, we feel more abundant. Not only is this not true, it has the opposite effect. The more we spend our money in non-constructive ways, the worse we feel and the more we spend to feel better. Vicious cycle much?
Here are 6 tips to help you create the abundance and calm you deserve:
1. Where are you over-extending? Do an honest expense report for yourself. Where are you spending too much? Rent is a common culprit — experts say this should not be more than 20 percent of your income. Moving to a cheaper place is extremely freeing!
2. Automate your savings. This is a trick many financially savvy people know about. Before you spend a single cent — put away at least 10 percent of your income into a savings account. If you can, put all bonuses (or any expected income) into this account too. Name it something fun like “Round the world ticket” or “Dream Home” to remind you why you are socking cash away each month.
3. Limit the entertainment overdose. Eating and drinking out are often the reasons the old catch phrase was coined — “to have too much month left at the end of the money”. Only commit to things you can afford and don’t say “yes” to things just because you are invited.
4. No spending one day a week. This can be played creatively like a game! If you have a transport pass, food in the fridge, coffee in the cupboard and wifi at home — you are set. A walk outside, making lunch for your partner and Skyping a friend are all free and fun!
5. Remember less is more. Do you really need that gym membership, if you only go once a week? Look for cheaper alternatives. How much is a drop-in exercise class? Is there a free first pass? Refer to your report to see where you can cut back.
6. Give! Paradoxically, being generous makes us feel abundant and the universe rewards us by giving us more.
We hope that you can apply these tips to your life.
What is next? There is a “Money Management” discussion happening in the “Groups” section of our community portal. Navigate there now to continue this conversation with us and let us know how you think, FNB can help you to achieve your financial goals in life.
As from this month I will try and put the 10% of both our salaries away before we can spend. Thanks for the tips.
Hi Natasha. Thank you for reading the article. We’re glad that you found the tips informative. Please go over to the “groups” section of our community and join in on the discussion with other community members.
i’M ASKING THAT HOW CAN I USE MY 170 POINTS
I have the biggest problem of spending recklessly on leisure/ entertainment activities. I really need assistance in my budgeting. How do I go about that at the branch or online?
Well if the bank can arrange a date and a hands off account for you it is possible for you to save its like”taking candy form a child” but you will see the effects later on. In short it is like opening a long term fixed account that pays out after a certain date arrange for the bank to keep a percentage of you pay in a special account which you can pick at which time to withdraw it.
I always put 20% of my salary on investment each and every month, this help me a lot cause I can see I can put more if iam not paying any debt, this is the way I can save, for emerged purposes.
I like the Idea of Automating my savings. I am going to do that right now.
Hi there! Thank you for your feedback on the article. We’re glad that you were able to pick up a tip to help you with managing your finances. Please go to the “groups” section of our community and join in on the conversation. We would love to hear more of your thoughts on how you think FNB can assist you with managing your money.
I have retired but work on contract to boost savings. 60 – 70 % of this goes into my 32 day savings account. The interest from this is paid back into the account but when I finally stop working the interest will go into my cheque account to aid with my pension.
Hi Jimmy. Thank you for your insightful tip! Could you please go to the “groups” section of our community and join in on the conversation of money management with your fellow community members?
Will definitely make use of all these tips, I really need to be wiser with my account and savings.
Hi there! Thank you for reading the article. Could you please join our discussion on money management by clicking on the “groups” section on the community page and sharing with us in more detail how you think FNB can help you to become wiser with your savings?
We can’t wait to hear your views!
Saving is one idea I embrace,however not having a consistent income is what hinders my progress. Having saved and one to two months without any income,I run to my savings as I have fixed costs to service. Interesting article
I like the idea of “Automate your savings” and “No spending one day a week”, will definitely apply.
Hi Mervin! We are glad that the article gave you some good tips to start implementing. Please could you go onto the “groups” section of our community and share how you think FNB could assist you with making better financial decisions.
