Your financial future isn’t just about how much money you make. It’s more about how you manage your income and budget your spending.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need a lot of money to be good at managing money.
The truth is, if you’re a poor manager, you would still end up broke even if someone gave you a million dollars. Lottery winners prove this all the time.
Money management is more about your habits and how you handle certain things like bills you owe, credit, and savings.
Good financial managers:
-Use a budget & sticks to it.
-Save on a regular basis, not spend.
-Have the focus to work toward one goal at a time.
-Have the ability to see the whole picture.
-Thinks more about the future than what is being missed out on right now.
-Have self-awareness & realizes bad habits. Works toward changing those habits.
-Are DISCIPLINED in spending habits.
-Have learned to be content.
Now let’s go over a few of these traits.
BUDGETING
Every good manager has a written budget and sticks to it. It is imperative to know where your money is going, to have goals, and to work toward those goals one at a time. Having the ability to pay off debts in an organized way, will only come through sticking to a weekly budget.
SAVING
One of the top reasons to save your money is to have an emergency fund. Once that is in place you can work toward other goals, save for retirement, and buy things with cash instead of using credit that creates debt.
To ensure you have savings (in addition to an emergency fund) you can set aside a certain percentage of your income from each paycheck (assuming you have extra money each paycheck). Come up with a percentage of your income you can easily afford, and then put that amount in savings, taking it off the top and paying your bills with what's left. Treat savings just like a bill and pay it first.
REACHING FOR ONE GOAL AT A TIME
The best and fastest way to get out of debt, increase savings, or buy things with cash is to focus your money & energy on one goal at a time. This gives you some small achievements and keeps you motivated toward the next goal. It also keeps you from getting overwhelmed.
CONTENTMENT
One of the most important aspects of financial management is contentment. Being content with what you already have is key to keeping your priorities in order. It is not uncommon for you to feel anxious about your finances but it will help to keep stress down if you learn to be content with what you already own.
Contentment can be practiced.
For instance, I had a nice Lexus. It was a great running car and very dependable. As it aged I wanted to buy another vehicle, but instead my husband and I kept that car in tip-top shape.
I wanted to pay cash and not go in debt for another car, so I patiently waited until we had enough savings. My car was eleven years old by the time we sold it and used that money toward my next vehicle. It took years of hard work to save that kind of money but it was well worth the wait and my Lexus ran great in the meantime. Contentment is what got me there.
Admittedly, my husband and I were in ‘survival mode’ up until we paid off our extra debts. We learned that in order for us to get out of debt, we would have to be content with what we had.
We stopped shopping, started buying mostly generic brands to save money, and wore our clothes for as long as possible. What wasn't wearable out in public became work clothes for when we were working on whatever house we were flipping at the time.
Living a frugal lifestyle is imperative if you want to get ahead in your finances, especially if you have a lot of debt.
We paid for everything but the house and made it a goal to stay out of debt for the rest of our lives. Once we reached our goal we were able to relax more and take vacations. Going camping in our little RV has become our favorite past time.
Realize that if you spend your money unwisely, you are not using that money toward your goals. Ten dollars here and twenty dollars there adds up to hundreds! You may not be where you want to be, but you definitely will not get there if you waste your money.
MONEY IS A TOOL
An unwise financial manager can be likened to the story of a poor man who wanted to start his own landscaping company. His brother who also owned a landscaping company offered his help. Filled with pride, the man rejected it.
This poor and unwise man started the business with no tools or equipment and no way to get to work. He had to walk everywhere.
He wasted his money and was bad at financial management, but he had big hopes and dreams of being a business owner and he had the determination to make it work.
He knocked on neighbors' doors and let them know about the services he was proudly offering. He finally got his first client who asked him to dig 100 holes for some large trees he would have planted across his many acres.
He went to the backyard to get started and realized he had no way to dig holes. His hands were the only tools he had, so down on his knees, he went driven by his strong determination.
