There is this session for the undergraduates for managing finance or whatsnot. Well, my simple advice is “Just spend within your means. Don’t compare yourself with others. Don’t care if you are not keeping things updated i.e. having the latest gadgets and whatsnot. Bankruptcy is a burden. Be wise in spending the money that you have”.
Normally, people assume that the salary of a lecturer could enable them to live lavishly. Well, it depends. But for me, what I do since the first salary that I earned back in 1995 is I will save first, before spending. It is a habit that I retain until now. Some ask if I have more than 100k in my bank account. Well, I do not know because I do not keep track of my saving. But what I do know is I save at least 1/3 of what I earn per month. To trick myself to save, I pay myself to do house chores. Sounds funny? Well, I do not have any helper so I pay myself to clean my house RM1k per month. It motivates me to put extra effort to clean my own house (even though I purposely leave my own bedroom a little bit messy for creative mode – I have inspiration to upcycle fabrics and whatsnot when the environment is a bit messy).
Someone told me before that when it comes to what we earn, we have to make sure that we put aside certain amount for sadaqah (without fail). It is really important to have the awareness that what we have is not ours on the first place.