Hi, When I started out in 1973 I knew nothing about money, just how to waste it. I soon realized wasting money will get me nowhere and I started reading everything about money in books (no Google then). You become money-wise by reading and learning. Its the same as to study, so you study the subject: MONEY! I saved money as deposit for my 1st house which was inhabitable and I fixed it. All overtime and bonuses went into the down-payment of my house-loan. Within 15 years, the house was mine and I was Financially FREEEEEE. Get yourself a goal and work towards achieving that goal and you will succeed!
Hi Gallieva, thank you so much for sharing your great advice! Please, you could onto the “groups” section of our community and join in on the conversation on money management.
I also pay a little extra on my bond payment. I work overtime and am part of 4 stokvels. I had to teach myself to ay I cannot afford this and I don’t need this. At first it was hard but now it is easier. I have made a list of what I owe and have made a plan on how I will pay off everything. I have decided to spring clean my finances every 3 months and there is always an improvement. I am now going to try to automate my savings and put them in my budget.
Hi Pfano! Thank you for sharing your plan to financial freedom with us! Please join in on our money management discussion by going onto “groups” on our community.
Nice article. I like the “bank your change” feature that automatically moves small amounts of funds to your savings account which actually ads up at the end of the month.
Hi I have got two personal loans with fnb now that’s making difficult for me to save money but if these loans can be combined into one installment and maybe decrease installment Can cope
Hi Alfred. Thank you for sharing with us what you think could be done to help you manage your finances better. Please go onto the “groups” section of our community and engage in the conversation with other community members.
This article is talking to me. Thanks for the tips FNB, I am really going to use them. FNB is really taking care of its customers.
Hi there. Thank you for reading the article and giving us feedback. Please go onto the “groups” section of our community and let us know what you think FNB can do to help you manage your finances and money better.
Having read this article I find myself feeling way more prepared to save a little bit more effectively in the future. I will definitely use the saving tip (10%) before spending as well as the one day spend-free tips given as based on my own calculations done since reading this article, I can see I have sold myself sold quite a bit unnecessarily so…My appreciation goes out to the authors of this article – looking forward to many more such future discussions.
Hi there. Thank you so much for the great feedback. Please go onto the “groups” section of our community and join in on the discussion by sharing what you think FNB could do to help you with making the move to better money management.
Saving is absolutely the best way to cut expenses and have financial freedom I really want to try it but not just try it I also want to master it…..and I know I can do it with FNB.
I have started doing this from this month. Good article.
We also cut back on Takeaway every weekend to one Saturday a month. And it has saved us a lot of money.
Hi Moipone! Thank you for sharing your tip. Please go onto the “groups” section of our community and share what you think FNB, specifically could do to help you manage your money effectively.
No spending- i am definitely taking that one on, also as difficult as it sounds, putting away 10% of my earnings away, though i need to know if we can actually get FNB to assist on this one where i can opt in an not be able to withdraw no matter what from it for a certain fixed period!
Hi Sandile. Thank you for your inputs and for sharing your view. That is quite an interesting suggestion you have there…
For me it took me 10 years to learn these lessons. I am now officially a saver and enjoy watching my savings grow. Saving for that dream home one day and making sure I am working for me and not to impress other people anymore.
Hi there!
Thank you for sharing your views with us.
We hope that the savings for your dream home are gathering good interest!
Thank you for this interesting article, i like the idea of automating my savings however, i am worried that it will be easy for me to access them. I wish there could be strict measures put like with the 32 day account or can i rather put my savings in a 32 day account than a scheduled transfer which is easily accesible.
Hi Mogomane
Thank you for sharing your views with us.
Automating your savings has been a very popular tip among the community. We are glad that we have imparted some good, user-friendly tips onto you.
I was brought up in an age where cash was king if you did not have cash you had to save for it and credit was very difficult to get, this got me in to a culture of saving. Never buy on credit unless you can pay it off in full when the credit card bill arrives. Learn to separate “needs”from “wants” did you really need that 65″flat screen TV? Try and remember that retiring at 60 to 65 is a thing of the past if you are young you could easily live to 100 + will you have enough to live 35 years with no income? Think about that please. In essence you can never save enough and compound interest is your best friend.
