Although it is six days into 2024 and away from the year 2023, when I think back, I wish there were things I had known and done right, just maybe if I had done it right or gotten more knowledge about it, it wouldn't still be like this for especially in the case of my finances.
Apart from the fact that I began schooling and most of my money went into paying my school fees and all of that, which of course is the reason for my current state, but I still feel as if I had gotten things right and done things well, I would still have been on a safer side.
My biggest mistake in the year 2023 was not having plans and a budget, and that resulted in me spending on impulse, this was my biggest mistake in the year 2023, not saving and not having budgets, led me to squander money that would have gotten me enough profit if I had better plans for it or had decided to save them even if it was bit by bit as they came.
I knew I had family responsibilities that took some of the money away but then, I also knew from my estimation that I had enough to use and save for future purposes and now, at this point, I regret it even more because it would have helped me solve so many financial responsibilities at hand now but then, this new year I made plans to be intentional about my finances, my savings, my budget, and my expenses and this is my plan on how to work on that.
Sitting down to think back about how last year went in the aspect of my finances, I realized that I have wasted more than I have used to solve my needs and that shows that I have been wasting money by not setting a budget and tracking how my money is being spent.
Saving and having budgets
I do not just plan to save naira in my bank app but I also plan to save here in my crypto wallet. And I have a book kept in place, to write down how I intend to spend daily, weekly, and monthly, only on occasions where it is important to stretch or reach out to my savings if it is necessary though.
Here I am going to learn to buy my things in bulk and also give less attention to my unnecessary cravings. Make sure to eat well, before I leave the house, so I am not prompted to use my money to buy junks because I feel hungry, because I know that junks take more of my money.
Keep Track of My Spending
I got laughing when a friend said yesterday, I was with five thousand naira yesterday morning and by that evening of yesterday, he was with just three hundred naira and doesn't even know how he spent it, and I am sure many still do have this problem.
There is this regret that washes over immediately after you get home and calculate the money you spent while you were outside, you just realize that most times you do not even have an idea about how the money was spent and what you spent it for, the worst part is when you don't even have a tangible thing to show that you actually spent it worthwhile. This is one of the reasons why I planned on keeping track of my spending, this year. I make sure to know how much I have in total, only carry what I need in cash, and write down a list of what I need that money for.
Buy what I need and overcome the habit of impulse buying:
This was one of the things I am working on this year because I do know I have the habit of buying things on impulse, so I have successfully written down my short and long-term budget and I believe working with that is going to help me buy only things I will need except in cases of importance and thankfully since I am also saving, it will
help me reduce the way I spend especially when it is not a need but a want by impulse.
I am working on only buying what I need and being more conscious of the other things I spend on that are just wants, so I don't end up spending unnecessarily or by impulse when it is time to make an account.
