Road to financial freedom while earrning less
This week, I continue to explore with you the path to achieving success when you are a minimum-wage earner. Last week we highlighted four steps and we finish off this week with the remaining five steps.
One, don’t just aspire to drive unless you are triple sure of managing a car’s maintenance costs, especially if you will be driving a car with a name like a Mercedes. A car is a giant money suck. There should be no ifs, ands, or buts about it, if you’re working minimum wage, your car could be killing you financially. Ditch the car and get whatever cash you can from it. Then choose cheaper alternatives modes of transport.
Two, don’t be proud. Pride often keeps people from walking into a kaunjika shop. We live in show-off world that can sometimes rob us of finances when we could have made do with lesser costly clothes and gadgets and enjoy more less the same service. If you can’t afford, avoid.
Three, minimise your required commitments. If you are repaying debts, call the debtors and explain your situation and ask for postponement or paying lesser in a particular period. This won’t get rid of your debt, but it can minimise your requirements for the time being. If you have dependents on top of your own children, make sure the burden is not more than you can bear and suffer in silence—not easy to do in our extended family setting, but it can kill you. Don’t saddle yourself with burdens heavier than you can carry or you’ll do nothing, but collapse and have yourself to blame.
Four, consider going rural, if you can manage the relocation. It is far, far easier to make a living on minimum wage in a rural situation. There are many small towns where you can find a room to rent for K5 000 a month. Yes, these really exist. I see them fairly regularly when I get out in the more rural areas. So, if a job opportunity requiring your skills opens up in the rural areas, go for it.
The final but even more important tip, make stern commitment to succeed. Even after you have applied all the above four steps, including the ones highlighted last week, it still takes some serious commitment to make all of this work. You can get yourself in a position where you are not spending more than you make, but it takes commitment to stay there. Remind yourself every day that you’re not going to waste money and that you’re going to spend less than you earn this week—and this month—and this year. That’s the one way you can get ahead.
Have a blessed day as you attain financial peace of mind while earning less!
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