How to Manage Your First Salary and Grow Your Savings

5 MIN • LAST EDITED BY ANOOP MENON ON AUGUST 21, 2024.
Fi.money
Written by Anoop Menon on APRIL 24, 2024.
LinkedInX
Table of contents
  1. How to manage your first salary smartly?
  2. Conclusion
  3. Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve just received your first offer letter and are all set to join your first job, congratulations! You’ve got a good reason to celebrate, but once the initial excitement simmers down, there’s a very important question left — how to manage your salary?

Truth be told, if you’re like most people, you may want to blow most (or all) of it on all the things waiting on your wishlist. This may sound tempting, but it’s not the smartest thing to do. Instead, you can try and save a little bit each month, starting from your first salary.

If this sounds like a plan, and if you’re eager to learn more about how to manage your salary and save up for the future right from day 1, here’s everything you need to know.

How to manage your first salary smartly?

Depending on the field you specialise in, your first monthly salary may be anything from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2 lakhs or more. That said, the amount you earn has little to do with how you manage your salary . No matter where you may be on the payscale, the tips outlined below can help you save up for your future efficiently.

1. Use a budgeting rule

When it comes to managing your earnings well, preparing a budget is the most fundamental requirement. A budget helps you understand where every penny you earn goes. You can adopt a convenient budgeting rule to save up a small sum each month.

One of the most popular budgeting rules for beginners is the 50-30-20 rule. Here, you can split your monthly earnings in the following manner —

  • 50% for your needs
  • 30% for your wants
  • 20% for your savings

So, for instance, if you earn Rs. 50,000 per month, you can break up your salary by adopting this rule, as outlined below.

  • 50% or Rs. 25,000 for your needs (like rent, EMI, provisions, fuel costs etc.)
  • 30% or Rs. 15,000 for your wants (like entertainment, movie tickets, eating out etc.)
  • 20% or Rs. 10,000 for your savings

2. Start an SIP

You don’t need to have a lump sum amount to start your investment journey. An SIP or a Systematic Investment Plan helps you invest small sums in mutual funds every month. When you combine this investment strategy with a budgeting rule like the 50-30-20 rule, you can invest as much as 20% of your monthly income in mutual funds diligently. Depending on your risk profile, you can choose from various options like equity funds, debt funds, hybrid funds or index funds.

Take the above example, for instance. If you invest even as little as Rs. 10,000 in a mutual fund that offers 10% returns for 10 years straight, you can build a corpus of a little over Rs. 20 lakhs! With moves like this, it becomes possible to manage your salary and save.

3. Build an emergency fund

An emergency fund is crucial if you want to remain debt-free. It helps you be prepared for contingencies you cannot plan for, like a medical emergency, a sudden home repair or a major vehicle repair.

For example, say that after around 2 years of working, there’s a sudden medical emergency in your family, and you face a huge medical bill to the tune of a few lakhs of rupees. In this case, without an emergency fund, you may have to break into your savings or borrow funds to settle the bill. But if you have a contingency fund, you need not worry about increasing your debt or reducing your savings.

Experts recommend having an emergency fund that is at least 10 times your monthly income, but you can build a more sizable fund if you think you need it.

4. Invest in life insurance

Life insurance may not seem like a necessity when you are young, healthy and probably single. But the irony is that if you wait another decade or so (till you are in your 30s) to buy a life cover, your life insurance premiums will likely increase. This is why it is advisable to invest in a life cover when you are young and in good health.

You can start off by purchasing a term plan, which offers a sizable cover at extremely affordable premiums. And then, once you are in your 30s, you can reassess your life insurance requirements and increase your coverage if needed. Having a life cover will ensure that in case something happens to you, your spouse, children, and dependent parents have a financial safety net to protect them.

5. Keep debt to a minimum

Once you start earning your own income, it can be very tempting to swipe your credit card to the maximum limit or give in and make use of that incredible personal loan offer. But even the most robust savings plan may be futile if you have a ton of liabilities to pay each month.

A big part of learning how to manage your first salary involves ensuring that you don’t spend a huge portion of it on debt. Ensure that you do not borrow more money than you can afford to repay. And if you must borrow, prioritise debts that help in asset creation, like home loans. They also offer tax benefits, so you can reduce your tax burden simultaneously while increasing your net worth.

Conclusion

Managing your earnings is a skill that you can easily pick up over time if you have a plan and follow it diligently. The pointers outlined above can help you understand how to manage your first salary and make the most of what you earn. If you are just getting started with cultivating financial discipline, take it easy and focus on what you’re doing right. This way, you will be encouraged to sustain any effective financial habits you possess. In case of minor slip-ups, you can always strive to manage your salary and save better next month.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does your first salary matter?

Your first salary does matter to a certain extent since it determines the point from which your payscale begins. That said, it matters more what you do with your first salary. A person who earns more but saves little or nothing each month will be worse off than someone with a lower salary but a better savings plan.

