Savings

Whether you’re relocating for studies or work, there’s no getting around the necessary relocation expenses involved. So what are the financial costs to expect when you move abroad? Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com   How can you prepare financially for a new life in your new country? Keep reading to find out six financial costs to expect when you move abroad.   1. Relocation Cost It would be best if you first considered the cost of moving yourself, your family, and your belongings to a new country. The cost of relocating is the first cost you must consider before getting to your new country and earning money. Your relocation cost will come majorly from the money you already have, your savings, and the money you put aside. Relocation costs are usually high because you must apply for visas, ship your luggage if you’re coming with family, and pay for your flight ticket. It also includes the cost of health checks. Some countries like Canada and the UK require you to carry out health checks like tuberculosis checks and Covid tests before relocating. You will need to pay wherever you are because your insurance will likely not cover these things. If you are moving to a country that requires a work visa or a work permit, you would have to factor in visa cost. However, you may be lucky to find a new employer that would cover those visa costs. If you are moving with your family, you should prepare for the cost of their visas. Some countries will require you to have a certain amount in your account to show that you will not be a burden to the government or system when you arrive in your new home. You will pay the visa fees to the embassy or authorities of the new country.   2. Cost of Living You need to research if you are moving to a more expensive country than the one you are in now and how much it will cost you to get accommodation in the new country. Cost of living includes utility bills and whether your employer would pay you monthly, quarterly, or annually. When you arrive in your new country, where will you live and how much will that cost you? It would help if you also found out what it would cost to rent a one, two, or three-bedroom apartment in different neighborhoods. You can get a flat share if you are a student or alone. For many people moving from Africa to places like the UK, US, or Canada, you will experience a higher cost of living. In addition, the currency exchange may not be favorable because the currency is higher in your new country.   3. Tax You need to be aware of the taxes in your new country before moving in. For example, you may be moving from a country where you pay just one central tax as an employee or a business owner. If your new country is a place like the UK, which is a land of taxes because they have income taxes, cooperation tax, VAT, MOT, and many others, you need to prepare yourself. And even though these taxes have values, they have their usage because you benefit from one or two things. For instance, you benefit from the council tax by getting your bins carried off and your neighborhood cleaned. Most taxes are value-adding but do not change the fact that you would pay from your income. Therefore, you must understand the tax system of your new country. Otherwise, you would create a budget without considering tax. When you eventually pay your tax, you will have less money than you initially thought. Find out what tax is, how much you would have after tax, and how frequently you need to pay different taxes. You cannot escape tax payment because you will owe the government, and not paying some taxes in the UK can send you to jail. So budget them into your income and plan accordingly.   4. Transport The cost of transportation is a big one in the UK. For example, if you get a job and must commute, you must get from your home to your office daily. Transport can quickly begin a big chunk of your expense in a country like the UK because you would have to get on trains, buy train tickets, and all that. Suppose you’re moving to a country where taking a train is not a thing; you will also consider the need to buy a car, fuel it, and get insurance. If you are coming in with a partner and your kids, you have to factor in the possibility that they have to go to school daily. So you would drop the kids off at school, bring them back, shop for groceries, and go to work.   5. Visa renewal For many people, you need to renew your visa beyond the first visa that gets you into the new country. Visa renewal is a cost you need to bear in mind because it can quickly become overwhelming if you do not plan for it. For instance, if a family of four needs to renew their visa, they will spend more. So even if your visa renewal is not due in another three years, plan for it because time flies quickly. The questions to ask yourself are: what kind of visa renewal do I need to d? When do I need to do it, how much will it cost me, and what are the requirements? How can I meet up, so I do not have to return to my old country?   6. Black tax You will likely experience the black tax if you are black or African. The black tax is the cost of supporting and helping your relatives back home. This cost applies if you’re moving from Africa to any western country and have left people at home. You will bear in mind that

Being good at money management is something anyone can learn and master, and it all boils down to having good money habits. However, struggling to achieve financial freedom may be because there are some mistakes you are making with money. These mistakes will keep you from saving and growing wealth. Here are five common mistakes you are making with money and how to correct them:   1. Failing To Budget You may think budgeting means you should suffer and that I am asking you to live a suffer-head life. That’s not true! I am simply asking you to have a plan for your money. A budgeting plan for how you will spend your money. So why are you still failing to budget? There are apps to help you budget, and you can also get my budget and saving book on amazon. You can use a notebook also; divide the pages into two, the left side for your budget and the right side to track your expenses. Now you have no excuse for not budgeting.   2. No Emergency Fund Another mistake you are making with money is that you have not put aside any money for emergencies. I get a lot of questions about how much should be set aside for emergencies. The answer is that you should save at least 20% of your income monthly until you have built an emergency fund. An emergency fund should cover at least 6 months of your living expenses. Your emergency fund is how much you need to survive for at least 6 months. Running into emergencies without an emergency fund would have you running helter-skelter, taking loans, going after payday loans, debts, breaking investments, and all sorts of unhealthy desperate measures. Without emergency funds, saving won’t be easy, but once you have them, you will enjoy peace of mind. If you are struggling to build an emergency fund because you don’t have money, you should read this post when I talked about how you can save when you don’t have money.   