MONEY
LIFE will be tough.
But the person or family who will make it through any time are usually good in managing money or finance.
The money tips I will share with you in this article come from the Bible, some from the best finance advisors around the world as well as from my own experiences.
It is my aim to help you save money this year and achieve your goals. Your goals may include paying for school fees or starting an SME (small-medium enterprise).
Here are 16 best tips on how to manage your money.
Tip 1. Save for an emergency fund
Put aside K100 or K50 each fortnight in a savings account, for your emergency fund.
If you save regularly for 10 fortnights, you will have K1,000 or K2,000 in your savings account, depending on the amount you save each time.
An emergency fund is to help you and your family in emergencies only. It is not for your friends or relatives, or a customary obligation. You can get sick, or your children or spouse can get sick. Be wise.
Proverbs 6:6-8 urges people to study the ant. She gathers food in the good times and stores that for the bad times. She does not look for credit money.
Tip 2. Save regularly for other purposes
You can also put aside another K100 each fortnight for other purposes. It may help with other obligations that we have in our culture. It may also help pay for school fees. Saving K100 a fortnight means you will have K2,600 in your savings account at the end of a year. Saving K200 fortnightly means you will have K5,200 after one year.
You do not need to ask for loans. If you want to start an SME, your savings will be your start-up capital. Mark Cuban says that many small businesses in America can be started with $500 or less. And, if you don’t have any plan to save money, just save anyway, so says Morgan Housel, the author of The Psychology of Money, the bestselling book.
Tip 3. Be ready to sweat
Do not be lazy. Be ready to sweat. Refer to Proverbs 6.6-8 again. The sluggard or lazy person needs to wake up and work.
The ant works. Even without a brain like human beings, she is wise. Do not waste your time talking and philosophising. If you don’t have a job, find ways to make money.
Villagers can grow crops and sell them. People in town can set up an SME. You can also ask people who have money if they need tasks to complete, whether it is cutting grass, making flower gardens or doings sales.
You will reap what you sow (Galatians 6.7). If you plant, you will harvest.
Tip 4. Work on paying your debts
Your will to better manage your money will not be practical if you have outstanding debts. You must sort your debts. Some advisors say that the first two things you have to do to better manage your money is first to create an emergency fund, and then start paying off your debts.
Some advisors say start paying off your small debts first. I think you should also talk to people who lent you a lot of money to allow you to pay off the debts in instalments. I am sure most will be happy to allow for that.
Do not ignore your creditors. Talk to them. Psalms 37.21 says that the “wicked borroweth and payeth not again …” Read Psalms 37 to get a few more other tips.
Tip 5. Live simply and save more
Always live within your means. Do not live like you are rich. Buy enough to support you and your family for the fortnight. Don’t spend K200 on food items when K100 is enough. Do not live like the Joneses. Live within your means and achieve more.
Tip 6. Stop expensive habits
Some of you smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and chew betel nut. These are not only expensive habits, they will also jeopardise your health. Stop such habits. Say no to them. You will save a lot of money if you stop such habits. If you smoke every day, you will be spending about K20 daily, or K280 in a fortnight. That is costly.
Gambling too is a bad habit. Stop it.
Tip 7. Go for a good price
This seems absurd, but it is practical. If you are paying K4 for a packet of sugar in shop A while shop B on the other side of the street charges only K3.50, then cross the street and get the item from shop B. It is likely that shop B will sell other items at lower prices than shop A. You may save K10 for making that small walk. In a year that may total up to K260.
Tip 8. Start a side hustle
If you want to hurry up your plan to save more in a year, you can start a side hustle.
Plan and then invest some money in it, like cooking food on weekends and selling them. Or, buying vegetables from the main market and reselling them near your home by putting a 50t on top of each item that you buy.
The extra money you make can go into your savings account. I must stress here though that when you first start to save, do not worry about a side hustle or second income stream. Just focus on saving K100 or K200 every fortnight.
Tip 9. Continue to learn about finance. Continue to learn more about how to manage your personal finance. Learn from online sources or from YouTube videos. Learn and apply principles that you learn. The newspapers also have sections that promote the subject. The National has the “Mind your money” page which is published every Wednesday. Read and learn.
