Budgeting is not always an easy chore to keep up with but making sure you are aware of where your money goes, and how much you need to cover your monthly expenses, is something you need to be on top of. If you are in a relationship and share the finances, then budgeting gets that much more challenging. Open and continuous communication can help you in the budgeting process, but what really helps is when a couple has shared financial goals and a similar view of the value of money.
Past to Present Money Matters
The attitude about money that you grew up around shapes how you view and act with your money. Whether there was a lack of resources, or there was always more than enough to go around, this past experience makes up your view of money. You may have been taught that to be of worth, you need to be making a certain amount of money. Or maybe you were told that if you wanted something you needed to go out and earn money to get what you wanted. Or you could have watched others around you waste their money and then suffer later for lack of savings. Whatever the circumstances that led to your current thinking, you can change a poor attitude about money or build on a good sense of financial responsibility. The key is to understand that money in and of itself is just a tool.
Economics 101
Money as a tool means you need the knowledge of how this tool works and then some idea of how you want to use it. The bigger picture of how money works in the world is what macroeconomics explains but what it comes to is this; supply and demand. For example, when you go grocery shopping, you take what you want from the store, and as you leave, you give them money, something both parties agree has value.
Master the Right Tools
If you are part of a couple, find a way to talk through each person’s ideas and feelings about money. Keep in mind money is a tool and you are in charge of telling it where to go and what to do. Master the tools for money management and build your future together.
Pick a time this week to write down what you think about money and where your money philosophy comes from.