3. No Debt Repayment Strategy You are paying off your debt based on who is chasing you the most. You look at which debtor is stressful, or you are simply paying a little bit on everything. It won’t work that way. It would be best if you had a strategy. You need to know if you are paying the most minor first or going from the most expensive to the least costly. So you must have a debt repayment strategy and stop haphazardly paying your debt.   4. Not Lowering Debt Many people pay off their debt as it is. But it would help if you reached out to your lender to discuss lowering your debt costs. The conversation should be like, “look, I really want to pay this off, but I am struggling, and I would need you to lower the cost of my debt.” You’ll be amazed at how much relief you will get. So, please do not assume you can keep paying it off without lowering the debt. Not reducing your debt makes it impossible to pay it off completely. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com You would likely keep paying just the interest on the debt every month while the main principle is still there.   5. Not Consolidating Debt You need to put all your debt together in one place. Many people have their debts scattered in many areas and may forget that others exist. As a result, they may fail to make payments or even get intimidated by the number of debts hanging around. So what you need to do is to consolidate your debt into the cheapest platform or basket that you can. That means combining all your debts which might mean taking on new debt with a lower cost and using it to pay off all the other debts with higher costs. Then you are left with the new debt, which will cost you less. If you’re struggling to save and pay off debt during inflation, watch my tips and hacks on surviving the cost of living crisis here. Till next time. Love. Ronke

The current inflation situation has put a strain on our finances in recent years. Adding unnecessary purchases to this strain should be the last thing on our agenda this year. There are things we need to avoid buying this year in order to save more, invest more and enjoy financial freedom. These unnecessary purchases are sometimes made at the expense of our health, the well-being of the environment, or both. Here is a list of ten things you should avoid buying this year.   Take away/take out If you find yourself ordering Chinese every weekend, you may want to stop. Buying takeaway food is okay once in a while when you are tired and do not feel like cooking. However, ordering takeout every week is a no-no. Ordering take away of about £20, £30, or £40 four times a week would amount to about £150. Investing £150 in bonds, ETFs, or your child’s college fund would be more profitable. Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com   Bottled Water There is no excuse for buying bottled water. Instead, buy yourself a nice fancy bottle as a one-expense and fill it with water each time you need to go out. If the tap water in your home is not drinkable, buy a filter. You can attach a filter to your tap or your dispensable fridge. Another option is to get stand-alone water dispensers that come with filters. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Duplicates Avoid buying duplicates of beauty products, makeup, and toiletries this year. You don’t have to stock-pile tissue paper. We are not expecting a pandemic, so why are you stock-piling dishwasher tablets, washing machine powder, face wash, and face cream? It is advisable to buy one or two pieces of items you need for the month instead of buying duplicates. Purchasing a lot of items as duplicates could lead to wastage. Instead of tying down your money with duplicates, you can save or invest the money. Photo by Vie Studio on Pexels.com   Unregulated Investments Stop investing in companies that are not regulated. Run away from “come and join us and get 20% in 30 days” companies. Take unregulated investments off your list this year. Instead, invest in Exchange Traded funds, government bonds, real estate, and stocks. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com   Fast Fashion I used to shop at Shein before until I realized that their products would often fall apart, and the next year, you go back again. You might think it is just a little money, but you do not need it. Repeatedly shopping for these fast fashion products makes your room full of garbage. Your Shein winter coat is most likely not keeping you warm right now, so why buy it? Instead, invest in good durable pieces. If you need two or three pairs of jeans, go for good quality ones instead of ten inferior pairs. Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com   Costume Jewelry Designer costume jewelry is a total waste of time. You can get one or two 21, 24, or 28-carat gold that has a resell value instead of buying twenty pieces of costume jewelry. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com   Parking Ticket If you have a car, stay away from speeding tickets and parking tickets this year. Do not speed to the point where you get a speeding ticket; stay within the speed limit. Before parking, check that you can park there and pay for parking if required. Buy enough time if you know you will be there for a long period of time, and also display it properly. Stop dashing the council money by violating parking rules. Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels.com   Greeting Cards There is no point in spending money on greeting cards that will end up in the bin. We are in an electronic age where payments, purchases, meetings, and transactions are being made online. So, explore electronic greeting cards like Firacard this year. You can send a Firacard to someone dear to you on special occasions. There are free and paid options on Firacard.  Photo by George Dolgikh on Pexels.com   Cheap Appliances There is no need for cheap appliances. It is penny-wise, pound-foolish because it will fall apart after a short time, and you will purchase another one that will get spoilt again. It is better to buy a high-quality appliance that will serve you and give you a positive experience. I used to purchase small regular blenders until I discovered high-quality blenders. The same applies to microwaves, food processors, and other appliances. You don’t know how bad your cheap appliance is until you get a good quality one. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com   Kitchen Appliances That You Will Not Use Avoid buying kitchen appliances that you do not need. Why buy a bread maker when you have no baking desires? If you know that your only reason for owning a kitchen appliance is because you watched an interesting cooking show that excited you, don’t do it. Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.com   Till next time. With love, Ronke O.

