Here are ways to make your first salary go further

Landing your first job and receiving your first salary is an exciting milestone, but in an era of rising living costs, making that income stretch can be challenging. With expenses such as rent, transport, groceries and utilities becoming increasingly expensive, careful financial planning is more important than ever. From creating a budget and building an emergency fund to avoiding unnecessary debt, there are several ways first-time earners can make their salary go further and lay the foundation for long-term financial stability.

Salem Nyati, Consumer Financial Education Specialist at Momentum Group, says what you do with your first few salaries could shape your financial life for years to come. “Your first salary is far more than a deposit notification on your phone,” she says. “It is the beginning of your financial life.

Whether it becomes a foundation or a fleeting moment depends almost entirely on the choices you make in those first few months.” Nyati adds that most people enter the workforce without having received any formal financial education. Understanding the basics of how money actually works is, therefore, the first and most important step a young earner can take. Nyati highlights that the foundation of good money management comes down to understanding five basic principles: “None of these concepts require complexity,” she says.

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“What they do require is consistency and honesty with yourself. Spend according to your goals, your values and your reality, not out of pressure from someone else’s highlight reel.” Nyati says for someone who has never earned a regular income before, the idea of budgeting can seem unnecessary or even discouraging.

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