Every year graduates from all tertiary institutions in Ghana are expected to undertake one year mandatory service to the nation. For some, it is a getaway from home, and that will provide them with the needed freedom they seek. Despite the fact that National Service personnel are paid a sum of GH¢559.04 with taxes, spending it effectively and wisely will be of great use to personnel’s.
The basic NSS allowance from the National Service Scheme has been GH559.04 with taxes since 2017. The amount was increased from GH350.00 by the ministry. Each NSS participant now receives a gross income of GH6,700 at the completion of the service.
The amount involved may seem very huge in your eyes since most graduates have not yet received salaries, much more such an amount a month. But for others, the amount might be very small, since they were given huge amounts for their upkeep within a month. Either way, here are some 5 ways to effectively spend NSS salary.
1. Spend within your limits:
One mistake we often make is, we spend money over our limits when we have it in excess. Nothing may be wrong with occasional spending as one may see the need to ‘chill’ sometimes but it becomes a problem when we spend expensively to exceed our budget.
2. Invest
As we often say, “little drops of water make a mighty ocean”. Try as much as possible to invest part of your NSS Salary in something, even if it is may seem very little as GH¢100.
3. Save
Difficult times may arrive, you should at least save part of your NSS Salary because you may not know when you might need some money in the future. This is supposed to happen within the course of the month or in the case where allowances are delayed. You might also need some extra stuff to spend on, wherein in this case, you can depend on what you’ve saved.
4. Build yourself with some of the money
Building yourself can be of great influence on you, since there will be a life waiting right after your NSS. Therefore, there is a need for you to build yourself through many ways with your NSS Salary, which may include; taking online courses, driving lessons, learning how to play instruments and many other self-building ventures. This will help broaden your knowledge and equip you for life after service.
Among many, these are a few ways one can make judicious use of his or her national service allowance. Thank you if you’re reading this, and hope this material helps you a lot. Wish all national service personnel’s a fruitful service year.
5. Don’t spend on Credit
You should only use your credit card if you can pay it off in full at the end of the month and if you won’t pay any interest, after all, they’re handy, and many of them give you cashback on your purchases. However, a considerably effective way to spend your NSS salary will be to avoid credits at all. Just pay for what you can afford and make sure credit is not an option when it comes to NSS money.
