Save first, automatically, on the day you are paid. Saving whatever is left at the end of the month almost never works, because there is rarely anything left.
Part 01
The lesson
Give each pot a purpose and a name — emergencies, a specific goal, a known future cost. Purposeless savings tend to get spent.
Reflection
Questions to sit with
- 01Do you know exactly what you spent last month, or are you estimating?
- 02If your income stopped today, how long could your household continue?
- 03What are you actually building toward financially, and by when?
Put it into practice
Action points
- 01Track every expense for 30 days and categorise them at the end. Do not change your spending in week one — just observe.
- 02List every debt with its interest rate on a single page and choose a repayment order.