The Bible has principles on managing finance as well, as described in Proverbs 6 and Psalms 37. There are principles in investment as well. I usually buy my books on finance when I travel to Australia, which include Housel’s book and Money – A story of humanity by David McWilliams.
Tip 10. Learn to say no
This is going to be tough for some of you. But, you must do it if you want to save more this year. Stop going around with people who waste time and waste money. That also means stop going around with your drinking friends. Better yet, stop drinking alcohol.
You have to learn to say no. Say no to bad habits, and say no to people who will not help you achieve your goals. In your times of happiness, your friends will be many. However, when your child is very sick or a parent needs urgent medical attention none of your “happy time friends” will help you. You ought to wake up. Say no.
Tip 11. Pay your tithe
If you attend a church, you should know this: You must pay your tithe. The tithe is one-tenth of what you earn. If you have a gross salary of K2,000, then K200 should be given to God in the form of tithes. Actually, you should give about K220. The K20 is your faith offering.
Tithing is taught in Malachi 3.10. The Jews do it and Christians should do the same as well.
Tip 12. Buy market items and save
I am not sure if you have noticed this. If you visit a market, you can buy smoked fish for K2 or K3 and that can be enough for a meal. If you buy a can of meat for K4, it will be for a meal only. However, if you buy two smoked fish for K2 each, you have protein for two meals.
A fresh coconut drink will cost K1 at the market; a can of soda in a shop is priced at K2.50 or more. Spend wisely.
Tip 13. Don’t eat everything now
This is another useful tip. You do not have to eat everything you buy today. You can eat part of that and save the other for tomorrow.
If you buy a packet of sausages, you don’t need to eat all of it tonight. If you are single and there are six in a packet, cook two tonight and two for tomorrow and so on. In that way, you have protein for three meals in one packet. Cook enough for tonight, and save the rest in the refrigerator for later.
Tip 14. Go shopping with cash
This is yet another useful tip. Use cash for all your daily purchase of food and snacks, as noted in a budget. For your fortnight shopping, go with a K100 or K200 and choose your items so that you spend that much money.
Just save, says Morgan Housel in his bestselling book.
People in traditional money cultures do that. The Japanese are good at that. Even if you have K1,000 or K500 in your bank card, do not use the card to make purchases. Use cash.
While you are picking items and dropping them into your trolley, make a mental calculation to see that you do not go above that K100 or K200 mark. Keep your total under that budgeted amount. If you are not good with mental arithmetic, bring a calculator to the shop and use it.
Take note of this: Some children can become an issue when they accompany their parents to a shop. They ask for all sorts of items and cause problems for their parents. Learn how to deal with that. Either leave the child at home or give him a K5 and tell him to go buy what he wants. He has K5 to spend and no more.
Tip 15. Give wisely
If you follow a good finance plan or budget you will have money left over. You can use that to help others.
I have lived and worked in PNG, Nauru and Fiji. I have also studied and spent time in a few Aussie cities.
Everywhere I go, I see people in need. Some need a meal to just keep them going. Help them with $2 or $5. When you help people meaningfully, the heavens will also favour you. But, help wisely. Do not just give money to anyone who asks you for it. Some may use it to buy alcohol or drugs.
Tip 16. Borrow for special cases
Borrowing money to purchase everything is not a good way to live. Mark Cuban says that only morons borrow money to start a business. He said many businesses can be started with $500 or less.
The Bible teaches that the borrower is a slave to the lender. This is stated in Proverbs 22.7. I am of the view that borrowing is good for special cases – as in buying a PMV bus or house.
Dave Ramsey says whenever the concept of borrowing is stated in the Bible, it is never painted as a positive concept. That is, borrowing money is not good.
Last words
And there you have it, the best 16 tips on managing money in 2026.
The important point is this: Save money to deal with emergencies and also to finance your other goals.
Stop bad habits, learn new habits and become a better manager this year.
You and your family will benefit from it. All the best.
Next article: The K7 ride with million-dollar views.