Hi Eddie
Thank you for the solid advice. Differentiating needs from wants is very important if you want to manage your money well.
10% of your salary sounds a lot, but in fact if you look at the percentage spent on unnecessary items the 10% does not look much at all
Hi Marque
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
This is really a great way of saving. Sometimes I don’t even realize. I just see my savings account growing. I really like the bank your change option. It’s awesome. ❤️❤️
Hi Alford
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
We are glad to see that the bank your change option is working well for you!
I Love the article. The Automated savings is activated in my app but i can easily access the savings anytime. Is there a way I can lock in my savings in my current savings in-app account for a certain amount of time without having to open another savings account?
I can definitely save on entertainment. That is a useful tip. Sometimes, people will just have to understand that you cannot always join them on weekly excursions. They have to be okay with that.
Keeping money aside or saving is great. But what about investing? Cant we invest the 10% of our monthly salary into say a small businesses?
This is great article…thank you FNB??
Saving is always a problem in most household, even in mine. Automating my savings does help. One question though, you mentioned in the post to name it something you are saving for – how do you do this? Would love to have my savings account remind me why I am saving. Great ideas, and definitely a help in the long run. Thank you for your commitment to help us be the best we can be, even with our money…
Saving is really problem for me. I will AUTOMATING MY SAVINGS NOW. Thank you
When I started banking couple of 100 years ago we and the banks were not money savy. It was simply a place “Our culture demanded” we put our money so that someone else can have it!!? This community might just be one of the first to address the reason for banking and what goals we setting when we open a bank account. Utilise every available tool (from FNB) and make every R10 count(can’t say cent anymore.
Thanks Fnb for inviting me into this community and give me an opportunity to engage in this vitaland much needed topic called financial management. I am always occupied with thoughts of how to save,cut down on unnecesarry expenses and to strive for a debt free lifestyle. I trust through this vehicle I will be able to share and learn on better ways to achieve my financial goals effectively.
very usefull tips,i must make use of them to better my current financial situation.Thanks Fnb
Thank u for tips!
Thank you for your tips. I am really trying to make the most of my money. I have started trying to find other ways of making some extra cash and putting thay extra cash away for saving.
Brilliant Blog!! Very useful and informative
Thank you for the tips, I did however took a loan to settle some irritating little debts, but have found that the interest rate of the personnel loan is high, higher than I had quickly worked out, and has actually put me back on my savings, Is there any way of being able to renegotiate the interest rate? I do not want to reduce the savings plan, but have been forced to.
Valuable information, I fully agree with the approach of setting percentage on expenses. It shows how much chunk of income goes where.
I use fnb saving pocket it really helps
yes but you can only save a certain amount or % where as I want to increase the savings pocket amount so as to gain more if only the bank can make it possible.
I am still struggling to acquire my temporary loan from the bank as I see it helps when in need of that extra cents because pay day is far away and when you need money you don’t have to go to no loan sharks I think the bank must make it available for everybody as the bank controls our money that is deposited by our employers.
I like the article, there’s habits that need to be cut. Although I prefer investing over saving.
The entertainment part really stretches my budget. I have tried to cut my Dstv subscription from R345 to R29 and my next step has to be data and airtime. I spend way too much on data and airtime. Also bread and milk. I try to do shopping once a week and use apps such as snap n save and wuhu to try and save.
I enjoyed reading this article especially point No.1, its very interesting to look at the relationship between rents and mortgage installments. Most rentals are hundreds if not thousands of Rand’s above the mortgage of the rented property. My question is, Will FNB do something to help its customers become homeowners to help cut down on this rather extra expense they meet monthly. Honestly if one can afford pay monthly rental that person is equally capable to pay a lesser mortgage. There are plenty of houses and flats being sold to help reduce the housing problems by getting new first time home owners. Such an endeavor will also help in job creation and also help FNB increase their customer base. For every new employee is a potential customer for FNB.