This is the month of paying school fees and of course paying more since your child must have moved to a new class. Seeing how school fee rates spike and new activities that gulp finances keep getting introduced in school curricula, it will be no surprise to see that your account balance will feel the burden after school fees payment – especially if you didn’t start investing towards it earlier.

We feel your pain. See how you can still survive through the month until the next payday:

Cut down on household expenses

There must be some way you can reduce your spending on household items. It could be by buying in bulk, buying one kind of cereal as opposed to three – get creative with figuring out how to shrink your list.

Limit hangouts

If you usually hang out on weekends with the boys/girls where you spend money, knowing how lean your pocket is at the moment, it will be wise to take a rain check this month. The party can resume in October, but of course with you spending wisely.

Eat in/Pack your own food

When you make your own food, you spend less than you would if you were buying out. This month, as you have spent the bulk of your finances on school fees, you should consider cooking your own food and packing it to work. That way, you greatly reduce expenses.

Prioritize

Now is the time to clearly differentiate between what you or your children want to have and what you need to have. When you identify this, cautiously approach when and how you get them bearing in mind how much you have available.

Don’t borrow

Don’t do it! Debt has a way of catching you by the neck when you least expect it. Focus on how to judiciously manage what you have until your next salary comes.

Now, this is not an all exhaustive list of how to pull through this month, but it’s a good place to start.

Remember, you can avoid being in this situation when the next school fees payment comes in January by simply investing monthly in the ARM  Money Market Fund instrument.