How to live within your means

Be content with what you have
Have you ever wondered why some people prefer to live modest lifestyles? Rather than have a car of their own, they use public means of transport, recycle their wardrobe or take their children to average tuition paying schools. The reason could be that the person settled for such a lifestyle as a way of cutting unnecessary expenditure.

For instance, Mary Achola, 30, who earns Shs500,000 a month says many times visitors ask her why she does not own a television set.
“Having a television set would increase my expenses and yet I am not earning that much. Buying it would mean an increase in the electricity bill and having to pay a monthly subscription fee for the digital satellite channels,” Achola says.
For this reason, Achola remains content without a television at her apartment.

Know when and where to do your shopping
Once you have made a budget, identify the affordable places to go shopping. If you are planning on buying groceries such as tomatoes and onions, opt for an open market where there is an opportunity to bargain rather than a supermarket which has fixed prices.
Similarly, some people prefer to do their shopping at certain times when the goods are reasonably priced.
For example, every Sunday, there is an open market downtown in Kampala where a number of traders display their commodities for customers.

Surprisingly, the prices of the different items are often affordable. One can find a great pair of high heels for as little as Shs10,000 or even jeans at Shs5,000. For those with a budget, ensure to grab such opportunities.

Stick to your budget
Whenever you come up with a budget, stick to it. For instance, if you are planning on spending
Shs30,000 on groceries, resist the temptation to spend more money when you are out shopping.
Sticking to your budget limits incidents of overspending on unnecessary items. As you draw your budget, also ensure to put some money aside for emergencies.

Limit borrowing
It is funny how some people acquire loans to cater for their extravagant lifestyles. It happens all the time. Ever heard of stories of individuals applying for loans to buy cars just because they were ashamed of other people seeing them walking.
Then there are those who will borrow money from others to cater for their luxurious habits such as drinking and shopping. If you do not want to fall into financial ruin, desist from borrowing and getting loans when there is no need for it.
Do so only if you must, to cater for an emergency.

Keep away from bad company
There is an old adage that says, ‘birds of a feather flock together’. In other words, your close friends influence your habits.
If they are the showy type who love to flaunt their possessions, the same bug will bite you. And before you know it, you will be tempted to do all sorts of things to keep up appearances.
A former receptionist who preferred not to reveal her identity says her morals were corrupted a few years ago when she started keeping bad company. She used to hang out with a group of extravagant middle-aged women.

“I was earning Shs300,000 at the time. Despite my low income of which they were all aware, they would make me pay for the drinks every weekend we went out,” she says, adding, “ One time, I was even forced to spend all my salary during one Saturday outing and I was left broke.”
After realising that the women were not adding any value to her, she left the group. She advises women to keep away from bad company, especially when one’s earnings are low in comparison.