I know this question sounds ridiculous, I've been working for the past one year, my monthly salary is 150,000 making it 1.8m PA.

the funny thing is I really don't have any savings, am not the fashion type neither do I womanize, so that's not where the bulk of my money goes. Am currently in a relationship but she doesn't demand so that's also not the cause.

I tried putting aside a certain percentage but that didn't work, the thing is at the end of the month I write down all I've spent my cash on, I can't seem to find the one I would've done away with or the one I'll say was a waste.

Am also the youngest, so no responsibility for me..

Any ideas please, no insults

Thanks

Calculate your compulsory and recurrent expenditure monthly, deduct it from your earnings and keep 30% of the remaining for upkeep and flenjo.

Open a separate savings account and deposit the remaining in it. Request from your account officer to lock the account from withdrawal. Make it strictly a deposit only and block access to it too for the space of a year.

If you can do it successfully for a year, the act of savings will be formed in you.


Good luck

Ha! E gba mi!! See question o!!! Go blow am on top weed nah, so you can have everlasting highness. Mtcheeeewwww.........

Guy, my advice to u is, once u receive the 150k, withdraw 110k while u transfer d remainin 40k to another acct. Make it a part of u to always save 40k every month come rain, come shine...

Best thing to do is to start assumin frm 2day that ur real salary is 110k and not 150k, so that u will always know that no matter wat u will spend durin d month, it will not exceed 110k

Btw, u re really lucky o, u re d last, no responsibility, ur gal doesn't demand, u aren't married yet and u still spend much like dis, guy pls reduce it becos trust me, u will need dis money real soon, so start saving up!!

And if there is stil vacancy in that job, mail me pls, cos am an unemployed graduate....basonic2010@yahoo.com

Best of lucks bro.

If you have cooperative in your company, you can join them, give a percentage of your salary there.

Or you can send it to me for shopping

I promise I will let you know what I spent with the cash every month

Wow thanks guys

Are you living alone? Meaning do you pay rent?

ledafaze: Are you living alone? Meaning do you pay rent?

I don't pay rent, just light bills 4k max, fuel 4k, cooking gas 3k, just little stuffs like that
Recharge cards 13k max, (this fluctuates, it used to be higher than this, but on the average let's say 5k)

Use an excel sheet, write down your income and monthly expenditure, you will be suprised that the small 1k and 2k there adds up to.
Open the second sheet and write down your daily expenditure.

Writing it down brings you down to reality, then you know how you really spend and you can look for what to cut back on.

Also, open a savings account put 40 or 50 in it and don't collect ATM card for that one.

Its good you are identifying this now. Best wishes

It is wrong for people to consume their salaries first before they save what's left of it. I made that mistake even tho I knew where my income was going.

The right way to do it is to save first and then consume what's left of it. This way you will prioritise you needs and stike out the items you want but don't need.

This should be possible, atleast you ain't married yet.

Good luck.

My dear brother, it is good you start identifying this now.
As far as im concerned, you need to save upo to 10% of your income, just operate standing order service with your bank, tell them to be paying 10% of any money that entered into that account to another account you opened purposely for savings. It takes self control, discipline and determination. You really need it o, because by the time you will have to settle down maritally, your lifestyle and consumption pattern is definitely going to change, so, its better to form habit of saving now.


I will like to recommend the book................. "the richest man in babylon". It is a very good book that will help teach you how to save. It's worth reading. It will definitely change your spending habit.
Note: if you are not determined, i tell you, even, if you earn 1m per month, it will still be the same case/story.
May God help you.

therealMcCain:

I don't pay rent, just light bills 4k max, fuel 4k, cooking gas 3k, just little stuffs like that
Recharge cards 13k max, (this fluctuates, it used to be higher than this, but on the average let's say 5k)

If I may ask... 13k for recharge cards is too much... U wan do wedding? I spend like N3k max.. but you need to start saving...

Logic,
Have two different account numbers... One will have an ATM card while for the other, cut the ATM into pieces....

Move at least N50k into that other account monthly...

Good thing you are finding solution to this problem now. If you can't save anything oit of #150,000 monthly, then when you start earning #300,000 you wont be able to save anything because you are already used to that wastage and extravagant habit.
Open another saving account were you wont collect ATM card.Have the account blocked from withdrawal and as soon as you collect your salary, transfer #50,000 or more to the account . You should be able to use the remaining for your basic needs and still keep a large sum for miscalleneous expenses.

At the end of the year, your saving account should be fattened with at least #600,000k and you will still live a comfortable life.

Goodluck.

thanks for the advice,

I currently have a two savings account in two different banks and with no atm or internet banking. just that when i put funds there somehow, i end up using it. its not that i dont save but i always go back there to withdraw and whenever i look at the big picture in terms of my PA. I feel bad considering the amount that has flowed through my hands and what i have to show for savings.

