Constantly broke before payday? Here are three things you should be doing.

Do you find that on some months your salary just doesn’t stretch far enough? Or are you constantly calculating how many days are left before the next payday because you’ve blown through the last month’s pay? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then these money saving tips just might be the help you need.

Stop making unplanned purchases.

While it might seem insignificant at the moment, those ‘little’ 500 naira purchases here and there add up overtime and contribute to you being broke at the end of the month. Whenever you are tempted to make an unplanned purchase, our advice is to wait three days. This wait period will help you decide whether or not you NEED what you want to buy. If after three days you still feel the item is a necessity, then go ahead with the purchase.

Plan your meals until payday

Remember how our mom’s always responded to our request to eat at a restaurant with ‘there is food at home’, this should be your approach to food. Generally, food is one thing that eats into many personal budgets (no pun intended). Check your expenditure for the month, how much are you spending weekly on take-out meals? These numbers add up and can contribute to you exhausting your salary before the month runs out. Consider making home cooked meals, this will help you will save more money and allow you eat healthy too.

Set a daily limit

It’s important to have a budget as well as a daily spending limit. Creating a budget allows you determine how much you have to spend for the month after putting money aside in your savings. Once you’ve done this, think about how much you can comfortably spend each day to cover your needs for the period leading up to payday. This includes daily transportation, feeding etc. After deciding what your daily limit is, ensure you stick to it.