How to Save Money Fast with The M-Shwari 52 Week Challenge this year 2019
1. Set up automatic payments for bills
Utility bills constitute a major share of Kenyans’ monthly expenses. From electricity bills, water bills to Netflix subscription; they consume a lot of our budget. Add to this the woe, where people at times forget to pay a bill on its due date and end up accruing additional expenses in the form of late surcharges.
A suggestion from a friend, set up automatic payments for bills on M-PESA’s Bill Manager service to pay the monthly bills.
The service allows customers to set monthly and weekly reminders so that they don’t miss out on the due dates and avoid late payment surcharges.
Furthermore, through the M-PESA, customers can also access a past history of the paid bills that allow them to cut down on the consumption of utility services and allocate more towards savings.
2. Review your existing savings account
Having a savings account is a shrewd strategy towards building one’s savings reserve. But, this doesn’t mean all options are equal – savings accounts vary in their offerings.
For example, a bank may offer a higher interest rate in comparison to other banks but may charge extra fees in processing or transactional operations.
Therefore, we should evaluate all the offerings of a savings account before making a decision.
A suggestion from a friend, M-Shwari account offers market competitive interest rate of 7% p.a and does not charge anything to customers in ledger fees for cash deposits and withdrawals.
3. Changing spending habits into saving habits
In order to contribute more towards a savings account, a thorough review of the spending habits is necessary and stop paying for convenience. It’s becoming the Kenyan way to pay for convenience. People are willing to pay KSh250 for a cup of coffee in the morning rather than brew an entire pot of coffee at home for less than KSh100.
A suggestion from a friend, taking a little extra time out of your day to make your own food, brew your own coffee or clean and repair things around the house can fatten up your M-Shwari account quickly.
4. Shop with a budget and save money
With the recent boom in the retailing sector, we now ha ave plethora of retailing outlets to access, dispersed and concentrated all across the country.
Shopping malls, online stores, and local kiosks stock branded and local commodities at affordable prices.
A suggestion from a friend, shop for generic products especially when they are buying basic commodities like toiletries and food items.
Buy only when there is a need rather than shopping for the sake of updating social status. And, make sure to avoid carrying an ATM or a credit card while going out for shopping.
Rather, use cash to make the purchases as it helps to curb reckless spending habits.
And Finally,
Changing spending habits takes time and can be difficult, but everyone can use help in learning how to save money fast. By analyzing how you spend your money, creating a budget and actually sticking to it, you can start saving a little bit of money here and there.
Channeling all these added savings towards a creative savings plan such as the #52WeekChallenge. The M-Shwari 52WeekChallenge program divides the primary savings goal into smaller goals that can be accomplished easily. Simply start by savings on M-Shwari KSh50 in the first week and then gradually increase your savings by Ksh50 a every week for the rest of year as outline in the schedule below which makes the 52-week challenge a little less challenging
Source:calculator.co.ke
