How to make your pocket money stretch
Sep 21, 2003
LIFE SKILLS<br><br>THE long vacation ended. Hearts are starting to skip a beat for some parents and students. It occurs to them that secondary life is finally over and it is the dawn of a new life as a first year student somewhere.
LIFE SKILLS
Lack of financial management has left many students broke and in debt even before the term or semester is two weeks old. But this does not have to be the case writes Patrick Ruharuza.
THE long vacation ended. Hearts are starting to skip a beat for some parents and students. It occurs to them that secondary life is finally over and it is the dawn of a new life as a first year student somewhere.
Most definitely there are those with more than enough resources to buy whatever crosses their eye, well, good for them.
My focus, however, is to the majority of students out there, who on the final day of their holiday will be given a few hundred thousands, probably from the sale of one relative’s beloved asset, and sent to live in a strange world where every one around them is pretending to be a millionaire.
Take heart, you don’t have to go out there and pretend as well. It is called self-deception. Here are some nuggets of wisdom for you:
An attitude of delayed gratification:
The time you will spend in a higher institution of learning is not your harvest time, it’s time to plant your most precious seeds in life.
Your ability to postpone pleasure for a few more years will remain a priceless memory during your years ahead.
You will soon learn that the largest part of your pocket money could be spent during the orientation week (first week at university). Don’t fall for it. There are better ways of knowing the place than attending every club and doing those unplanned shopping sprees at hall bazaars.
Make a simple budget: Budgeting is a wonderful habit among those intending to live a financially stress free life. Don’t allow your self to carry all your money in the pocket until it’s finished. Budgeting will give you the opportunity to assess your spending habits and also help you to avoid liability living.
While you are drawing your simple budget, try to stretch the money you have up to the time you know you will get more. “Ok, how in this broke world can I do that?†I hear you asking.
Remove every item you can live without from the list first. Go for the best deal. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.
There is someone out there selling what you need at exactly the price you can afford. Do a bit of bargaining as well. Buy cheap you and will never regret it.
Always try to keep some cash with you. Do whatever it takes, hide it under the belt, buy a piggy bank or whatever you will do but keep some little last resort cash somewhere.
Choices and consequences:
For every shilling you receive there are choices and options tagged to it, and for every choice there is always a corresponding consequence.
Money has got a natural ability to multiply regardless of how little it may be. This, however, is conditional to the choices that one makes.
Each shilling spent on a liability automatically produces a consequence called ‘poorer’ and the opposite is true for assets. I am sure that you want to be financially successful, but let me make this bold statement.
Your financial success is not necessarily a function of your academic success. Thomas Stanley in his book, The millionaire’s mind, states that in his research he found no correlation between financial success and academic success.
So as much as you are striving for academic success, build some strong money habits around you.
It’s not about how much money you have, but how much money you keep and how hard that money works for you.
The writer is a business entrepreneur and
motivational speaker
Lack of financial management has left many students broke and in debt even before the term or semester is two weeks old. But this does not have to be the case writes Patrick Ruharuza.
THE long vacation ended. Hearts are starting to skip a beat for some parents and students. It occurs to them that secondary life is finally over and it is the dawn of a new life as a first year student somewhere.
Most definitely there are those with more than enough resources to buy whatever crosses their eye, well, good for them.
My focus, however, is to the majority of students out there, who on the final day of their holiday will be given a few hundred thousands, probably from the sale of one relative’s beloved asset, and sent to live in a strange world where every one around them is pretending to be a millionaire.
Take heart, you don’t have to go out there and pretend as well. It is called self-deception. Here are some nuggets of wisdom for you:
An attitude of delayed gratification:
The time you will spend in a higher institution of learning is not your harvest time, it’s time to plant your most precious seeds in life.
Your ability to postpone pleasure for a few more years will remain a priceless memory during your years ahead.
You will soon learn that the largest part of your pocket money could be spent during the orientation week (first week at university). Don’t fall for it. There are better ways of knowing the place than attending every club and doing those unplanned shopping sprees at hall bazaars.
Make a simple budget: Budgeting is a wonderful habit among those intending to live a financially stress free life. Don’t allow your self to carry all your money in the pocket until it’s finished. Budgeting will give you the opportunity to assess your spending habits and also help you to avoid liability living.
While you are drawing your simple budget, try to stretch the money you have up to the time you know you will get more. “Ok, how in this broke world can I do that?†I hear you asking.
Remove every item you can live without from the list first. Go for the best deal. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.
There is someone out there selling what you need at exactly the price you can afford. Do a bit of bargaining as well. Buy cheap you and will never regret it.
Always try to keep some cash with you. Do whatever it takes, hide it under the belt, buy a piggy bank or whatever you will do but keep some little last resort cash somewhere.
Choices and consequences:
For every shilling you receive there are choices and options tagged to it, and for every choice there is always a corresponding consequence.
Money has got a natural ability to multiply regardless of how little it may be. This, however, is conditional to the choices that one makes.
Each shilling spent on a liability automatically produces a consequence called ‘poorer’ and the opposite is true for assets. I am sure that you want to be financially successful, but let me make this bold statement.
Your financial success is not necessarily a function of your academic success. Thomas Stanley in his book, The millionaire’s mind, states that in his research he found no correlation between financial success and academic success.
So as much as you are striving for academic success, build some strong money habits around you.
It’s not about how much money you have, but how much money you keep and how hard that money works for you.
The writer is a business entrepreneur and
motivational speaker