There are some lies from the fashion industry that they have been pushing in a bid to put their hands in our pockets and get us to spend more. They tell those lies through social media, TV, magazines, and the media. Once you know these lies, you can walk away from them and control how you spend money on fashion and beauty products. What are these lies from the fashion industry?   Lie 1: Expensive Is Better Quality I have also fallen for this lie before because, in an ideal world, you would expect that an item costs more because it costs more to produce. The fashion industry has perpetuated this lie and used it to its benefit. A lot of brands sell expensive products that have very low-quality materials. You can find a costly jacket with 90% polyester and 10% wool. Checking what makes up the product you want to buy helps to determine if it is worth the money you are paying for it. Before making an expensive purchase, ask yourself: What is the quality of the fabric that makes up the dress you are trying to buy? What are the ingredients of the beauty product you are trying to buy?   Lie 2: Brand Name Is a Guarantee of Quality The fact that you are wearing or buying a Balenciaga t-shirt does not mean it will last longer than an M&S brand. Most times, what they are selling to you is a brand name. They feed into your need to belong and look rich when you are not rich by selling that Balenciaga t-shirt or Gucci belt, which are not necessarily better quality. Photo by 三 点sky on Pexels.com   Lie 3: When Something is Hyped, it is Better I blame fashion influencers for selling us this lie because they get paid to hype these products. Sometimes, some products get good publicity, so everybody starts using and buying them. You may automatically think such products are better. Then you jump on the bandwagon for fear of missing out, forgetting that the fact that something is being hyped and in vogue does not make it better or necessary.   Lie 4: If It Fits You, Buy More Of It There’s this particular pair of trousers from Zara that comes in about 20 colors. You may want to buy more of that trousers in different colors. It was designed to make you look good because of its perfect fitting, and many fashion stylists are going for it in different colors. The fashion industry is lying to you that you need multiple clothing items in different colors because it fits you. Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com   Lie 5: You Need More Clothes There are people who, once you see their wardrobes, can easily conclude that is where all their money is going. Sis, you do not need more clothes! You do not need all those blazers in different colors, especially when you don’t go out often. Before you know it, these clothes are out of season, especially for those living in places with different seasons. You wear the summer pieces for two months, move on to the autumn pieces, and keep buying more clothes for different seasons. Photo by Antonio Sokic on Pexels.com   Lie 6: You Need To Be on Trend The fashion industry tells you this is a new trend; you don’t need to wear straight jeans anymore, skinny denim is the new fashion, and so on. The best way to stay on top of this lie is to buy classics like white tees, blue pairs of jeans, good leather shoes, and bags. Wear things that have nothing to do with trends. Your classics never go out of fashion. Show up daily looking good in high-quality pieces, and stop shopping till you drop. You can buy one or two trendy pieces in a season, but constantly being on trend and ensuring all your outfits are in vogue is a way to get you to spend more. Also, you may spend more often if you have the black girl luxury aesthetics. Keeping up with those aesthetics and not feeling left out would impact your finances. Walk away from that life. Some brands sell affordable clothes that enable you to be in trend, but after spending so much money on them, your wardrobe becomes full. You keep buying them because they are cheap. In the end, there is nothing left to save and invest. Don’t fall for this lie anymore. Photo by Godisable Jacob on Pexels.com   Lie 7: You Need To Wear New Clothes The fashion industry makes you feel like you need to buy new clothes. They make it look like repeating clothes is a terrible thing. So for every event you have, you feel compelled to buy new clothes, bags, and shoes. This concept of not repeating clothes is a lie that the fashion industry tells to keep you buying and consuming. Ignore that lie; clothes are to be worn repeatedly. While growing up, if you do not wear your clothes more than once or twice, we believe you probably borrowed them. Funny as it sounds, it was a common belief back then. So repeating your clothes is a sign that they are yours. Repeat them, and style them differently. Don’t be someone that has a full wardrobe and an empty pocket. Break away from this habit. Photo by Godisable Jacob on Pexels.com   Lie 8: You Need To Wear Designer Pieces There’s this lie that wearing designer wears is a sign that you are rich, comfortable, and you love yourself. A designer product does not always mean quality. You don’t have to wear expensive pieces to look good. It is not a measure of whether you are doing well. The sign that you are doing well is when your pension is in place, your investments are doing well, and you have an emergency fund. You cannot have all the expensive pieces in your

