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I was at a meeting with a group of women the other day and when we talked about saving money, most responded with “What? We barely have enough to live on” which to be honest shocked me. Then I thought about it more and realized that no one taught us anything about saving money growing up. I remember my mom saying “Marianna, you need to save money instead of traveling” but my dad always said “Go for adventures, I’m here”. I admit that I believed him because I knew my generation had the “luxury” of living and growing up in a family where money was saved for them, which made us feel comfortable enough to not focus on the issue.
Now that I am in my 30s, I realize the importance of saving, and I am here to emphasize this and give some advice through my experience. I know this is a tough time because the price of goods, gas, and living is rising, but I believe that if you want it bad enough, the opportunities to create the life of your dreams are endless. This means you are not lazy and you are open to new ideas and experiences. I am not a millionaire, but I am a single mother who probably earns more than 80% of my friends, so how do I do it?
First, state your income
I usually take a notebook and write down what I currently earn and what I want to earn in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and it works, somehow those numbers magically go up and every time I check my notebook I am happy to see that I have what I wanted.
Another thing I do that helps me achieve this is that I repeat these mantras often to help me stick to how I use the money:
-Saving money can save your life.
-Saving money will allow you to help more people instead of begging sponsors for funds.
-Saving money will allow you to live the dream life you’ve always wanted: a small farm, a few chickens, and lots of flowers and trees.
You know what I’m saying? I’m imagining what I can get by saving money. Because I want good, good things will come to me. You can call it vibes, karma, energy. When your intentions are good and pure, all things work out for you.
Prioritize spending where expenses are much lower than income
Before you start saving money, adjust your spending mentality. Do you really need that bag you can’t afford to show off to your ladies? I don’t think so. Experts say to think clearly before buying things: if your income is, for example, 2000 euros, you can’t afford a 4000 euro holiday trip. But you can save 4000 euros first and then go on a trip. We often do the opposite, we book our vacation and then run around to pay for it with our credit cards. Please don’t do this. Develop the mentality that if I can afford something x3, then I can really buy it. I personally don’t buy expensive clothes (I prefer vintage, second-hand or local brands that I can afford), but I spend money on travel and work equipment – the key here is to be patient, shop on discount days, check offers online, cooperate and make decisions wisely.
Start saving early Set financial goals
You know that you can learn how to save money from the age of 6, right? When you were in school, your parents probably gave you 5 to 10 euros a week and had a magic box that told you to save half of it. At least, that’s what we used to do. So my question is, why don’t we do it anymore as adults? Let me show you some math. Imagine this: starting at age 18 and saving 100 euros a month until you’re 25. That’s 7 years x 12 months = 84 x 100 = 8400. And so on. Now you’re 25, and assuming you find a decent job, you can save even more until you’re 35. That’s another 10 years x 12 months = 120 x 200 = 24,000. With all that generosity, we’ve saved over $32,000. Now imagine that if you had a very good salary between the ages of 35 and 55 (studies show this is the prime time for employment), you could save 20 years x 12 months = 240 x 400 = 96,000 euros. See what I mean? Simply state how much you want to save, divide by how many years you want to save, and then divide by 12 months to find out how much you need to save. Let’s take an example: I want to save 100,000 euros in 10 years. 100,000/10=10000/12=833.33 euros per month. Even if you can’t save this money now, now you know exactly what you need to do to earn extra income and save this money for the next 10 years. The secret is here, you have to do it yourself. It’s just simple math, persistence and patience.
Pay Yourself First
What I learned from my mistakes was that no matter where I was getting paid, the first thing to do was always pay the bills, utilities, etc. and every month on the 15th I was exhausted and didn’t know what to do. When I read this tip to pay yourself first, this magically stopped happening. I felt like I deserved the money, that money was good, and that money could help me. So my relationship with money changed. I attracted more money and after a few months of paying myself first, I was able to save money as well. You are in control, so keep paying yourself first and the rest will fall into place.
Women are underpaid because they are too embarrassed to ask what they are worth
I am a good and strong feminist. Whenever I hear about the topic of gender inequality, a fire ignites inside me, and to put out this fire, I realized that I just need to empower women and stop offending men. My friends come to me for advice when they have any problem with men at work or in personal matters. One time, a friend told me that she found out that she was being paid much less than her male colleagues for the same workload and title. I encouraged her to know her worth and ask for a higher salary at her next annual job review, where you can discuss your performance and possible problems with your manager and HR. She applied with confidence, not even mentioning what she had found out, but simply explaining that after two years of work, with proven achievements and sales record, she felt she deserved X amount of money. The managers happily gave her a raise, and she came back happy and surprised. She didn’t expect it. Now, if you need to remember this, write this sentence somewhere: “If you don’t ask, how do you get it?” Ask the questions you want to ask and always get the answers, even if the answer is no, even if you are scared.
invest
I’m not an investment expert, I’m new to the industry, but you know what? I’m very curious. I want to learn how to invest so I can save that money and use it for better things other than getting rich. I’ve heard about cryptocurrencies, stocks, index funds, gold, business, startups, and real estate, and while I don’t know where to start, I believe investing in something you’re passionate about is key. For example, I don’t want to invest in gold because I feel like it’s associated with all the slave labor that goes on behind the scenes. Even if I invest, I need to do something good, honest, kind, and helpful. If you’re reading this right now and have any suggestions, please leave a comment below.
Have at least 3 different sources of income
As a single mother, it became clear to me how important it is to have a roof over your head, food on the table, cash flow to pay expenses, doctors, etc. I really enjoy being independent and I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, which is why I do not rely on a single income but have built multiple ways to stay financially afloat. These uncertain times have shown us that one job is not secure. At the same time, in 2023, you will have plenty of online or work-from-home opportunities in the digital marketing, finance, technology, and IT industries. I always remember what my Chinese boss said: “I always like to play. Business is a game. Never play just one game. Play as many games as you can. Put your eggs in many baskets, even very different baskets. If one basket falls and the eggs break, you still have so many eggs to eat.” Follow the advice of this millionaire and start your savings journey by diversifying your income sources.
Stop making excuses and start learning
In this modern world, a teenager with a YouTube channel can become a millionaire overnight, while a 50-year-old man, even if he works his ass off, has never seen so much money in his entire life. You can understand that saving money with traditional methods is not easy nowadays. What we can do is adapt, and that is the magic word I always like to use. In this era, adapt by learning new skills. There are websites online that offer courses for as little as 15 euros, which can make more than 3000 euros a month if used properly – have a look at Udemy, Masterclass, Coursera, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, Alison, Domestika – there is a course for everyone. The next time someone tells you “What savings? We barely have enough to live on”, you can now say “Stop making excuses, start learning, and keep moving forward. The world is full of possibilities if we stop blaming anyone but ourselves and finally decide to step out of our comfort zone.”
If you liked this blog post, please share it with your friends who need it.
cheers,
Marianna xoxo
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