In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have had to cut their employees’ salaries as a solution to survive. This may be a problem for you because when payday arrives, your income is no longer as big as it used to be while expenses remain at the same nominal. Therefore, here are some tricks that you can apply before payday arrives so that your finances can be well organized.
Start with a Priority Scale
You can do this first trick by keeping a record of expenses. Enter all the expenses that you spent a few months earlier, then categorize which expenses you regularly spend every month and which don’t.
Then, do the categorization again, this time by categorizing primary expenses, secondary expenses, and tertiary expenses. These primary expenses are vital needs that must be met, such as food, electricity, water and internet. This secondary expenditure refers to needs that are important but can be postponed or can be replaced with other items, such as clothing.
While this tertiary expenditure refers to items or things that are completely unimportant and not a vital necessity. Items that if removed will have no impact on your life. With these categories, you will see the priority scale of your needs. During the salary deduction period, cut expenses for the tertiary category and other expenses that you don’t use or consume regularly.
Debt and Installments Become a Top Priority
If you still have loans or installments to pay off, then put this at the top of the priority list. Make sure you pay off your installment obligations after payday before spending your needs. In other words, your monthly budget is the amount of your salary minus the installment amount.
Don’t delay paying your installments. The sooner it is paid off the better and it can lighten your burden in the following months. During this redemption period, you can reduce expenses even for primary needs. Remember, it is not abolished, but the amount of expenditure is suppressed. For example, if you usually eat meat, you can replace it with a simple menu like tempeh or tofu.