Independent Woman Rule 1: SAVE

As much as we’d all like to splurge and pamper ourselves every time that paycheck or allowance comes in, saving must always be a street smart fashionista’s first instinct.

The root of independence is always economic. You can’t call yourself an independent woman if you rely on your parents or your man for that precious shopping money, or worse, your bills.

So here are 5 tips on how to FORCE yourself to SAVE, regardless if you’re a student, an employee or a budding entrepreneur/freelancer.

1. Divide your spoils – once you receive your spending money, make sure that you immediately separate the amount needed for your bills – one envelope for your house/rent, another for your utilities, phone and internet line, another for your credit card and so on and so forth. Then keep them at home until that due date nears – or better yet, pay in advance.

2. Draw up a budget menu – add up all of your payables then estimate how much you spend on transportation, food and miscellany to get a rough budget for each month. This will remind you to spend within your means. Always factor in the fact that you should save at least 10% of your money (I personally aim for 50% which I actually am able to achieve J) then separate that “savings” allotment, put it in a bank or a secret box in your room. If you feel you have nothing left for savings, troubleshoot your budget menu and see where you can be thrifty. Remember, debt is uncool.

3. Open a bank account – Ever since graduating two years ago, I have opened two bank accounts. Besides being a regular employee, I am also a freelancer, so I had made it a rule to deposit all of my online earnings into my debit account (I used that for my Paypal account verification since I hate credit cards – they make you splurge!)and my writing gig earnings into my other account. Having a bank account helps you keep your hands off your savings, though it is still hard when it has an accompanying ATM card. My solution? Open another bank account and leave the card at home (or at your mother’s! – which I did). This way you have an account that is purely for saving and another one which you can rely on for those emergency needs/shopping urges.

4. Set a target or a prize – My main motivation is to be able to support my brother when he enters college next year – but that’s just for one of my bank accounts. For my other account, I’m saving up for a

DSLR camera. J Saving for a gift for myself pushes me to earn more and save more. These are of course, just short-term goals. Thinking about buying a house or a car would push (maybe pressure) you even more.

5. Invest – for those who have cash to spare, why not put your money into time-deposit accounts. Some banks and financial institutions offer accounts that would let you invest your money in stocks, foreign exchange, bonds, etc. for a minimum of five years. The interest is usually five times bigger compared to banks but you can’t withdraw your money that easily (you’ll have to pay fees if you withdraw it prematurely). And of course we’re talking about a relatively large amount of cash.