'Living Below The Belt' challenge: can you do it?

The financial budget topic has always been a touchy one. While you may not be an expert about it, there’s no stopping yourself from learning how to be more financially savvy.

So we’re introducing the 'Living Below The Belt' challenge!

What on earth does 'Living Below The Belt' mean?

It simply means to live simple and under your means. Fasten your seat belt because this is going to change how you view and experience your finances.

The challenge is going to help you develop a razor focus on where your money is spent and help you account for every penny in your bank. By the end of this challenge, you’re going to be amazed at how much you’ve saved and how much you really need on a monthly basis.

How do I do this?

You’ve heard the saying “success doesn’t come easy” and there’s every ounce of truth in that statement. Now, to complete this challenge, you’ll need a strong mind, discipline, and a budget (duh) because let’s face it, you’re saying goodbye to any form of unnecessary spending.

Okay, I’ll do the challenge but what do I factor in?

To begin, just create two categories:

1. Essential

2. Unnecessary

Unnecessary things include retail therapy, spa weekends, movies, desserts, boba teas, and well, basically anything you can live without. Whereas the essential list (things you really need) can be found below:

• Rent

• Utility

• Groceries

Yes, that’s it!

After you’ve taken care of the rent and utilities, you now have some extra cash. It’s time to tackle the groceries. We know it's tough to pass the shopping aisle and not buy everything you want. The key point here is to note your wants vs needs.

For example, when you’re attempting to eat healthily, what you want is a chocolate bar but what you need are veggies. So instead of getting into a warzone without preparation, your best shot with sticking to your budget is by creating a grocery list. That way, you win this battle by buying only what’s on the list.

Pro tip: Did you know grocery shopping aisles were designed to put all the stuff you really need all the way at the end? This is so you would have to pass the 'aisles of temptation; for all the stuff you don't need.

I’ve taken care of the big stuff, what else?

Habits are crucial in being financially savvy, remembering that saying “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” Yup, we all had that AHA! moment too.

The habit of buying coffee from Starbucks every morning may seem harmless, why not try making your own coffee? Been ordering out? Swap it out for meal prep! It’s healthy and saves you the hassle of deciding what to eat every day, plus you put those groceries to good use. Instead of driving to work, paying for tolls and parking, ride the train to work. It’s environmentally friendly too!

It’s good to keep in mind that while you do the challenge, you can still have your wants but you just need to be smart about it.

How long do I do this challenge? 📅

Change takes time. The best way to boost yourself toward challenge completion is to set an attainable goal. Set a 15 days target and you can totally take it further from there once you've hit status: MISSION COMPLETED!

At the end of the day, the financial knowledge and habit reset makes all your effort worth it.

Track your spending with BigPay!

Did you know BigPay has all your transactions categorised? This helps you track money spent and know what you spend on accordingly. So while you’re doing this challenge, BigPay comes in handy as the perfect tool to help you put a budget system into place.

Here are some things you can do with BigPay:

1. Pay for everything under the essential category

2. Transfer the rest of your money into your BigPay account

3. Use BigPay as your main payment card

Imagine the happiness of finally being able to afford that well-needed vacation or simply just having so much more extra money saved! So if you’re ready to turn things around financially, get yourself on board and do the challenge today. Tell us how it went too. 😉