As for reading books, you'll be amazed the number of books i have read. Richest man in Babylon, acres of diamond, rich dad series(more 6 of his books), secret of getting rich, school of money and how to become a millionaire by Emmanuel Olumide, millionaire next door, millionaire mind, the wealthy barber, micheal lebeouf books etc not that am discouraged but i'll keep reading

thanks i've learnt alot

^^^ Tell your account officer to make one of them a deposit only account. You should keep your savings in the deposit only account. Desperate challenge requires desperate measure... You can go as far as telling him to lock it and put a red flag on it in case of any withdrawal even from you.

When you start dropping money in the account, forget that you have an account with money except when you have to deposit. Speak with the account officer, he will help you.

I wish you well in the path to financial prudence and discipline..

therealMcCain: thanks for the advice,

I currently have a two savings account in two different banks and with no atm or internet banking. just that when i put funds there somehow, i end up using it. its not that i dont save but i always go back there to withdraw and whenever i look at the big picture in terms of my PA. I feel bad considering the amount that has flowed through my hands and what i have to show for savings.

As for reading books, you'll be amazed the number of books i have read. Richest man in Babylon, acres of diamond, rich dad series(more 6 of his books), secret of getting rich, school of money and how to become a millionaire by Emmanuel Olumide, millionaire next door, millionaire mind, the wealthy barber, micheal lebeouf books etc not that am discouraged but i'll keep reading

thanks i've learnt alot

As u don't have major expenses u can save up to 80k in a month.
Yep,its very possible.
I have a family and I squeeze out half of my salary every month for saving. Hubby does that too. Most offices have coperatives, start saving with them if ur office has any.
Unless u don't hv a bigger picture in front of u.
U also need to overhaul ur friends.very vital.

Another way is for u to embark on one major project. Something like paying monthly for land in one of these new estates springing up.

bros no vex ooo...

av u considered d spiritual side...

do u pray and do u pay ur tithes?

when d spiritual is involved it doesnt mata how much u earn.. it all evaporates into thin air...

ma broda in as much as u av bin given some very cogent advise i believe u shuld really pray abt it..

kokoro aje ni run no b better thing.

Ma one cent

temi4fash: bros no vex ooo...

av u considered d spiritual side...

do u pray and do u pay ur tithes?

when d spiritual is involved it doesnt mata how much u earn.. it all evaporates into thin air...

ma broda in as much as u av bin given some very cogent advise i believe u shuld really pray abt it..

kokoro aje ni run no b better thing.

Ma one cent

Spiritual angle is well covered, if its abt tithing, sowing seeds or giving generally, I don't slack in that area. Thanks

Compliments of the season to the house

It's 2015, just want to say few things I have learnt since I opened this this thread

1. I found out its a lot easier to save when you have a project at hand, I'm currently paying for a piece of land

Once salary hits my account, I transfer a particular amount for the land project, it's kinda of easy cos I know I have no option than to pay & also there is this urge for me to pay it off completely, so I don't entertain no excuses

2. I have cut back on my recharge expenses, got a better voice plan & also reduced my calls to folks, particularly those that don't reciprocate

3.I have found out that when you don't have funds in ur account, you can't give out money
Neither will you be under pressure to do so

So no matter the emergency, there is nothing you can do

I said the above because, when you have funds somewhere & someone comes to ask for funds, you might be tempted or pressurized to go take from that place, but when there is none to take from

Your ability to say NO becomes easy

So after paying for my land, the next money that leaves my account goes to a savings account(SRDA-savings recurrent deposit acc) with sterling bank, I fixed it for a year, you can pay in buy cant withdraw till maturity

So I want to thank all that gave me counsel. Gracias (bellong degurl greatgod2012 vivianc Ab025 )

More counsel is highly welcome

Kudos to all the beautiful people who have added their advices and suggestions to the subject of discuss.

I'm happy the OP confirmed he's learnt certain vital lessons based on your answers alone. That's a big one.

OP, I can add only little. And it's not going to be too radically different from others.

You should save nothing less than 20K every month. And ensure this is lodged in some account where it will be difficult to withdraw.

Simply take care of your NEEDS with the balance of 130K. Keep a track of your daily spending for a month. That will give you some hint on where you spend most of your cash.

Now this is my opinion...Having observed your real needs per month don't cost up to 20k and I allow you access to another 30k for other needs...
Since you have bought a plot of land...

1)Plan to develop it hence you have a roof over your head in the next five years assuming your salary remains constant..

2)Note that With no project in sight, savings becomes boring and frustrating...

3)Write post dated cheques for the whole year and drop with a reputable insurance company of choice...for a policy of say two years after which you commence building immediately on maturity...

4)You can take this insurance policy as collateral to borrow from same insurance company as you're saving with them...Use this loan to purchase more plots of land whose value will appreciate by tomorrow...

5)Make sure you have used from same money you spared for your expenses before investing others to sort out such logistics as building plans etc...

6)On maturity, apply your money to building immediately... You will be glad you're your own landlord...

7)Remember, you borrowed to buy extra plots...Which means you have to continue savings to pay up because you have no free cash otherwise your lenders would uproot you ...And so the cycle continues thus...

