#MoneyMatters

Hey Guys & Dolls,

Welcome to my first published lifestyle post. ‘Lifestyle’ isn’t a field I thought I would be venturing into so soon especially because of my inconsistent attempts at beauty posts as aforestated. However, I like to go with the flow of how well things are received here at ‘The Black Mannequin’ and this particular subject seems propitious considering spring is here and we’re all in a spring cleaning kinda mood.

People, especially on social media, have seen bits of my closet or if you follow me on snapchat @BLACKMNQN, my entire closet and more than often, jump to conclusions about how extravagant I am with money and how frequent I go shopping and buy out the place.

I am going to break it down for y’all so it can forever and consistently be broke, I am not Carrie Bradshaw and I don’t go shopping as often as you think. I mean, I will make the occasional splurge if I’m celebrating or need a little pick me up, and even then there’s a method to my madness. I don’t buy anything I don’t see myself wearing for 5 years. My closet is busting right now because a lot of the clothes, which come in and out of seasons, I have been collecting since I was 18 and I haven’t put on weight since then.

Now that we have sorta established where my money doesn’t go, let me enlighten y’all and where it does go. My money laughs all the way to the bank and although I am no expert on the matter, I will be sharing some tips on how you can successfully make your money laugh all the way to the bank too.

1.  WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS

For example, I knew that I wanted to own keys. I want to be a homeowner. I want something that I can give to my future babies so I went to work and did my research on how much it was going to cost me on average and how I was going to get there. My first order of action was deciding not to move out and rent so yes, I am proud to tell y’all that I still live at home and oh yeah, I stay rocking a shiny blue oyster card.

I write my goals down because it is easier to break them down and decide on actionable steps. Seeing them on paper keeps me FOCUSED and consistent as I am able to track my progress, make adjustments if needed and resist the temptation to quit/spend unnecessarily.

2.  OPEN A MONTHLY SAVINGS ACCOUNT

I went with a monthly savings account at a bank I have never banked with for two reasons.

·      I had limited access to my funds (the account had no online banking access and no card access), meaning I couldn’t transfer it for withdrawals so I had to visit a branch to take money out

·      I hate the long queues and waits at banks, which made me never, wanna go in to make withdrawals

Don’t get me wrong, I have made less than five withdrawals since opening the account but I made sure that the funds were replaced straight after.

3.  MAKE A SPREADSHEET OF YOUR INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

I am rarely ever seen without pen and paper and that is because I am always thinking of my finances and reminders to balance the books. I have worked out a system that keeps me in check when it comes to my spending.

My system is easy. I made sure that all my bills (rent, phone bill, travel and essentials) come out as a standing order on the same day that I get paid so I know exactly what I can play with that month should I decide to do so.

***If you’d like tips on how to build an income/expenditure spreadsheet, let me know and I’ll write that post for you.

4.  PRIORITISE YOUR SAVINGS

Once I had decided on my goals, I decided on a reasonable amount of what I was going to save out of my wages. It is advised to save about a third of your wages but I decided I was going to save 48-52%, depending on my plans for the year and this also comes out as a standing order on pay day so you don’t play yourself. It seems like a large percentage but I have an account for my future house, one just for vacations and another for miscellaneous things like driving lessons. It helps prioritise your savings and stops you from dipping into the funds for your goals.

Furthermore, if you’re the type that always seems to spend a lot or maybe you want to buy something you haven’t budgeted for, consider taking up extra hours (as long as it doesn’t affect your work-life balance) to circumvent overspending and once again, dipping into the funds for your goals.

What do you think of my tips? Leave me a comment below. I am Destini Monet and you have been reading ‘The Black Mannequin’