5 EASY Ways To Live Within Your Means While Earning 15-20K Salary

By Florence Mukunya,

There are two types of money spenders in this society, the one who spends with tomorrow in mind and the one who spend as if today was their last day.

Meet Catherine Kamau* a 26 years old receptionist at a law firm in Nairobi. She earns a salary of 18k a month and although at the beginning of her job, she felt the money was not enough for her numerous needs.  With time, she has learnt how to stretch what she earns to make ends meet.

“I plan for every single cent that gets into my account so as to avoid impulse buying. At times I find very cute shoes at Ngara on my way home but I just make a mental note on budgeting for a pair in the following month rather than giving into the pressure of buying the shoes right there and then,” Ms Kamau says.

On the other hand, Kevin Oumas’ story is different; He earns 20k and he feels that he must attend all the latest ‘gigs’ in town. He also owns the latest Techno phone and he has his eye on a certain tablet new in the market.

“I must keep up with the trends. I want the coolest gadgets in the market and I have to dress sharp. That’s why I keep buying these items.  Truthfully, I don’t have money left by the end of month. I am currently looking for ways on how I can live within my means because I was tempted to spend rent on a very nice pair of shoe I had seen at Sir Henry’s ,” Mr. Ouma says.

How do you live within your means with all the demands on dining in the high end restaurants or spotting the latest shoe in the market?

Speaking to Andrew Makhulo a Financial Advisor with MGK Consultants  he shared the following tips on how you can do just that.

1. Have a budget.
“Write down all your needs for the day and multiply that with the number of days in the month, then compare that with what you earn, that will tell you whether you are over budgeting or you are on the right track,” says Mr. Makhulo.

2. Cut down on expense.
“Once you have done your budgeting, you are able to see whether it exceeds what you are making in a month, if for example it goes overboard cut down on your spending to a minimum,” continues Mr. Makhulo.

3. Separate wants and needs.
You might still not achieve your desire even after cutting down on what you are spending.

“In such a case go back to your budget and separate the wants and needs so that you can first full fill you needs before working on the wants as you find that you can always postpone some wants to the following month,” Mr. Makhulo advices

4. Do not try to keep up with others
Sometimes people end up buying items because their friends have them or because they saw them with their favorite celebrity.

“Your friends or neighbors might wear nicer clothes, have the newest gadget, or take expensive vacations, but that doesn’t mean you have to do the same, the fact is every ones pay slip and financial plan is different,” Mr. Makhulo says.

5. Save money whenever possible.
“Whenever you are done with all the above and find that you have some money left don’t be tempted to use it without a plan, save the money and if possible don’t let the saving lie in the savings account for long, invest it , however small the investment may be,” Mr. Makhulo concludes.

Bottom line is, money can be a tricky issue if handled without a plan. It’s always wise to plan before you can spend and  in the end be able to live within your income.

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