Saving tips. For your child’s sake
The knowledge and ability to save aggressively gets us closer to our goals. You need to have goals, so that you know why you are saving and be motivated to do it.
Many humans have an innate need to have a family that includes children. These little ones are a joy to have, hold and watch as they grow. They come at a price.
Babies come with both short and long-term financial considerations. Having a saving culture helps make the transition into parenthood easier-for our babies to be a bundle of joy and not a bundle of financial stress.
Alex Macho, a financial advisor with British American Asset Managers (BAAM) and a new dad, says in theory, the importance of saving is known to most, if not all of us. ‘It is the transformation of that theoretical knowledge into practice that does not happen with many people: he says. According to Alex, saving should not be a punishment. ‘With a few basics in mind, it should be possible and even fun: he says.
First is to have a goal. By the time we leave secondary school, we have a good idea what we want to do with our lives, which is why we go to specific colleges to undertake training that will lead us to the careers of choice. ‘Why is it then that we do not plan the other aspects of our lives with such clarity? A goal gives you a sense of direction which is very hard to deviate from: explains the financial advisor.
Buy what you need. Saving does not mean that you deny yourself bread or a shirt. However, you should avoid buying too much bread or too many shirts. Have a plan=a budget- for when and where to buy items. Try as much as possible to live within your budget.
Plan for emergencies. Timothy Mutua another new dad and an accountant, calls himself a ‘natural saver’. This served him and his wife well when their child was born prematurely. ‘Our son had to be put in an incubator. Our insurance covered birth but declined to cover the costs of hospitalisation after that: says Mutua. ‘It would have been a nightmare, save for our love for saving. We would have been forced to take emergency loans, which we qualify for, but that would have interfered with other arrangements.’
Timothy says a good saving plan should always include a plan for emergencies. And as soon as you deal with an emergency, make sure you replenish the emergency account.
Do not be too mean to yourself. All work and no play, the saying goes, makes John a dull boy. The same goes with us. If we earn and stash every single penny into a savings plan, we may frustrate ourselves and end up not enjoying life. Let your hair down once in a while by treating yourself. Be careful though that it is not too often or too expensive, otherwise you negate your savings rationale.
George S. Clason in his little book titled ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, put down talks about some principles of saving and making money to ensure continuity. The most prudent among us will be able to leave a tidy inheritance ‘for their sons and daughters. One of the things Clason says is that the individual must desire to do this, in other words ‘have a plan’. Then he goes on to outline cures to what he calls a lean purse. Again, there is no mystery to these cures; start to save, control expenditure and invest.Thrift, could just save the day.
END: BL 38/23