Balancing Your Money
Gravity is no respecter of persons. I painfully found that out one snowy morning in Canada when I unknowingly stepped on some ice, lost my balance and in seconds I was on a snow-white bed. The experience was both hilarious and at the same time educational. Reflecting on that incident I realized that life has a lot to do with balance and money ranks very high in the list of my priorities.
The oxford dictionary defines balancing as “putting (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.”
The key to balancing your money comes when you decide not to spend more than you have in your hand because it may result in your dipping into your savings or borrowing in order to make up the difference. Habitually taking from your savings or borrowing will make it difficult for you to maintain your financial balance. The possibility of becoming financially distressed over time may be very great. In order to balance your funds and keep a “steady position”, it may be good to seriously consider a few suggestions:
The oxford dictionary defines balancing as “putting (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.”
The key to balancing your money comes when you decide not to spend more than you have in your hand because it may result in your dipping into your savings or borrowing in order to make up the difference. Habitually taking from your savings or borrowing will make it difficult for you to maintain your financial balance. The possibility of becoming financially distressed over time may be very great. In order to balance your funds and keep a “steady position”, it may be good to seriously consider a few suggestions:
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Know your income. By knowing your income you will know how much money you have available.
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Make a list of your expenses. Having expenses only in your thoughts could be dangerous because you may forget something very important and assume that you have more money than you think. If you carefully plan your expenses, there is a greater chance of avoiding thoughtless spending and a better opportunity of saving more money.
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Think about saving something as small as it maybe. Someone suggested that you should aim at saving at least 10% of your earnings? So if you work with $500.00, then save at least $50.00. Savings can be considered among other things an emergency fund just in case there is a situation that arises where you may need funds immediately.
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Plan your debt carefully. Seek the counsel of someone who is trained to guide you in the area of debt management so that you do not extend yourself unwisely and lose your money balance. Many young couples of whom I am aware, refused to seek wise counsel and ended up with major financial headaches because they over-extended themselves in debt and lost their balance. Some financial consultants recommend having not more than 20% in debt while others may suggest more or less. If we are still working with the $500.00, then 20% would work out to $100.00 toward debt payment.
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Plan your living expenses. If you add $50.00 for savings and $100.00 for debt, which total $150.00 dollars, you are then left with $350.00 which becomes your “living expenses”. It is from this amount you may need to look at items to which you must give priority; like food, utilities, health. There are other things to which you may consider important but can be put on hold for a later time. Resist spending on unnecessary things and focus on essential matters.
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Plan ways to reduce your cost of living. When going to the supermarket write a list and do not yield to the temptation of taking up items that are not on that list; practice turning off lights when you don’t need to use them; avoid leaving your refrigerator door opened unnecessarily; make a concerted effort to conserve water by not allowing it to run needlessly; cook your own food as much as possible and desist from the habit of purchasing fast foods. Consider applying the above measures and others you think are workable and you may be amazed at the results.
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Dave Ramsey said: “Money… is like a beautiful thoroughbred horse – very powerful and always in action, but unless this horse is trained when very young, it will be an out-of-control and dangerous animal when it grows to maturity.” What a profound thought!
Haynesley Griffith
Marriage and Family Life Consultant
griffitharticles@gmail.com
Haynesley Griffith
Marriage and Family Life Consultant
griffitharticles@gmail.com