5 tips on how I saved money for the first time - A Smart Money Woman
- Phyian Karinge
- Jun 16, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 8, 2021

I saved up.
For the first time in 23 years...I saved up.
This is huge...at least for me.
On my journey towards personal development, I have grown to recognize the power of what we feed ourselves; mentally, physically and spiritually.
As I began to feed my mind, I indulged in an assorted diet ; Self- help, Finance literature, Poetry, Fiction and Spiritual literature.
Slowly, I could feel the subtle shifts and improvements in my speech, writing, and above all in my habits.
One such a habit was saving towards investment, and as we celebrate the phenomenal Arese Ugwu, on the launch of her Netflix show, I'd like to highlight just one of the many ways her work has impacted lives....I mean look at me?
Previously with poor financial habits, zero discipline and non-chalance towards any form of budgeting.
Now a Smart Money Woman.
Asante Arese, as we say in Swahili, now allow me to share 5 tips from the smart money woman- that propelled my saving ;
Have saving and investment goals
Break them down into - Long term & Short term ;
Long term financial goals
They could be as simple as a website blog, a pig farm or Exchange Traded Fund's ( We will get a deep dive into ETF's, stay tuned) or as elaborate as real estate investment and retirement funds.
Both are valid and valuble long-term saving and investment goals depending on your income.
They are aimed at growing your money, remember; the discipline towards the small eventually generates the big.

2. Short term financial goals
The fun part!
Your Birthday trip, that graduation party or those beautiful pink unistar curtains you've been eyeing can finally come to you in discipline and pride.
Here you can save as little as 10 dollars or 1000KES a month!
Ideally, your long term savings should be 20% of your income while your short term should be 10%.

Before you close this tab, thinking about your minimum wage and the impossibility of that;
Chill, the goal here is to create a habit, and a habit made easy is a habit made successful, a tip I learnt from Atomic habits.
Depending on your income you can use the 10%- 20% rule of thumb and split that into half for both long term and short term savings.
Start with 5% for each as I did, then as your discipline and satisfaction grows, work your way up.

Optimize your Accounts
If you must take away anything from this post, let it be this.
As fate would have it, God blessed me with an incredibly spendy hand and for months I would try to save, only to eat into my savings.
Guilt was not a strong enough emotion to induce a change in habit.
Only when I read the smart money woman did I make changes to support my goal towards better financial habits
Arese says ''Optimise your accounts by automating your investments, setting up direct debits and having separate accounts for different goals. Most people fail when it comes to their savings because they have global savings and put all their savings in one account, regardless of whether they are for short-term or longterm goals'"
Not long after I read the book did I use my work lunch-break to sit with my bank and set up automated transfers.
When my salary or any other income hits my account my savings are deducted automatically and transferred to a savings account or preferably a money markets account ( I will dive into this, stay tuned)
That way I pay myself first whether I like it or not.

Theafter you can 'Treat Yourself' as you'd like within the budget of what is left.
You Dont Need More Money
I know, I know...
All this long term savings and short-term savings feels like a 'rich people' feat.
Sadly, the reality is your stewardship of 100 USD will reflect upon your stewardship of 100,000 USD.
That's it.
Forgive yourself for past money mistakes
'Awareness is the greatest agent of change' - A quote from Eckhart tolle, author of The New Earth
You must acknowledge your terrible financial habits for what they are, forgive yourself for your past financial mistakes and let it go to move forward,
Be conscious of how you speak of yourself in your forgiveness journey eg;
You are not terrible with money - You are learning new financial habits.

Set Money dates for honest performance reviews
My least favorite.
One of the things that made the smart money woman series such a huge success was her use of relatively relatable characters and stories.
One of the characters, Zuri, is open about her exhaustion around keeping track of her expenses and the fomo of cutting back on things she was previously drawn to reflexively buying.
Set those dates, look at what you splurge on that you are willing to cut back and do it.
Yes, it does require a little time and effort to get into the habit of doing it but it always pays off in the end.

Concluding cliches ;
A step at a time
There is no destination, so technically you are never really late.
Gratitude, gratitude....find some joys in the journey.
Till next time!
Nice stuff Phy.
Simply amazing. Soon or later, i will come back and jot down how this article helped me save. Remember: The discpline towards the small eventually generates the big.