I don’t like to think about money too much, but lately, I’ve found myself thinking about money a lot. Living through a cost-of-living crisis means that all the basic things I need to live now cost more and I have less and less money to spend on the other things that make me happy. I’ve gone through the whole of January expecting my card to be declined every time I tried to make a transaction. Thankfully, this managed not to happen. My employers were thoughtful enough to pay my salary last week so I am just about managing to get through the month.
Financial literacy has never been my strong suit and to be completely honest, I’ve never made any serious effort at becoming more financially savvy. In my half-hearted forrays into the world of money, I’ve come across various articles on ways to increase your earnings. Suggestions range from negotiating a higher salary to moving industries or starting a side hustle in the very short space of time you have to yourself when you’re not doing your employer’s bidding.
Unfortunately, some of these suggestions may not apply to many people for various reasons. In reality, many of us have to find creative ways to live within our somewhat limited means.
As with everything, having the right habits and mindset can help when navigating your finances. There’s a lot of advice out there about saving and budgeting and spending wisely which are all valid, but there are also some less talked about things that I’ve found helpful in my own money journey.
Talk about money. For something that has so much influence on the quality of our lives, I don’t think we talk about money (realistically) enough. Most of us are reluctant to discuss things like how much we earn and how much our lives cost in figures. This air of mystery sometimes keeps us from asking the necessary questions and gaining important information. A conversation with a colleague might open your eyes to how much money you could be earning or how to claim work-related expenses. A casual chat with a friend might help you with setting your rates for your next job. And so on.
Talking about money might also help you feel less alone and less ashamed of your financial struggles. We sometimes assume that our financial problems are the result of our bad decisions or bad luck but a simple honest conversation with your friends might reveal that you are all in the same financial boat and capitalism is the one to blame.
Change the stories you tell yourself. One of the stories I have told myself over the years is that I do not like numbers and I’m not good at maths. This has kept me from looking too closely at my money. I barely look at my payslip and have no idea how my tax is calculated so I wouldn’t even know if my employer tries to underpay me. I’ve pretty much gotten by on #girlmaths and while it has worked so far, I am now ready to step up and part of the process for me involves telling myself a new story about my relationship with numbers.
I only started to appreciate the impact of psychology on our money habits after I read - You’re a badass at making money - a few years ago. Many of our money habits are borne out of our earliest experiences with money, the relationships our parents had with money, the financial conditions that shaped our childhood experiences, our current values, and so on. When trying to modify our financial habits, it can be helpful to examine the stories that have shaped them and rewrite them where necessary.
Educate yourself about money. We now live in a world where information is readily available as long as you choose to find it. I once tried to outsource my finances and was quickly humbled when the nice lady told me that I didn’t have enough funds for her to manage. Since then I have tried to educate myself about money, mostly by reading books and following finance educators and inflencers on Twitter and Instagram. By doing this, I’m learning things that I previously never thought to pay attention to, like my how pensions work or what types of accounts yeild the best interest.
I am now at the point where I’d like to gain more technical financial knowledge in order to be confident enough to take financial decisions that will grow or at least maximise the money that I have.
Track your spending. Last year, I received a notification from my bank saying my “wrapped” review was available and I quickly swiped it away and didn’t open the app for a few days. That is how much I hate tracking my spending. However, it is the only way to understand how you’re spending your money and a very important guide for budgeting and planning your financial future. Spenging a few minutes at the end of every month to review your spending might be scary can provide valuable insight and guide necessary adjustments.
Practice saying no. This one is a major savings hack. We sometimes make poor financial decisions because we are reluctant to say no to people and things. Think about that time you got added to a wedding/baby shower group of a friend of a friend or distant relative who you really don’t care much for and then had to spend more money than you could afford because you didn’t want to ruffle any feathers by saying no. Or that group holiday where the group activities you had no vested interest in were out of your budget but you paid for them anyway and had to scrimp on your real life afterwards.
Learning to say no can save you a lot of hassle, and money.
I’ve always believed that money is for spending and there are many other things that can help you manage your money and still live a happy and fulfilled life.
As always, it is important that you tailor these things to the vision you have for your own life, and not the life other people think you should have.
This week I read
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs. I can’t remember how I came across this book but I wish I had come across it sooner. I have a thing for books that are set in places I have been and that’s only one of the reasons I loved this book. The writing was honest, witty and funny and some of the stories were viscerally relatable. I think it can be tricky to do a book of short stories well but this one was so very well done with a clear central theme. I enjoyed the use of many Jamaican colloquialisms without the need for translation. As one who considers herself an island gyal at heart, this one was a delight to read.
This week I listened to
In my quest for financial knowledge, I came across a new podcast - Financial Feminist. The premise of the podcast is financial freedom as an act of feminism. It also helps that the host allows her personality to come through. I’ve only listened to a few episodes and I’m sure I’ll listen to more. I like this New Year episode on building financial wellness where she opened by reminding everyone listening that being financially savvy is a skill that can be learnt and not a personality trait to beat yourself up about. I like that she has a nuanced, honest and shame-free approach to money.
She is American-based though so some of the more technical aspects may not apply to me.
I found a British-Nigerian financial educator as well who has written some interesting-looking books on finance.
I’ve spent the past week thinking about how to avoid a sit down with poverty so I don’t really have much else to say.
Here’s wishing you a week of doing the things that are more likely to make money fall on you.
Chioma.