Do you find it difficult to save?

Salaam and Good Blessings

Most people take saving as the least important agenda on their monthly checklist...an afterthought.
When we get our salary or any form of income for that matter, there is always the long and almost endless list of things to attend to (mostly bills) before savings is addressed. The only time money is put into savings is when there is ANY money left after the obligations are attended to...sounds familiar?

C.S.I.
No, it is not to mean the famous TV series CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, but for me its to abbreviate the three things you need to give attention to and in the sequence it is described.

C- Commitment
Attend to your commitments first when you recieve your salary or any other form of income. It can be statutory commitments like EPF or SOCSO and even TAX and ZAKAT (for some of us). These things you cant get away from else we will attract more trouble with the law.

However there is another forms of commitment that you can control and which takes good planning and a sound and clear vision of your financial objectives and goals. These commitment come in the form of Mortgage Payments or Rent, or Hire Purchase payment. Best to plan these commitment within your budget so as it does not take away too much of your take home pay or else you will not have any thing left to live by.

S- Savings
Take this item seriously and put it as high on you monthly list as possible. Some good planners will recommend that you lump this item together with C above otherwise it will be forgotten and neglected.
One of the best way is to do this is automatic deductions form your savings or current account into your savings or investment program. Most banks have these arrangements for you with a simple form filling process at a small fee.

I - Indulge

With whatever is available after the two above have been attended to, you may enjoy your lifestyle. Do remember though that its advisable to enjoy only whatever is left and don't try to over size your lifestyle. Manage your HP bills and those eating out sessions with friends and family and as hard as it is but try to control yourself when YES (YEAR END SALE) comes around. Also "Leave home without it" (...that credit card that is)

The problem with most of us is we either practice "C" and then we do the "I" or even we drown ourselves in "I" and only sometimes look at "C"... and then we wonder how come we can't "S"..

Set the sequence right . REMEMBER.. C- S- I and enjoy that TV series too!