After you understand the basic concepts and know where to buy the best financial products when you need them, you’ll soon see that managing personal finances well is not much more difficult than other things you do regularly, like tying your shoelaces and getting to work each day.
Regardless of your income, you can make your dollars stretch further if you practice good financial habits and avoid mistakes. In fact, the lower your income, the more important it is that you make the most of your income and savings (because you don’t have the luxury of falling back on your next fat paycheck to bail you out).
More and more industries are subject to global competition, so you need to be on your financial toes now more than ever. Job security is waning; layoffs and retraining for new jobs are increasing. Putting in 30 years for one company and retiring with the gold watch and lifetime pension are becoming as rare as never having problems with your computer.
Speaking of company pensions, odds are increasing that you work for an employer that has you save toward your own retirement instead of providing a pension for you. Not only do you need to save the money, you must also decide how to invest it. Later some posts can help you get a handle on investing in retirement accounts.
Personal finance involves much more than managing and investing money. It also includes making all the pieces of your financial life fit together; it means lifting yourself out of financial illiteracy. Like planning a vacation, managing your personal finances means forming a plan for making the best use of your limited time and dollars.
Intelligent personal financial strategies have little to do with your gender, ethnicity, or marital status. All people need to manage their finances wisely. Some aspects of financial management become more or less important at different points in your life, but for the most part, the principles remain the same for everyone.
Knowing the right answers isn’t enough. You have to practice good financial habits just as you practice other good habits, such as brushing your teeth. Don’t be overwhelmed. As you read this blog, make a short list of your financial marching orders and then start working away. Throughout this blog, I highlight ways you can overcome temptations and keep control of your money rather than let your emotions and money rule you. (I discuss common financial problems in later post.)
What you do with your money is a quite personal and confidential matter. In this blog, I try to provide guidance that can keep you in sound financial health. You don’t have to take it all — pick what works best for you and understand the pros and cons of your options. But from this day forward, please don’t make the easily avoidable mistakes or overlook the sound strategies that I discuss throughout this blog.
If you’re young, congratulations for being so forward thinking in realizing the immense value of investing in your personal financial education. You’ll reap the rewards for decades to come. But even if you’re not so young, you surely have many years to make the most of the money you currently have, the money you’re going to earn, and even the money you may inherit!
Throughout your journey, I hope to challenge and even change the way you think about money and about making important personal financial decisions — and sometimes even about the meaning of life. No, I’m not a philosopher, but I do know that money — for better but more often for worse — is connected to many other parts of our lives.
In the next post I'll write about How to - Measuring Your Financial Health
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