One of the major reasons why people have various forms of challenges as regards finances is because of lack of financial discipline. There are a number of people that make a considerably fair amount of income that should make them comfortable but they see themselves in financial difficulties before the next income comes. The reason is not far-fetched; it is related to lack of financial discipline. Here, we will take the concluding part of the tips to get handy with and workouts on financial discipline.
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1. Reducing your expenses through reusing and recycling
Instead of going for new things every now and then, there is a way to reuse old things or even recycle them in order to save cost. For example, you may have a worn out couch at home and you need a replacement. Instead of going for a new one, all it might just take is to re-pad the old one and it will appear as new, and you must have saved a considerable amount of funds.
Even when you want to buy new things, you can go for the option that is affordable by you so as not to put strain on your pocket. Take this example: a bottle of coke is about ₦150 in the regular shops. However, when you go to some places, like the popular dolphin eatery, the same coke is about ₦300. Then in Truee lounge, the same bottle of coke goes for ₦750. When you decide to buy the same coke in Extreme-night lounge, it will cost you ₦1000. You see, the same product but different prices because it is bought at different places. In the same way, when you want to buy a thing, if there is a cheaper option to get it, then you can go for it.
2. Separate your needs from your wants
There are some essentials that, even though you do not earn much, you need to buy before any other thing, these are your needs. For example, foodstuffs, etc. If you leave the essentials that you are meant to buy and go for your wants, you may have difficulty to acquire the pressing needs. You should always try to go for only the things that you can afford no natter how appealing they may be to you. Very importantly, do not borrow just to be able to afford your wants. Do not allow the desire to go after your wants put your pocket under pressure.
Before you make a purchase, try to give it a thought and ask yourself if it is truly your need or a a want. It is not bad to buy your wants but one thing to do is to make sure you have bought your needs first. Imagine if after you have done impromptu buying of your wants and there is not enough funds to go for your needs, what will you do? The more you come to terms with the difference between your wants and needs, the more you develop financial discipline and the more mature you become.
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3. Stay clear of peer pressure
There are some things that people buy, not because they need it but because they were pressured to buy it by their peers. The influence of peers can be so strong that they can make someone to go out of their way just to do what they would normally do. Here's a peer pressure scenario faced by a friend of mine. He was the only one that uses android out of his friends and in a bid to feel "belonged", he went out of his budget and even borrowed additional bucks just to be able to buy the recent iPhone. Now he has a debt to settle and it has put him under financial pressure.
What you cannot afford at the moment, do not allow peers to make you to stress yourself over it. It is better to lose peers than to lose your financial sanity. If your friends normally hang out in places that you cannot afford and end up putting yourself in financial troubles, then you have to stay clear of them. It is true that you need to have fun with friends, after all, this is part of what makes life sweet, but you should always live within your budget even when having fun.
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