Whether you accept the reality or not, recession is looming and you need these recession-proof saving tips to help you get ready! A lot of countries are already feeling the pinch of an economic meltdown. Tim Simons, a money market economist speculated that 2023 will likely see a “classic recession.” The World Bank has also predicted that per capita income will increase with just 1.2% this year and in 2024, which is such a tepid pace that poverty rates could rise. Additionally, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Georgieva stated that “For most of the world economy, this is going to be a tough year, tougher than the year we leave behind.” She attributed this looming recession to the fact that “the three big economies — U.S., EU, China — are all slowing down simultaneously.” So, now is the time to recession-proof your finances. Here are some recession-proof easy saving tips and hacks to help you get started.   Meal Prep One way to save effectively during this recession is to meal prep your food and bring your food. Meal prepping will require preparing the food you will eat beforehand; cook a little bit more than you need, put them in bowls, and refrigerate. Instead of cooking what you can finish at once, cook more and store the remaining. Plan your meals for the week before cooking and prepping them. Also, you can make varieties of food and store them in different bowls. One benefit of meal prepping is that it reduces waste and allows you to maximize your purchases. Bulk cooking helps you to make use of all your purchased food items. Photo by Ella Olsson on Pexels.com   So, if you have bought some vegetables or minced meat, you can use them all at once instead of forgetting them somewhere in the fridge. A lot of us have resumed working from the office, and we would need to have lunch at work. Meal prep helps us take our lunch to work and reduce eating out.   Cook More Like meal prep, cooking more means less takeaway, less eating out, and fewer restaurant trips. You neither have to be a good cook nor should you know how to cook twenty different delicacies. As long as you can cook two varieties of lunch, dinner, and breakfast meals, you will always be able to cook for yourself. Find something you love eating a lot and learn how to eat it. If you love rice, couscous, or pasta, learn how to cook them. If you love salads, learn how to put together two or three different kinds of salad. Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Pexels.com   DIY Hair and Nails During the Covid19 pandemic, we did a lot of DIY for our hair and nails. Now that the lockdown is over, we have started visiting the salons and spending exorbitantly on them. You can use Youtube and TikTok to find out how to do your hair, fix your nails, and do a pedicure. A great way to save money during this recession is to DIY. You can buy nail polishes and paint your nail without having to queue up at a nail parlor. You can also get stick-on nails and watch tutorials on how to wear them properly to last over a week. Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com   Get A Library Card If you are a bibliophile, this tip is for you. Get a library card so that you can supplement the books you are buying. So, instead of buying five books, you can buy one book to own and borrow the other four. The same applies to study materials, don’t be so quick to buy books. Get a library card and get the books there. If you cannot get the book from your local or school library, you can visit another library with more books. They can allow you to take home to read, make copies of the pages you want, or stay in to read. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com   Change Grocery Stores If you have not discovered the magic of stores like Aldi, Asda, lidl, and other stores that cost a bit less, you will keep spending more on groceries. Instead of shopping at High-end stores like Sainsbury and Waitrose for everything, try other stores where you can get cheaper versions without compromising quality. There’s no award for strictly shopping in Waitrose. So for items like cleaning liquid, toilet tissue, and kitchen tissue, visit Aldi and other affordable stores. Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.com   Stop Investing in Beauty Products When it comes to makeup, buy only what you need. One of the lies the beauty industry has sold us is that we need more products. No! You don’t need twenty palettes of eye shadow, four concealers, or five bottles of hair conditioners and shampoos. Stop investing in beauty products; instead, save that money. Photo by Anderson Guerra on Pexels.com   Work More, Bike More, Drive Less The cost of fueling a car is currently high, and a great way to cut the cost of fuel is to walk and bike more. Don’t be too quick to jump into your car for that two minutes journey. Put on a winter coat, gloves, and scarves, and go for that walk. If you have a bicycle, get on it. Taking walks and biking helps you to save money on fuel. You can also carpool if you have friends going in your direction. Combining your journeys also helps to save fuel. So, if you are going to a particular part of town, do everything you need to do in that area at once. Photo by zhang kaiyv on Pexels.com   Thrift Another recession-proof saving tip is to visit charity shops to pick up things. You can get games, art, children’s toys, clothing, and books from charity stores. If you want to buy a board game, you do not have to go into Amazon. Some people

