You might have graduated from a university, polytechnic, or any higher institution of learning, or you are still trying to navigate your way in life as a young person and you are all confused about where to go or what to do next. 

I wish to advise you today that while trying to get yourself together, it will make a whole lot of sense if you understand how money works and how to get in control of your money. 

Follow me as I explain the basics of finance for you, which is your finance, so you don’t get all worked out. 

Breaking the Cycle

Do you have more expenses and less income? Then look again at your income and expenses. 

Let's sort out your financial affairs together. 

Knowing your financial affairs gives you peace of mind. If you know how much comes in and how much goes out, you also know where you can save.

In case you are not in the know how can you get an overview of your income and expenses and what can you do with this information? 

Ask those around you for help if you can't figure it out yourself. And help others with this if you have already done it well yourself. 

It helps to prevent money worries and to take action if something changes.

1. Add up your income

List your monthly income.

• Consider your inflow, benefits, or allowances.
• Also, consider arrangements for transfers or support.
• Are you receiving a provisional refund from the tax authorities? Then include that in your overview.

Adjust your allowances or request an allowance

The tax authorities' allowances depend, among other things, on your income and your living situation. 

If you feel like you have less inflow, then you can ask the tax authorities to increase your allowance. Are you not yet receiving an allowance?

Then request this. Check-in a few months to see if you need to adjust the allowance.

2. Add up your expenses

Look at your fixed costs and your daily expenses:

• Your fixed costs include, for example, your housing costs, energy, health insurance, and subscriptions. These are expenses that you cannot simply cut back on and that usually recur every month.
• Daily expenses include groceries, clothing, transportation, and gifts. See how much you spend on this every month.
• Also, take into account the tax you have to pay when you file a tax return.

A household book: paper or digital?

The advantage of a digital household budget is that you can automatically load your account information from your bank. You can also have transactions automatically classified. You can easily organize all your income and expenses.

This helps you get an overview. If you want to keep track of your daily expenses accurately, you can also use a paper household budget.

3. Subtract your expenses from your income

If you have enough money left over, this is an opportunity to save. This way you build up a buffer for unexpected situations and plans.

You can also save automatically, with an automatic transfer to your savings account. But if you're short on money, it's time to take action.

4. See if you can save on something

See if you can save money on fixed costs by, for instance, taking out cheaper subscriptions, such as your telephone subscription. 

You can also take out cheaper insurance.

For your daily expenses, look carefully at where the money goes. Are all expenses necessary, or can you save on some expenses?

Break In Time

The way you spend your money is influenced by both internal and external constituents, however, the caveat is this getting a hold of your money is more about you internalizing it. 

This is not a call to be miser but to be meticulous with your cash, so you build a sustainable future for yourself and the people around you. 

Taking responsibility for your finances is the best blessing package you can do for yourself. 

Give yourself to learn about money, wealth, and wealth-creation systems.

Having said all this don’t you think it will be a great time to follow me for your money sense and finance nugget? 

Follow me, Nseime Brownson