Money mistakes I made

Money mistakes I made

Okay, so for several months whenever it is a few days after I’ve received my salary, I would feel really, really sad [I don’t want to say “depressed”].

I would be in the ladies bathroom at work and think “I don’t know how I’ll get through this month” or “I don’t even have money for…”

It would then feel like a dark cloud is hanging over my head. I then start thinking about how else I can earn an extra income.

I’ve also had debt collectors call me for accounts I have paid too little on. I always pay my accounts, even if it’s very little. I think that’s been my mistake though. The less you pay, the more the interests become I realise.

ADVICE I RECEIVED
This week I read Vangile Makwakwa of the Wealthy Money‘s quote: Pay off the small debts first to increase the income and then you’ll have extra to pay the bigger accounts.

It reminded me of advice a pastor gave during a finance seminar: always try to pay more than your installment. If you can, pay an extra installment. That seminar was about buying property but the principals could be used for other debts too.

PAYING FOR MY MISTAKES
I made an arrangement to pay the lowest installment on my loan and after a year of paying the loan, I saw that there was no decrease. I started saving money in a separate account and paying less on retail debts because I wanted to pay off my loan first.

But the interests on all the debts just got more and more. I wish I had Vangile’s advice back then.

money mistakes debt melissajavan

CUTTING DOWN TO STAY AFLOAT
Other adjustments I made was to cut down costs on groceries and airtime. I had a budget every month and I felt like crying every month shortly after I got my salary. It had felt like I was living hand to mouth – not seeing any fruit of my labour.

Going through this, I read a lot on entrepreneurship and got messages of business owners on my social media timelines, saying “having multiple streams of income is key.”

THE MONEY SERIES
Anyway, I thought of starting a series on my blog called “money mistakes I’ve made”. This is where I and others share our mistakes made when it comes to money. It’s also a way to relate to each other. We all make mistakes mos.

Through this, we can hopefully learn from each other – whether it’s learning to save money or how to pay off debts.

This series will start on Monday.

Let me know in the comments what financial mistakes you’ve made or how you save money.

23 Comments

  1. Very brave to post money mistakes you have made Mel! But you are right, we all make mistakes. I think my biggest mistake is not sticking to the planned budget 🙄 I plan it but I don’t know why I don’t stick to it 🙈

  2. Very brave post Melissa. Looking forward to your series. I haven’t made any major mistakes thankfully but keep an expense log and tracking my monthly spend keeps me in check.
    Agreed that any extra payment on anything will help you teach your goal faster…For a long time we have been talking about acquiring a second property but then you think you also want to live and enjoy life. We finally just took the plunge, and made a few sacrifices in between, and we are still on track with our plan. Looking and relooking finances is a MUST. We need to re-evaluate our lifestyles in order to achieve our goals.

  3. I love this! A big money mistake I made was not making my money work for me early in life. Someone rich once said that poor people would never be rich because they were always working for money and not the other way round.
    Now I’m teaching my 10 YO the value in making your money while you sleep.

  4. Great post! Hats off to you for your bravery. We tend to tiptoe around money and the issues surrounding it, meanwhile there’s someone out there that could learn from our mistakes. Not sticking to a budget & impulse buying are definitely some of the mistakes I’ve made. I’m looking forward to this series.

  5. I literally cannot budget to save my life…but I’m in a position now where I am forced to account for every cent! Brave post, and something I think many of us struggle with.

  6. Talking about money is never easy, especially the mistakes we make with it. One of my biggest money mistakes was ignoring my debt.

  7. You are not alone! A lot of us have had this struggle! It came for us when I had to start staying home with the Littles! That advice you received IS one of the best pieces of advice we received too! Not only does paying off the little debts set you up for the big ones, it makes you feel accomplished! Like you’ve won an award! 🙂 Great advice, and kudos for passing it along!

  8. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, and also for just stopping by to read my blog post.

  9. I’ve been there too. Don’t get down on yourself! You are not alone in those mistakes. We paid off $55,000 in debt over 2.5 years. We followed Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. It was tough, but he has the best information out there! It’s simple common sense sort of stuff, but it works! Keep going! You can do it!

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