I realized my lifestyle was the problem not my income
It wasn't that I was struggling financially but my lifestyle was contributing to that. The truth was that despite having a steady income, my finances remained unsteady. I kept telling myself that all I needed was a pay raise and it would be sorted. I did get a pay raise in 2023 and within 3 months time I found myself right back in the same old cycle.
This time I took time to calculate my spending habits. I have some money saved up but nowhere near what I should have had after years of working at my income level. Had some subscriptions I forgot about and eating out wasnt helping either. It was the little expenses that one by one weren't a huge deal then when you sum them up, they make a large number.
4 months later my savings rate went from 8% to just over 22%. It's not as easy doing this, atleast for me but I understood that there needs to be some sacrifices in order to change for good.