At 17, Aqueelah Jihad learned how to budget out of necessity when her mother died.
“Really just having to survive, you know,” Jihad said. “Having to pay rent at an early age in high school, having to quit track and field — something I love — just to pay the bills. But then I told myself, I’m always (going to) have some type of savings.”
Now with two children of her own, she’s using those early lessons in survival to build a different financial future for her kids.
“They’re dependent on me,” she said.
Saving starts with a budget, but financial literacy wasn’t a childhood lesson for everyone. Starting a budget can feel overwhelming, especially since we all talk about — and spend — money in different ways.
Ray’Chel Wilson, a Tulsa-based financial therapist and author, has a few things you can start doing right now to save money for the future.
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Take a 24-hour pause
“You’re scrolling on social media, it can be so easy to impulsively buy,” Wilson said. “So I always say, if you’re interested in it, yes, add it to your cart. But give yourself at least 24 hours before you purchase it.”
Wait a day before you buy that new item. According to Wilson, not only does this help you recover from the intense emotions around buying, like when you suddenly feel the urge to splurge on new makeup or clothes, but it also gives you the chance to find other deals.
If you do need or want something, you may find it cheaper somewhere else. Plus, Wilson says, you can sometimes get a discount after items sit in your cart for longer than a few hours.
Think about your values
Wilson is a fan of value-based budgeting, which aligns your spending with your values. For example, maybe you really want to set aside money for a college fund, so you cut more costs that don’t relate to this value.
In her book, “Holistic Money Mindset: Mental Preparation for Abundance,” Wilson has a few guiding questions to help people consider their values.
- What is unique about me?
- What makes me feel at peace?
- What qualities do I care about the most?
- What words would I use to describe my best self?
- What qualities did I honor when I think about my most proud moments or decisions?
“‘In this season of my life, in this era of the financial system, which purchases feed my purpose? Or which purchases feed my value?’” Wilson said.
“You can’t necessarily budget your way out of broken systems, specifically broken financial systems,” she said. “But you can budget in a way that allows your values to be intact with how you spend, invest, pay down debt, what you do with your money.”
Give your dollars a purpose
Consider the 50/30/20 rule. It allocates 50% of your income to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings.
Wilson says this approach can sometimes be too rigid, which is why she prefers value-based budgeting that looks at a person’s life holistically.
Either way, she says it’s important to give your dollars a purpose before they hit your account.
“If I get paid $1,000, before that $1,000 hits my account, I’ve already allocated where these funds are going, whether it be in the 50/30/20 approach or whether it be in a different type of approach,” Wilson said.
Know you are your best asset
“Think about: ‘What are my natural gifts? What am I skilled in? What are my talents?’” Wilson said. “Being in Tulsa, there are so many different ways to either grow those skills, gifts and talents or to be able to … provide them in a contracting way or a service-based way.”
As a financial therapist, Wilson says she helps people become aware of and heal from financial-related traumas. She wants people to know they can improve financially based on their own interests and hobbies. Ask yourself these questions:
- What are my natural gifts?
- What am I skilled in?
- What are my talents?
- What am I interested in?
“You can trade your skills, you can trade your gifts and you can trade your talents if you get in front of the right audience,” Wilson said.
If budgeting is on your list for 2026, the City of Tulsa’s Financial Empowerment Centers offer free financial counseling, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Tulsa and Tulsa Responds. Services are available in several languages, including Spanish and Zopau.
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