2. How to manage your salary every month?

Learning how to manage your salary and save each month is crucial if you want to secure your future financially. You can start by having a budgeting plan in place and by building an emergency fund. An SIP or a Systematic Investment Plan can also be very useful since it helps you save diligently each month.

3. How to invest your first salary?

Here are some ways to invest your first salary

  1. Start by creating an emergency fund. This investment will help you in times of need and in unprecedented situations.
  2. Consider investing in a tax-saving scheme like a Public Provident Fund (PPF) or an Equity-Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS) to save on taxes and build wealth.
  3. If you have a long-term investment horizon, consider investing in equity mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for higher returns. It's essential to choose a diversified portfolio based on your risk appetite and investment goals.

Remember to do your research and consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

4. Should I give my first salary to my parents?

Giving your first salary to your parents is an entirely personal decision, while some folks opt for as a sign as a gratitude and love to your parents, others choose to treat their family as a sign of celebration. There's no hard and fast rule about what to do with your first salary, if giving it to your parents seems like the thought you want to go ahead with, then you should opt for it.

Send it to someone who might find it helpful
Know more. All that you'll ever need to learn.
Scan QR to get the Fi app
Your Privacy.
Minus the jargon.
arrow
No Hidden
Fees!
arrow
Join the
team.
arrow
Fi logo
Pronounced  Fī(-ē) and sounds like
volume
hi
Greeting emoji
sky
Sky emoji
tie
Tie emoji
fly
Fly emoji
Contact Fi Money customer care
In-app chat
instagram
twitter
linkedin
Disclaimer: You may have noticed some brand logos used on this website to indicate where you, as a user, may or may not have spent money. We don’t endorse these brands. Nor do these brands endorse us. The logos of the specific brands are owned by them.

Products on our platform

Details

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

Epifi Technologies Pvt. Ltd ('Epifi Tech') is a Third-Party App Provider ('TPAP') - and acts as a service provider and participates in UPI through a Payment Service Provider ('PSP') Bank (Federal Bank).

Savings Account and Deposits

Federal Bank offers savings account, fixed deposits and smart deposits to users on the Fi App (through Epifi Tech). Users' savings account and deposits are securely opened with Federal Bank.

Epifi Tech itself is not a bank and doesn't hold or claim to have a banking license.

Cards

Fi Brand Pvt. Ltd. markets and distributes co-branded cards in partnership with Federal Bank and Visa. Cards are issued by Federal Bank.

Loans

Epifi Tech facilitates loan distribution and acts as a lending service provider and/or digital lending application for various Banks, registered NBFCs and NBFC-P2P ('Lenders') List of Lenders.

Epifi Tech only provides a platform that enables you to avail instant loans. Epifi Tech is not a lender; neither does it represent to be a lender in its own capacity. The Lenders provide you personal loans as per their policies

Mutual Funds

Epifi Wealth Pvt. Ltd. ('Epifi Wealth') is a registered investment adviser and provides a platform for mutual funds investment. Epifi Wealth has partnered with MFCentral to provide mutual funds analyser to users.

Loans Against Mutual Funds

Epifi Tech in partnership with regulated entities including Epifi Wealth and Bajaj Finserv provides a platform for loans against mutual funds.

Bajaj Finserv is a registered NBFC and provides loans as per their policies.

US Stocks

Epifi Tech has partnered with US stock broker Alpaca Securities LLC to provide users the option to invest in US stocks.

Connected Accounts

Epifi Wealth (as a financial information user), in partnership with Finvu and Onemoney, provides users the option to link their existing financial accounts on Fi.

Credit Analyser

Epifi Tech (as a non-specified user) in partnership with Experian and CIBIL provides insights on users' credit scores

Fi-Coins

Fi-Coins are earned under a reward programme for engaging with products and services on the Fi App.

Fi Store

Fi-Coins can be redeemed on products and services listed on Fi Store such as merchandise, gift cards, air miles, among other things.

Insights

1. Net Worth: Helps users get a view of their financial Net Worth — in accordance with their assets & liabilities

2. Wealth Maximiser: Analyses your finances, shares financial reports to make informed money decisions

These products are governed by our Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy, and any other product and partner specific terms and conditions as communicated to you.

©epiFi Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 2025

Fi is a money management platform that offers the perfect solution for all your financial needs. The Federal Bank Savings Account offered through Fi is an online savings account that you can open in 3 minutes! It goes beyond online account opening, as it has helped reimagine the banking experience in India

Through Fi, you can do more: apply for an instant personal loan, pick from many types of Mutual Funds, select the best SIP to invest in US Stocks, apply for a forex-free Debit Card (works for select account plans) to use while travelling abroad, analyse/improve their portfolio, get a 360-degree view of your spend insights and take steps building wealth.

You can also utilise Fi's free personal loan resources, such as the Personal Loan and EMI calculator, before proceeding to the quick loan application process. All of this is why over 35 lakh Indians feel that Fi is the only financial app you will ever need.