THE JOURNEY OF FRUGALITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP – PART I

Once upon a time in the capitalist materialistic society of middle class Karachi was a young, innocent boy. Then that young boy grew up into a young man with dreams to follow his heart; however as time passed his dreams started being shattered like broken glass. The young man could not figure out what was wrong till he figured out the answer: he was not frugal enough and was living beyond his means.

The above anecdote is true to many people and all of us feel stuck to a humdrum routine or day job just because we do not have another mode of survival. What if I told you that there is another way out of this and that there is a way of existence that does not need a mentality of living salary to salary and that is simple living and increased savings.

The first step towards winning any war is to calculate your minimum survival rate; the following template is a good start to act as a starting guide:

Expense type	PKR per month
Rent	XXX
Groceries	XXX
Medical Expenses	XXX
Transportation	XXX
Clothing	XXX
Utilities (gas, electricity, internet, phone)	XXX
Social Expenses (dinners etc.)	XXX
Total (monthly survival rate)	XXXX

The sum of these numbers will give you your monthly survival rate. Multiply it by 24 to give you a two year buffer you need to save before pursuing your dream. The two year benchmark acts as the reasonable time period within which one work with a free mind to attain his/her dreams.

Note: The next part will analyze the aspect of needs vs. wants in calculating the numbers for the monthly survival rate.