Financial stability in times of war

It is quite possible to feel financially secure and stable during the war if you know how to manage your money wisely, namely, to be financially literate.

First of all, of course, you need to focus on the stability of your income and opportunities for income growth, because every year the world moves, inflation affects prices, and you need to earn more in order not to lose the quality of life we are used to.

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Some tips on how to increase your income:

• focus on what value you bring to people (if you work for yourself or have your own business) or to your employer. We always get money from people, and the more useful you are to people/companies and the more responsibility you are willing to take on, the more income you will have;
• Be proactive - suggest improvements, share ideas, take on more responsibility;
• improve your sales skills - we are always selling something to others, whether you work directly with clients or in a company where you sell yourself as a specialist at an interview. Sales skills will help you in any case!
• Think big - analyze what skills you have and how you can be useful to others. Perhaps you speak excellent English and can help others learn it? Or are you good at writing texts? Or drawing? Any skill can be monetized if you have a goal.

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The second aspect of financial literacy is saving money.

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To feel safe, regardless of the situation in the world, you need to have a reserve of savings or a financial cushion. What is it? It's money you can use if you lose your income, move, get sick and can't work... It's your money in case of force majeure. The size of the financial cushion is usually the sum of 3-6 months of your average expenses. Usually, this is enough time to recover and find a new job, but of course, analyze how much it makes sense in your field and increase the size of the cushion if necessary.

It is better to keep this money in stable currencies (dollars, euros, pounds) and only a small part can be kept in hryvnia. It can be funds in cash or in a bank account. You can also use deposits, but with the possibility of early withdrawal.

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The most important thing is to diversify, that is, do not put all your eggs in one basket, but divide your savings into different banks, envelopes, currencies...

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Some tips on how to save money:

Golden rule No. 1 is to save as soon as you receive income. Don't put it off until the end of the month when you have no money left.

Keep a budget to optimize your spending. It's not about saving money, it's about allocating your money rationally and in line with your goals. Do you really need a third similar blouse? A second coffee in a cafe? Write down your expenses and analyze whether you can optimize something. You can often save money, for example, on unnecessary subscriptions to services that you have already forgotten about.

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The last thing I would like to talk about is the topic of loans.

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Of course, different things happen in life, and loans are not a total evil, but it is very important to analyze whether I really need this thing if I don't have enough money to buy it now before making any commitments. Very often the answer is "no," but people take out loans or use a credit limit to satisfy their desires without analyzing how much they will need to pay for it later. Don't fall into this misleading trap of thinking you have money, when in fact you don't and you're just taking it away from yourself in the future. Use loans wisely, but only when you really need them.

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Use these tips to be more financially literate!

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Anastasia Snigurenko is a specialist in financial literacy and investments.

You can contact Anastasiia for a personal consultation via her Instagram or on her website.

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