Congrats, after months of applying and interviewing you鈥檝e finally landed a job that pays you more than your rent. Unfortunately, it only pays just more than your rent. After groceries, a bus pass and your cell phone bill, it seems that there鈥檚 barely enough left for a weekly pint down at the pub, much less enough left to save.
Yet save some you must, if you ever want to buy a house, buy a car, go on vacation, or make sure you鈥檙e covered in case you ever lose your job
叠耻迟鈥辞飞?
Personal finance expert Rubina Ahmed-Haq says the key is to continue living the student lifestyle for the first few years of earning a salary.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize how much disposable income, even on a small amount like $30,000, you have,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause as you get older, life actually gets even tighter, with mortgage payments and children.鈥�
Still not convinced? Here are three categories of expenses where you can look to carve out savings:
1. Convenience fees
鈥淎nything that makes your life convenient you need to cut out,鈥� Ahmed-Haq says.
Take a taxi to work because you couldn鈥檛 bother to wake up 30 minutes earlier? Buy shampoo at the corner store because you didn鈥檛 want to bus all the way out to the discount store? Sorry, not anymore.
鈥淎ll these things are just fees,鈥� she says. "You鈥檙e paying to make things easier for yourself.鈥�
And you can鈥檛 afford the easy life 鈥� not yet.
2. Variable expenses
Pretty much everything besides your rent is a variable expense -- Internet, laundry, groceries, haircuts, alcohol, concerts, etc.,
Yes -- the Internet is technically a variable expense -- you could use it at the library, free.
These expenses tend to be out of control because of the prevalent cultural message of 鈥淚 always need to be entertained and I always need to have fun,鈥� Ahmed-Haq says.
If only the cultural message was 鈥淚 need to live in a hovel eating Kraft Dinner until I鈥檝e paid off my debt and built an emergency fund. Only then may I partake in happy hour!鈥�
Alas, it鈥檚 not, so let鈥檚 work with the times in which we live 鈥� try just to cut back a bit.
鈥淣o one is saying don鈥檛 ever go out for dinner,鈥� she says. Instead, if you know you鈥檙e going to dinner on Thursday, plan to eat in on Monday and Wednesday.
3. Impulse spending
Ahmed-Haq estimates that impulse spending can add up to about $4,000 a year. 鈥淚 think the point is that people don鈥檛 realize how much they spend,鈥� she says.
To avoid buying jeans because they鈥檙e marked down, just avoid the temptation. Take the long way to your destination instead of cutting through the mall. Don鈥檛 give yourself the opportunity to spend.
Once you鈥檝e cut back in these categories, remember to actually save the savings -- don鈥檛 save to spend. Aim to sock away 10 per cent of your after tax income in a high-interest savings account. And once it鈥檚 in there, Ahmed-Haq recommends a total hands-off strategy: 鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 use it unless life is really falling apart.鈥�
