Want to avoid going broke before month end? Here is how

I know that feeling. It’s barely 15 days into a new month and you are stack broke already. From 20th to 23rd, you are busy calling friends for short loans. On the 25th, you have a fresh bale of debt to service in the adjoining month.

Through this phase, you feel terrible and worked up that you begin to transfer the resultant aggression to those around you -your colleagues, families and friends.

The most frustrating thing is that this happens nearly every month. It’s  fast becoming a routine and you want to break out from this yoke.

Sometimes, consciously, you take out time diligently to review your spending(s) and, perhaps, to discover how much you spent on frivolities. You speak to yourself in silence and vow never to fall victim again. But the deed is done, you are broke, alone and humbled by the unfortunate circumstance.

In this post, you will learn tips to overcome this recurring financial challenge.

The norm:

Maybe, the most you have heard on this subject is to cultivate the habit of saving for a rainy day.

Beyond this, you are wondering what else you can do to stay aloft? You are covered. In this broke remedy series (BRS), here are five simple rules to help you win the war. This post dwells on the first trick.

The Train Passing Rule:

I know you are wondering what this means. It’s simple. Imagine a train approaching. What you will notice is that people unconsciously focus their attention on the coming train. They are either ensuring they are safe where they are standing, or watching it closely as it passes.

How can this help you financially? Take the train as your income or cash available at a given point. Since expenses are bound to catch up with it, you only need to set a benchmark which you guard jealously. Like the train passing, once you eat into the benchmark; you cease spending on frivolities. And, then, concentrate on meeting only emergencies.

Here, you need to understand how to differentiate between necessities and luxuries. Like this, you will have cash to roll over into the adjoining month, and in the long run observe that the possibilities of not going broke is attainable.

In practice, Dele earns 150k monthly, for instance. He is married and has kids to be responsible for. He equally has siblings, friends and parents who depend on him for livelihood. In mathematics, he needs roughly 100k every month to take care of utility bills (payment for electricity, water, gas etc.) and also to clear cash demands outside his nuclear family.

The 50k balance goes into other needs while the month lasts. Most times, people dedicate this to fulfil a type of need classifiable under Esteem Needs.

Unlike Physiological Needs (such as food, shelter and clothing) that must be met to keep surviving, Esteem Needs (for pleasure, status, self-confidence) which attempt to erode your income can be denied as much as possible.

While you don’t need to completely deny yourself of some luxuries, adopting the Train Passing Rule can safe you. You simply set a limit which must not be passed. If 30k works for you, it means once your 50k hits 30k to remain 20k as balance, you stop cashing out and will only give in to emergencies when they arise.

The problem I have observed is human’s unconscious spending, and the inherent general tendencies of falling prey to growing money baits. Instead of going broke and calling out to friends, you can save yourself this embarrassment with this Train Passing Rule.

In the long run, you will discover you are not only winning the war against going broke but in addition saving a reasonable portion of your income. Double win for you!

In the adjoining part, we will examine another tips. To the rule which you must not forget: once your train is passing, halt your spending. I hope this was useful?