How I Learned to Save 33% of My Income

First off, it's incredible that you even clicked to read this advice. I promise to make it easy for you to understand and follow.

I wished I had known about this when I got my first job at 18. Back then, my only exposure and idea of money was what I had seen my parents doing for the past 18 years.

And although I know that they tried their best, there was still a lot they couldn't teach me about handling money.

History Repeats Itself If You Don't Learn From It

Early on, I had the same problems I saw them struggle with when I was a child. I couldn't wrap my head around how this could happen to me.

I was more educated, had a more stable income, and was even pursuing a degree in Accounting.

Financially, it was supposed to be different for me. But it wasn't.

I was beginning to repeat the same cycle spending all my money and barely reaching the next paycheck.

I owned more things, and every time I did overtime or scored a bonus, I knew what to spend it on.

The more money I made, the more things I would buy.

But one day, it hit me that even though I was doing "better," I wasn't.

I was still insecure about money. I worried about it a lot. And I didn't know how to manage it.

As a young 20-something-year-old, I got paid bi-weekly or monthly. It didn't matter when the next paycheck came; like clockwork, I would run out of money a few days before the next payday.

Every month, I counted down to when I would see my bank account filling up again.

Every month, I told myself I would save up what was left. Two years into my first job as an adult, I had about 50 dollars saved.

The money I made controlled my decisions and time. I was not in control of my finances. I continued living like this for years until I got tired of it.

My First Lesson In Finance

It all changed when I began educating myself about personal finance.

I first had to update my mindset and realized that some essential financial habits could change my experience.

Much of what I learned came from an ancient book, " The Richest Man in Babylon," which I have written about before.

My recovery journey started only after embracing these principles from the rich who lived hundreds of years ago.

So when this book told me I needed to save first, I didn't understand how that would be possible.

Today, I will only share the first principle with you.

In my experience, taking control of your finances happens after mastering one habit after the other. Until you can master this one, throwing anything else at you is unnecessary.

A portion of what I make is mine to keep. In my case, (Nothing less than 10%)

How I Started Saving

The book recommended saving 33% of everything I earned but starting at at least 10%.

At first, I couldn't wrap my head around how this would be possible. But I decided to delve in no matter what.

I started off saving 33% of what I made.

Before I paid rent, bought groceries, and took money out to go for dinner with my friends, I transferred 33% of my salary to a savings account.

That first month was challenging. I was desperate for payday, not two days before my next pay but two weeks before.

So I dipped into my savings and felt so guilty for it. But I was more mindful of what I took this money for. At the end of the first month, I had only managed to save about 10% of my salary that month.

It continued like this for the next few months.

But every month, the percentage that stayed in the savings was a little higher than the previous month.

Soon, I saved 12%, then 17%, and even 20%.

I also noticed that the money I kept for my daily expenses stayed the same, yet I could do more every month.

The one rule I had was that I could not allow myself to take out more than the 10% I was supposed to keep, no matter what.

After a year of this, I had managed to save a whole month and a half of my salary. Something that was unheard of all the years in my life.

I began feeling more at ease and wanted to see how much more I could push myself to keep.

My saving habits were beginning to cement themselves. And I was no longer spending every penny I earned.

A portion of what I earned every month was mine to keep.

Today, I can save the recommended 33% with ease.

Because of having this habit ingrained, I no longer need to spend a second thinking about it.

And I could pursue other skills like budgeting, investing, etc.

The challenge

I challenge you to master this habit first.

Try this method if you still need to build up your savings habit.

Decide how much you want to save; remember, it should be at least 10%.

Then, use the next few months to build up and cement the habit. Make sure that you are trying to save more than the 10% to allow you some space to dip into it.

I promise you that this is not traditionally what people would tell you to do, but giving myself some space to learn and some grace to falter along the way has been the only way I was able to build the discipline to save 33% of my income.