Amid the ongoing economic challenges in the country, saving money has become increasingly difficult.
However, setting aside funds is not only wise but also essential for achieving financial stability.
In 2022, Ghana experienced a surge in inflation to 54 percent, which significantly affected the incomes, salaries, and livelihoods of many. Although inflationary pressures have somewhat eased in 2024, with the rate at 20.9% as of July, saving remains a struggle for many people.
Maximizing savings requires strategies to reduce expenses, optimize budgeting, and make informed financial choices. This involves steps such as smart investing, maintaining financial discipline, cutting back on non-essential spending, prioritizing debt repayment, and taking advantage of discounts.
When effectively applied, these methods can help individuals build a financial cushion and enhance their financial stability, even in the face of economic uncertainty.
GhanaWeb Business, in this article, provides a step-by-step guide that can help you develop a simple and realistic strategy for saving.
- Record your expenses
One of the first steps to saving money is to figure out how much you spend. It is essential to track all expenses incurred, including regular utility bills, household purchases, and more. Keeping a record of your expenses on paper, a notebook, or a tracker app can help track your daily or monthly expenses.
- Create a budget and include savings
Once you have enough information about how much expenses you incur within a month, you can begin to create a budget relative to your income. This can help you plan your spending and limit overspending.
It is important to factor in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as miscellaneous or unplanned spending like car maintenance etc. Once you have a fair idea of this, you can eventually plan to save an amount that feels comfortable to you.
You can also ramp up on your savings by setting aside about 15 to 20 percent of your income per month.
- Deliberately cut down on spending
To maximise your saving goals and consolidate gains made, it is vital to trim down non-essential spending. This could include activities that are not immediately important as you look for ways to save on fixed monthly expenses such as water and electricity bills, car insurance, entertainment, etc.
One major way of trimming down non-essential spending is to ‘Wait Before You Buy’ as you may realise that the item or activity was wanted rather than needed, giving you the space and time to plan towards it.
- Set realistic saving goals
One of the surest ways of saving is by setting realistic saving goals in the short to long term (one to three years). Setting these goals could help you estimate how much money, time, and how long you will need to save towards that goal or purchase.
- Outline your key financial priorities
Priorities they say differ for every individual as it is important to put things into perspective by order of priority and make the needed push for savings and investments towards that priority.
Finally, you could put money aside for the future, but be sure to remember long-term goals and planning are important to give you a clear idea of how to allocate your savings.