Anyone can experience difficult times, such as losing a job, getting illness or accident. Having emergency funds is certainly important. However, there is another precaution, namely making the right budget plan that can help you get through difficult times. Especially if the difficult times you experience cause you to temporarily lose some or all of your main source of income.
How to be Ready for a Financial Emergency Apart from Having Emergency Funds: What Budget Plan Do You Need?
In difficult times, it is very important to be able to control spending very well. This can be started by making a budget plan only for basic needs. This budget is more popularly known as a bare bones budget. The needs in question are the needs for you to survive and fulfill ongoing financial obligations.
Therefore, the budget that needs to be prepared will not include entertainment, eating out at restaurants, buying new clothes, holidays, and various other wants that usually exist under normal circumstances. After going through difficult times, budgeting can return to normal.
It is important to remember that creating a bare bones budget is only a temporary solution (reference: How To Money). When the situation returns to normal, you can allocate money again for your financial goals and wants.
Simple and Easy Ways to Create a Bare Bones Budget
Just by following these simple steps you can create a budget plan that can help you get through difficult times.
1. Make a list of monthly expenses as complete as possible
To find out which expenses can be cut, you must first know what exactly do you use your money for in a month?
Make a list and note down as much as you can remember, especially if you make transactions using cash more often. Transactions using a debit card, QRIS or other online payment methods can actually make it easier for you to make a list. This is because the transaction history can be seen clearly.
2. Decide which expenses are the most important among all expenses
Of all the expenses that are already on the list, mark only the important ones. Anything not marked important should be temporarily removed from the budget.
What are some examples of expenses that are essential to get through difficult times? Daily meals (but not snacks, indulgences and the like), transportation, as well as financial obligations such as paying monthly bills such as electricity, water and internet (if possible, you can look for ways to save to lower the bills), insurance and debt installments. Make sure that important financial obligations are still met to avoid future consequences.
3. Use an application that can help you budget more easily
After the two steps above, the important step to take is to actually apply it. Managing finances by having multiple accounts that can be monitored in one application will become much easier. By having multiple accounts, you can allocate or separate budgets for each main need so that budgets don't get mixed up.
Always Ahead in Budgeting According to Sharia in the Jago Application
Apart from preparing a budget for the basic but important needs above, it is best to do it according to your religious beliefs. Managing finances according to sharia principles, which are in accordance with Islamic teachings, can make life more peaceful and blissful.
If you already have a Jago Syariah account, you can always be ahead in making a budget plan according to sharia via the Jago application. Take advantage of 20 Spending Pockets and 20 Saving Pockets (a total of 40 accounts) with Wadiah akad to start budgeting.
Wadiah Yad Dhamanah akad complies with sharia principles with 0% interest. In other words, by saving using the Wadiah Yad Dhamanah akad you will not get interest.
1. Create Jago Syariah Pockets that have their own account numbers and no admin fees
Create a number of Pockets according to your main and basic needs. Then start moving money into the Pockets that have been created.
2. Do manual or automatic budgeting to your Pockets
Budgeting in the Jago application is as easy as moving money from the Pocket that is the source of funds to another Pocket. However, you have the freedom to choose for yourself whether to budget manually or automatically.
If it's manual, just move money between Pockets and make sure you don't forget to do it according to the schedule you have set. But if it's not manual, the Pocket will be automatically filled with money. Use the Auto-Budgeting feature and set the budget and time to transfer the money.
Make transactions with the appropriate source of funds from your Pocket so you don't use the wrong budget. Monitoring outgoing money is also easier because transaction history is available in each Pocket.
It’s time to try to make a budget plan for the most important necessities first. Maybe you don't need it right now. But, by trying, you will know how to do it and have an idea of how much money is needed to meet basic necessities and financial obligations during tough times.