You have recently graduated from your carefree 20s into your responsible 30s. You are likely thinking more about relationships, careers, buying a home, starting a family, and money management. This new phase can be both exciting and challenging. So it is important to know some money mistakes to avoid during this period. In order to achieve financial freedom and enjoy your retirement years, here are six money mistakes you can make in your 30s and how to avoid them.   Mistake 1: Missed Credit Payment One money mistake you need to avoid in your 30s is having credit cards that you plan to pay off but are still missing the payment. It is a bad money habit to miss the payment of a loan you are supposed to pay off because the principal is not chasing you. You need to set up a direct debit for all your debt payments. If you are more flexible, set up a reminder on your phone to make those payments. No matter how little, start making regular payments towards that debt. Missing credit card payment impacts your credit score and could be a blot on your credit history for the next 5 to 6 years. On this journey to financial freedom, your credit has to be clean and missing payments will not help you.   Mistake 2: Not Checking Your Credit Score. Not knowing where you stand with credit agencies is a money mistake you need to avoid in your 30s. Why wait till you need a mortgage before checking your credit sc? You need to be on top of your credit score and be aware of what your credit report is saying. Also, you should know if there are things on your credit report and history impacting your ability to get credit. Always check your credit history to see if there are errors that need correction. Additionally, if there are cards that you have paid off but are not reflecting on your report, make sure it reflects. Apps like the Clearscore app can help you keep on top of your credit score. Once you download it and enter your details, it will show you your score and update you monthly on how well you are doing with your credit. Mistake 3: Using Store Cards Using store cards to make a purchase is one mistake I hope you will not make this year. When you enter the store, they offer you a card and a 10% discount on your next purchase. The rationale behind store cards is to make it easier to spend more since you are not pulling out of your pocket directly. Don’t fall for this trick. It is not beneficial because it is still a credit purchase, and you will pay back the 10%. If you are still spending store credit cards to make purchases in stores, pay them off and cancel them now. Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com   Mistake 4: Shopping For Groceries Without A List I have videos on my Youtube channel that can equip you with tricks, tips, and hacks to help you shop for groceries like a pro. One such hack is shopping with a shopping list. Going to the store without a shopping list is a money mistake you should avoid this year. A shopping list helps you to buy everything you need and prevents you from buying things you do not need. You will also spend less money and avoid buying extras when you shop with a list. I have a budget and saving book on Amazon with a comprehensive shopping list session and amazing feedback. So, if you have been making the money habit of branching into Walmart, Ebeano, or Tesco without a shopping list, you should stop. Mistake 5: Getting A Car Loan From Auto Dealers I also have a couple of videos on my Youtube channel where I shared how to buy and pay for car purchases. Taking a loan to buy your car from a car dealer is a money mistake to avoid this year. The best place to get a loan for your car purchase is from your bank. So if you need to take a loan to buy your car, talk to your bank and arrange your loan before getting to the car dealer. Doing a loan with the car dear is a third-party loan, and the interest is rarely good. Car dealerships and servicing by Elizabeth Scott is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0   Mistake 6: Not Budgeting When your income comes in, it is limited resources and cannot be all, buy all, or do all. Budgeting your income allows you to prioritize the things that you need to prioritize. It allows you to put your bills first, debt second, and savings and investing third before spending. You can budget with an app, my budgeting and saving book, pen and book, an excel sheet, or any tool that works for you. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com   I hope you avoid these 6 money mistakes as you embark on the journey to 40. Till next time. Love, Ronke O.