SAVE LITTLE BY LITTLE

I believe there are a lot of activities at night around my house. Upon opening the doors in the morning, I see little ants that have made mince meat out of some unfortunate flying insects. Sometimes, small mounds of clay have suddenly risen from under the ground. I don't like these little hills because they spell trouble for anything made of wood or that can be chewed. These are the dreaded termites.

But we can learn from these termites. But not from the ants, I think. The ants may eat when food is available. Perhaps they go hungry when there is no food. They may even die.

The termites are different.Termites divide themselves into teams. There are teams of thousands responsible for construction. They work throughout the night to create more space for new addition to the population. Little by little, they build the nest upwards. And if you are not careful, they may even make their way into your house.

I read somewhere that there are gardeners among these termites, planting food for the community's sustenance. And of course, there are others like the soldiers, nurses and those responsible for looking after the queen.

You may wonder why this story about termites. Well, these termites never stop build their nest little by little. Soon, there will be a mound, then a little hill. They continue to invest their energy into building a larger nest for the well-being of the whole community.

Managing personal finance is like the termites constructing their nest bit by bit each passing day. If you are employed, the income is fixed unless you have side income. That means budgeting is necessary.

It means that you will need to save a little from your hard-earned money. Start small. Then increase the amount as you earn more. You may have the intention to start saving for a purpose such as payment for the deposit of a car or something else. But remember, a car is a liability.

Instead of this, you may want to invest that money in shares under a scheme where the return is guaranteed. Investing in risky shares is not a good option.

Alternatively, when the amount is big enough, you may want to put that money in a fixed deposit account with better interest rate.

Remember that money put in savings should not be touched. It has been said that this money can be withdrawn only with the purpose of investing to make it grow.

So, start saving little by little.