We all have those times where we have a lapse in proper judgement. Perhaps we just didn’t have the proper mindset at the time, when we held the salary in our hands. Maybe we got overexcited with the money we have clutched in our grip. That can be the reason why we decided it was totally okay to spend the money meant for bills on beer and expensive clothes.
Look, I get that we have to have some semblance of luxury, okay? We’re paid with money we earned from hard work, yes, of course we deserve a little bit of something from that. How about the important necessities that keep you living though? The bills, food, transport etc.? Even if you argue that you don’t have a family to pay for or look after, you still need to survive yourself.
My technique is following a strict budget. And yes, I AM a victim of my own doing sometimes so I know how most of you feel after spending a month’s worth of salary in one night. Just cut out a few zeroes from your left-over budget and set them aside. Appropriately label them so you don’t ever make the mistake of touching them when you shouldn’t be. They should look something like this:
- For HOUSING
- For FOOD
- For TRANSPORT
- For UTILITY BILLS
Make it a point to remember doing this every payday. You need to cut your money in a considerable amount. This is basic money management at most. For now since you barely have any money left, you can probably ask for the electricity company that you’ll pay next month, along with the bill for that month. Do the same for the other bills and pray that your next salary will be enough for all of them. I suggest taking a side-hustle so you can get an extra dollar or pound.
Now, as for the food thing. If you still have enough money left after you cut out the necessities, you’re going to have to do some caveman work. Use the money to buy cheap ingredients. Survive on the leftover groceries for now. Be creative in how you cook them for meals.
For example, for a filling dinner, get:
- 2 eggs
- 1 potato
- 1 slice of cheese
- A bit of salt
This is assuming you still have some left (that’ll hopefully last you for the entire month). This is fairly simple and delicious too. All you really need to do is cook the 2 eggs however you like, slice the potato and boil it and afterwards, you pile them on top of one another with the slice of cheese on top. Don’t forget the salt so the food will at least not taste bland. You can get through this. After this, you really have to step up your money management. Take from 12monthsloadbadcredit’s advice too.