Growing up in an immigrant household, money was treated as a tool for survival. My parents worked long hours to provide for me and my siblings, and each dollar was used for necessities like bills and food. There wasn't much room for wants or going>I advocated for salary increases at my 9-to-5
Out of university, I got a job working in the financial technology sector. I was at my company for over four and a half years. During my time there, my salary increased by 50%. From the start, I knew that as a young woman of color I had to advocate for myself at work, even if it felt uncomfortable.
Luckily, I had a manager who was very supportive. I made sure to keep track of any additional tasks that were outside of my designated role and monitor my progress>I created tangible saving goals
Three and a half years ago, I started working towards my first major saving goal: an emergency fund. It took me four months to save up enough to cover three months worth of necessities.
I did this by taking a look at my monthly income, fixed expenses and figured out an average of how much I was spending on discretionary spending per month for things like take out and shopping. Through this process, I found a realistic amount to set aside each month towards my savings, automatically. If I overspent that month on my discretionary spending, I would adjust my following month's budget to make up for the shortage.