Most of us would see this as lunacy, but the poor man such determination, he didn't see his own mistakes. He was going to make this business work because he had no choice. Once he got beyond the soft soil, his job grew harder and harder. He got blisters and his fingers became raw.
As neighbors passed by, he embarrassingly just stared at the ground and kept digging. He realized that digging with his hands was getting him nowhere but he was stuck in self-defeat and wouldn't admit that he had no idea what he was doing.
Key Point- 👉🏻 Many of us are stuck in self-defeat when it comes to our finances. The key is to be willing to admit that you need help and that maybe you don't know what you're doing.
One of the neighbors stopped and said, “Sir, a good gardening tool is what you need. At only ten bucks, shovels are affordable.”
The new landscaper said, "Sir, I can't afford to buy a shovel." The neighbor said, "Sir, you can't afford to not buy one if you want to get this job done!"
The lightbulb went off in the unwise poor man’s head and he scraped up enough change to buy one out of his penny jar. At this moment, he deeply regretted not using his money more wisely.
Using the shovel was still a lot of hard work but it was much easier than using his hands and it was finally getting the job done, very slowly. It was arduous work but he was now confident that he could dig the holes, eventually. Neighbors began to pass by and wave, happy to see the man finally using his head.
Key Point- 👉🏻 Humility is realizing you need to take advice from people who can see where you’re going wrong. Being teachable is imperative if you want to get ahead.
Noticing it was still taking the man a long time to dig just one hole, his new client came out and said, “Hey, I’ve been where you are and I know exactly how you feel using that shovel. It’s hard work. I can make your life much easier by giving you a little bit of advice. They make a tool called an auger. It is more expensive but it will get this job done much quicker and more efficiently.”
Not wanting to lose the man's business, he told him he just didn't have the money to pay for an auger. His client said, "I tell you what, I'll pay you for each hole you dig, and you can save the money toward the auger. Deal?"
The new landscaper said, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Excited to know his job would become easier at some point, he dug the holes as though his life depended on it. Working toward his goal became easier because now he had hope of things getting better.
The man got excited that his new business was working out and began to make plans in his head of how he would spend the money he would be making.
As blisters began to form, and with each dig of that shovel, the man learned some valuable lessons:
-Don't start a business without planning, the right equipment, and the knowledge of how to get the job done.
-Don't waste your money. You may need it for important things.
-Don't assume just because you have determination and dreams you have the ability to accomplish your goals. It is imperative to have a plan and skills.
-Financial skills are important and affect every area of life.
Once he bought the auger the job went smoothly and quickly. He was finally able to get the job done efficiently and his client was well pleased. His determination paid off but it wouldn't have worked without humility, knowledge and the wisdom his client brought to the table.
None of us should do life alone. It takes humility to admit that you don't have it all together or that you need help. Asking someone for help may not be easy, but it may be necessary if you want to succeed.
Key Point- 👉🏻 Just as buying an auger helped this man grow his business, wisdom is using your money as a tool to reach your goals. Asking for guidance from someone who already has the knowledge of what you're trying to learn is a key to success. Surround yourself with people who know more than you do!
Many of us live our lives like this. Our efforts are almost in vain but we keep digging and digging with our hands hoping to get a different result every time. We get callouses and blisters and still don't learn a lesson. We go in debt and the debt snowball keeps getting bigger and bigger.
We throw our money away on all the small stuff we want, not realizing it’s taking money from our bigger goals. When will we learn?
Today can be your day if you make better choices than you did yesterday. A bad money manager is someone who lacks knowledge and understanding concerning financial principles.
A good financial manager realizes he/she needs a budget, a plan, self-control, and contentment. All of these ingredients together will turn someone into a success at life.
Hopes and dreams, determination, and follow-through are all extremely important but you must also have your head on straight. Whatever you do in life, pray for wisdom. We should always be teachable and ready to learn.
My goal is to help you overcome a poverty mentality and learn financial principles that will help you grow toward building a solid financial future.
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