TIPS ON HOW TO BUILD YOUR SAVINGS TOWARDS A PARTICULAR GOAL FOR THE NEW YEAR, 2023.
The globe seems to be getting steep, with the cost of items increasing ginormous strides. As you enter the new year, Here are quick tips on how to grow your savings to stay afloat in these times.
- Create a budget – this is the key element in any savings plan. Without one, there is really no telling where your money is going, and you could be busy missing out on major saving opportunities. Create a monthly budget for income and expenses. You could consider the zero-base budgeting method, in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Basically, ensures that every single Naira has a job.
- Set a savings goal of at least 20% of your income
- Use the ALAT app to track your spending
- Decrease your spending – this may seem like an obvious one, but the key to saving more is spending less, so look for areas in your monthly expenses that you can cut costs and put the difference into a savings account.
- Increase your income – If your expenses are already down to the bone, then you should look out for ways to increase your income. Here are some helpful tips you can do to make this happen:
- Sell unwanted items
- Start a side hustle – (a) can be (b) you could create an online account to sell out those items
- Open a high-yield savings Account – this is one of the most effortless ways to grow your savings.
- Open a Smart Save account with Wema bank- A savings account that enables individuals to save towards specific purpose of their choice with higher returns on their savings in the form of a bonus interest.
- This account is open to any individual with the desire to save towards a particular goal.
- Make a deposit of a minimum sum of N5,000 only.
- Set up recurring monthly savings to be paid into your account. You can give standing instructions for regular deposits, depending on funds you are likely to set aside considering that you are effectively following (step 2) above, every month.
- Enjoy 4.05% p.a + Bonus interest 20% of interest earned per quarter
- Withdrawals not allowed before target date
- Loss of bonus interest for the quarter concerned
- 3rd party withdrawals are not allowed
See illustration below.
- Alternatively, Log into ALAT application using your registered email address and password
- Log into ALAT application using your registered email address and password
- Select “Goals” on the Home Page
- Select your preferred savings type from either Personal Savings or Group Savings
For Personal Savings,
- Select one of Fixed, Flexi or Stash Goals
- Fill in the required fields and select “Next”
- Review input and select “Create Goal”
For Group Savings,
- Select Preferred savings type or “Join a group”
- Fill in the required fields (Group Code for Group Savings) and select “Next”
- Review input and select “Create Goal”
- Note: Up to 12 users can perform a Group Savings on ALAT
You can earn up to 10% interest per annum on your Goal savings. If the funds you have saved at the end of your goal period are still not sufficient, you have no worries, you can access the Wema bank ALAT goal-based loan. Here is how.
Once you have reached at least N100,000 in goal savings, you are eligible to apply for the ALAT goal-based loan for a period of 12 months. You are entitled to a goal-based loan of up to 80% of the amount saved on goals at an interest of 20% per annum.
- Simply log in to the ALAT app, click on the loan icon and apply.