Never forget, you are your own best personal finance manager. Do you really need help managing your finances? That depends. Are you a wealthy person with a lot of diverse investments and income from a wide variety of sources?
"He that is of the opinion money will do everything
may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”
- Benjamin Franklin |
Or, are you so far into debt that you see absolutely no way out without having to file for bankruptcy for have your house foreclosed on? If neither scenario sounds like you - if you’re just an average person - then you are probably still your own best personal finance manager. Wealthy people can afford to hire accountants or spend money on expensive computer software. Normal people don’t need to invest in outside sources. You are in charge of your own finances, and that’s why it’s important to run your household as if it were a business, with you as its CEO. Perhaps you do own a business. If you don’t, imagine that you did. How would you run it? You’d cut costs in any way possible, right?. You’d look for ways to maximize your profits. You’d try to find new innovations that would increase your income. Why? Because you want your company to make the most money possible, and because you have people who count on you - employees, clients, stockholders – all of whom are expecting you to “take care of business”. In fact, they’re ability to feed their own families depends greatly on your ability to run a financially strong organization. So why should your home finances be any different? If you have a family, they’re depending on you to maximize your income and to minimize expenses. They need you to be preparing for the future. You owe it to them to get out of debt and to be financially free of all outside obligations. Even if you’re single and have no dependents, you still owe it to yourself, and your future family, don’t you? It’s strange how some people will run their businesses as smooth, streamlined operations, yet handle their personal affairs carelessly. As the personal finance manager for your household, you should be looking for ways to improve your household’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Which expenses can be reduced? Which can be eliminated altogether? These are the questions you should be asking as you look over your budget every month. Which brings us to another point: You should be managing your finances according to your budget every month. Keep track of where all your money is going, and use that to plan each month in advance. Map out what expenses you’ll have in the coming 30 days to avoid surprises. A personal finance manager would be doing this constantly, always on the lookout for ways to lower costs. The goal, of course, is to get out of debt and to save money up for your own use. With no debts hanging over your head, you’ll be able to enjoy your life and your financial freedom much more. Take the initiative and start planning today.
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"No man's credit is as good as his money."
- Edgar Watson Howe |
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Debt is NOT your friend. It's not a wonderful "tool" for building wealth. That's a myth.
