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Money Management 101

by: Jeff Lakie

Managing your money is a big task. However, if you want to get by in this world, it’s something you have to do. It can be too painful for some, so it gets avoided. For the people who realize it, the pain/reward relationship is well worth the trouble to spend a few minutes managing your money.

After all, money makes the world go ‘round, so make sure you get your share! And the good news is: it’s as easy as controlling what you’ve got!

Here’s what you need to make sure that you have control over your financial situation. The following are some valuable budgeting techniques to guide you in your expenses and income.

The first thing you want to do is make sure that you pay for your utilities on time and in full every month. Don’t wait until it’s too late to pay them. The second thing you need to do is make sure that you don’t have too many credit cards. Only a few credit cards are necessary to get by in life. You should consider cutting up the rest of them. And the third thing you should do if your bills have gotten the best of you, is to consolidate them into a single loan. This will enable you to pay them off over time without getting slammed with high interest rates.

Finally, establish a budget for yourself. This seems difficult and that’s why most people don’t do it. And because people don’t have a budget they find themselves in financial straits.

The easiest way to establish a budget is to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the left, write down your after-tax household income. Be sure to write down the after-tax amount, as you want to measure available income only. After all, you don’t get to spend the before-tax amount, right?

In the right column, list an average of each monthly bill. But you should also include your typical spending habits as well, like eating out or impulse shopping. Don’t forget to include paying off your credit card as part of the bills!

Now that you have a list of income and expenses, see if there’s a way to increase your income or reduce your expenses. Usually you’ll find a way to do a little to both.

While it seems so simplistic, so few people do it. And yet, creating a budget and sticking to it often separates the successful people from everyone else. What’s stopping you from doing it right now?