25 Jul 2024
Due to its poor-performing economy, with a GDP of N18.28 trillion (GDP Report Q1 2024, National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria) and a GDP Per Capita income of $6.7K (GDP Per Capita, Current Prices, IMF), several Nigerians live and work abroad, and Ireland is one of their top choices. They earn a living and send money to Nigeria from Ireland to support their families financially back home.
You can find sustainable jobs in several developed countries, including Ireland.
But is it sufficient to find a job in Ireland and keep working as long as possible?
What if, one fine morning, you realize that your services are no longer required?
Or what if you find yourself in an ailment restricting you from working?
Remember that you are not the only one. Your family financially depends on you entirely!
Pretty scary, huh!!!
Wait. Don’t worry.
You are in the right place because you will learn how to save money if you have to navigate through the scary scenarios stated above.
Even though the economy of Ireland is strong enough, with a nominal GDP of $533.14 billion and a GDP Per Capita income of $103,983.3, you must not lose sight of emergency scenarios in your life.
Yes. You are right that sustainable and prospective jobs are plenty in countries like Ireland.
But do you have the guarantee that whatever your job is, it will continue for a long time?
No. You don’t.
Furthermore, do emergencies knock before coming? They don’t either.
Imagine having an emergency requiring your financial attention, but you do not have money.
Should such a scenario be expatiated upon?
You better wish it didn’t!
Therefore, you must save money while you earn abroad and send money online to Nigeria from Ireland.
The first easy tip for saving money as a migrant in Ireland is to start recording your expenses daily.
It is easier said than done because you normally think it is odd to remember and record what you spend and on whom.
But it is the first baby step to saving money.
Don’t worry about ‘how’.
Well, simply because you can either record your expenses in a register manually or in mobile apps designed for the purpose.
What use is the expense-recording practice if you do not go back to check the record?
See, imagine you are recording your expenses but never visit the records to check what was spent, on whom, when, and why.
What purpose does it serve?
Nothing except that you are only recording expenses for the sake of recording.
Therefore, you will witness the results only when you visit the recorded expenses.
The next tip is to cut your expenses as much as you can and wherever you can.
And you know what!
This practice is so easy and helpful that once you start it, you will make it a habit.
Oh, don’t worry.
It is only through visiting your recorded expenses that you can do it easily because when you visit your financial records daily, you get to realise that your expense no. 3 (for example) was unnecessary.
This will help you save unexpectedly high sums of money.
Sending money online back to Nigeria is a regular activity and incurs costs. Right?
Therefore, you must find a service provider that charges a low fee and offers you live and market-competitive currency exchange rates in not only a few transactions but in your every money transfer from Ireland to Nigeria.
The benefit of this is that you will be able to save the extra money that you might otherwise have to pay as fees.
Goals can be categorized broadly as the following:
· Realistic goals
· Unrealistic goals
· Short-term goals
· Long-term goals
When it comes to setting saving goals, make sure to set realistic savings goals that are both short-term and long-term.
Short-term goals will help you march toward long-term goals because meeting one short-term goal will encourage you to look further.
Do you know why most people fail to manage savings?
It is simply because they overlook this simple and easy-to-follow rule.
You usually save from the amount you are left with after spending money.
Right?
But there are better ways to save money.
This time, when you tend to save money, experiment with the following.
Imagine an amount you wish to save from your next salary.
Come on, salary, remove the amount you thought you would save.
Then spend from the remainder.
It might appear tough in the beginning. But get used to it and then enjoy the benefits.
Make sure to create a budget and live on it.
A budget is based on your current income and expenses, not on what you might expect your income to be in the near or distant future.
Remember that living on a budget is critically essential otherwise, your budget created with the best budgeting techniques would be futile.
Make sure to determine your financial priorities the right way.
Never randomly attend to routine financial needs. For example, paying utilities is a routine matter, right?
But what if a financial emergency takes precedence over utilities someday?
Therefore, be prepared and prioritize correctly.
Another essential tip to save money is to create an emergency fund.
But is such a fund useful if you do not contribute to it?
Well, the answer seems clear and straight.
Therefore, the more important thing after you create one such fund is to contribute to it regularly.
When it comes to paying back the debts and loans you have sought, you tend to pay the small amounts first and the bigger amounts later.
This is antithetical to savings.
Why, you wonder?
When you defer the payment of larger amounts, you continue paying interest on top of the principal amount you have yet to pay back.
So, always pay the more significant amounts first and small loans later.
Certain online money transfer service providers, such as ACE Money Transfer, help you save significant amounts when you make online money transfers from Ireland to Nigeria.
ACE Money Transfer offers live and market-competitive currency exchange rates, speed and safety, and a low fee.
The live and competitive exchange rates can compensate you for whatever amount you pay as fees.
But did you know that the firm charges you a fee, which is only a tiny percentage of the amount being processed, only when your amount reaches a certain level the firm has set?
You can easily enjoy fee-free transfers back home if your amount remains below that threshold.
Does it not help you save your hard-earned money?
You should save money as a Nigerian migrant because your job will not likely continue forever. You can face an emergency and no longer work, retire, or be terminated. What would you do if you faced any of these issues? Therefore, you should save money for rainy days brought on by such circumstances.
When you do not save money, many things can happen. The first is the debt trap: You borrow money to keep life going. The other scenarios include failing to make ends meet. Lastly, you become financially dependent on others around you.
You should record your expenses, keep visiting the recorded costs and choose a remittance transfer service provider that offers cost-effective services, create a budget and live on it. You can also slash your costs where you can, set realistic financial goals, follow the save first and spend later rule, build an emergency fund and contribute to it regularly, and pay back debts wisely.
When you create a budget, you help keep track of your income and expenses in real-time and in the present. It prevents you from overspending. A budget also serves as a barrier to spending on things you want and least need, and so on.
ACE Money Transfer helps you with your efforts to save money as a Nigerian migrant working in Ireland by charging a low fee and offering you live and market-competitive currency exchange rates, which can compensate you for the meager amount you pay as fees.
