Finance Series · 02

Balancing Spending, Saving and Growth

A practical split for today's spending and tomorrow's security — plus the principles that make the split actually work.

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Illustration of a person with headphones writing at a desk at sunset, with a monitor showing savings dashboard cards with percentages, a piggy bank, and a coin jar labeled summer fund.

We already saw why saving matters — not to deny yourself, but to avoid unwanted spending and focus on earning more. Now let's talk about how to practically balance money for today and tomorrow.

A Simple Framework (Example)

  • Long-term untouchable savings — 50% → builds financial security, future opportunities, and a backup for career changes or business ventures.
  • Short-term savings/goals — 25% → for emergencies, planned purchases, or unexpected situations (medical, travel, car, etc.).
  • Daily spending — 25% → living expenses, fun, and personal growth.

Important: these percentages are a demo. Everyone should design their own split based on income, responsibilities, and goals.

Key Principles to Follow

  • EMIs smartly — only take EMIs you can afford. Avoid locking money into non-emergency debt without passive income. If you can invest instead, prioritize investment first — but don't avoid life today.
  • Untouchable savings — never use these lightly. If urgent needs arise, focus on creating more income rather than dipping into this reserve. This encourages skill-building and opportunity-seeking.
  • Short-term savings — provides flexibility and peace of mind. Helps you plan for big goals without sacrificing long-term growth.
  • Spending with purpose — finance isn't about avoiding spending; it's about spending smartly and strategically, which motivates earning more and builds confidence.

Why This Works

  • Balances present enjoyment with future security
  • Encourages discipline and freedom — you live today while preparing for tomorrow
  • Makes money a tool for growth, not just survival

Why Investing Matters

Saving money is important, but with inflation, its value decreases over time. To truly grow wealth and secure your future, you need to put your money to work — making it generate returns, protect against inflation, and open opportunities you can't get by just saving.

Next: how to invest your savings so that money grows automatically, beats inflation, and creates wealth over time.

Tagspersonal-financebudgetingsavinginvesting

Originally published on LinkedIn.

Muhammed Nasvih V

Muhammed Nasvih V

Lead DevOps & Cloud Engineer · Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Writes The Stack Notes — field notes on infrastructure, AI, money and work. Cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, security and automation at Code7 Information Technology.

This section is a working engineer’s notebook, not financial advice — the day job is cloud infrastructure at Code7. See what I actually do.

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