You wanna save for marriage?...use same method...I don't save with banks because I am always tempted to go withdraw it to solve "unlimited needs"...Insurance companies have been my saviour sometime now...

You can also open different policies with them including education, death, marriage etc...

But if you have friends with viable ideas whom you trust...you can invest in such too...but for me, i would prefer you face your property development and other landed investments...thanks and good pm...

Whynotthetruth:
Now this is my opinion...Having observed your real needs per month don't cost up to 20k and I allow you access to another 30k for other needs...
Since you have bought a plot of land...

1)Plan to develop it hence you have a roof over your head in the next five years assuming your salary remains constant..

2)Note that With no project in sight, savings becomes boring and frustrating...

3)Write post dated cheques for the whole year and drop with a reputable insurance company of choice...for a policy of say two years after which you commence building immediately on maturity...

4)You can take this insurance policy as collateral to borrow from same insurance company as you're saving with them...Use this loan to purchase more plots of land whose value will appreciate by tomorrow...

5)Make sure you have used from same money you spared for your expenses before investing others to sort out such logistics as building plans etc...

6)On maturity, apply your money to building immediately... You will be glad you're your own landlord...

7)Remember, you borrowed to buy extra plots...Which means you have to continue savings to pay up because you have no free cash otherwise your lenders would uproot you ...And so the cycle continues thus...

You wanna save for marriage?...use same method...I don't save with banks because I am always tempted to go withdraw it to solve "unlimited needs"...Insurance companies have been my saviour sometime now...

You can also open different policies with them including education, death, marriage etc...

But if you have friends with viable ideas whom you trust...you can invest in such too...but for me, i would prefer you face your property development and other landed investments...thanks and good pm...

God bless you, bo!

dearpreye:

God bless you, bo!

Same to you Sir... thanks

Thanks all
dearpreye
Whynotthetruth
MizMyColi

@whynotthetruth, pls how does the insurance stuff work?

firstly is it safe, if the company should go down what will happens to my fund?

what's the interest rate like, my SDRA account with sterling is 7% PA

I will read more about it, but insights from you will be appreciated.

therealMCcain,

Since 2013, have you been able to save something?

bellong:
therealMCcain,

Since 2013, have you been able to save something?

Well I won't lie to you, i actually sat up mid 2014.

there is a line on my earlier post that's misleading, where I said after paying for the land, I set aside an amount for my SDRA account

What I was actually trying to say was after making deductions for the land, I put aside something also in my SDRA

to answer your question, I haven't saved cos everything is being poured into the land acquisition, the cost is 2M & I still have some months to go

I had to cancel the SDRA & channel everything to the acquisition

^^^ The land you are paying for is a capital asset. It is not too bad. You just need to be more resolute with financial decisions.

therealMcCain:
Thanks all
dearpreye
Whynotthetruth
MizMyColi

@whynotthetruth, pls how does the insurance stuff work?

firstly is it safe, if the company should go down what will happens to my fund?

what's the interest rate like, my SDRA account with sterling is 7% PA

I will read more about it, but insights from you will be appreciated.

I am not an insurance broker or working in an insurance firm so I don't have all the details you may need...but if you're in Lagos and interested I can link you up with the lady that does mine(account officer)...she's with Aiico insurance...

Your fund is safe as it is with a topmost bank...They were restructured and recapitalized with banks sometime ago...

My 2year policy was 13%...you're meant to pay monthly, or quarterly or yearly depending on your choice...

They have several choice policies...They will explain better to you if you're interested...

Why not mail me...so that I will link you to the Lady...she serves me real well...

unfortunately vivianc is gone. But her word of advice lived on.

Whynotthetruth:
Now this is my opinion...Having observed your real needs per month don't cost up to 20k and I allow you access to another 30k for other needs...
Since you have bought a plot of land...

1)Plan to develop it hence you have a roof over your head in the next five years assuming your salary remains constant..

2)Note that With no project in sight, savings becomes boring and frustrating...

3)Write post dated cheques for the whole year and drop with a reputable insurance company of choice...for a policy of say two years after which you commence building immediately on maturity...

4)You can take this insurance policy as collateral to borrow from same insurance company as you're saving with them...Use this loan to purchase more plots of land whose value will appreciate by tomorrow...

5)Make sure you have used from same money you spared for your expenses before investing others to sort out such logistics as building plans etc...

6)On maturity, apply your money to building immediately... You will be glad you're your own landlord...

7)Remember, you borrowed to buy extra plots...Which means you have to continue savings to pay up because you have no free cash otherwise your lenders would uproot you ...And so the cycle continues thus...

You wanna save for marriage?...use same method...I don't save with banks because I am always tempted to go withdraw it to solve "unlimited needs"...Insurance companies have been my saviour sometime now...

You can also open different policies with them including education, death, marriage etc...

But if you have friends with viable ideas whom you trust...you can invest in such too...but for me, i would prefer you face your property development and other landed investments...thanks and good pm...

pls bro, I will like to know about this saving with insurance company. Is it better than saving with banks and their numerous offers? And finally, how do one start? Thanks