Personal Finance and You!
Why Personal Finance?
Having taught Personal Finance at the university level for a number of years, I have been privy to the pain that occurs when people do not manage their personal finances well. The true confessions I have heard, not only from students, but also from their parents, other faculty and staff members, friends, family, and neighbors, have all led me to understand how important personal finance is to each person's overall wellbeing.
So it's all about Money?
Of course, Personal Finance is the same thing as Money, right? No, not at all.
Money is certainly part of the picture, but it's simply a tool. It's how you wield that tool that makes all the difference. Just like you can take a hammer and smash things, you can also use a hammer to help build yourself a beautiful home. It's the choices you make in using any tool that matter.
Well, what is it about?
So what all does personal finance entail? Lots, and it's actually an ongoing process. But it's a matter of persistence--it's not rocket science!
Here's a brief overview of the financial planning process:
Defining your financial goals - Where do you want to go and how will you get there?
Evaluating your current financial position - Where are you now?
Planning for your future expenditures - How will you meet day-to-day expenses while planning for big ticket items, such as a home, car or business?
Funding your cash accounts - Do you have adequate liquid reserves and how can you build them up?
Managing your debt - What's your debt situation and how should you handle your debt?
Insuring your valuables - Do you have adequate insurance for your life, your health and your assets?
Investing for your future - What investments are appropriate for you and how will you plan for your retirement?
Planning for your estate - What will be the legacy you leave for your loved ones and your life interests?
Does this sound daunting? It's not if you take it little by little. None of this is hard. You just have to start, make your plan, and keep on going.
A blog and a book to help you out!
Personal Finance is what this blog is all about. You can also find much more in my book, Money For Life, an easy-to-read summary of the same principles I taught for many years at the college level.
And may I recommend devoting 30 minutes every day? You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish!
Quotes That Make You Think!
“Do not value money for any more nor any less than its worth; it is a good servant but a bad master.” –Alexandre Dumas fils, Camille, 1852
“Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale.” –Zig Ziglar
“The waste of money cures itself, for soon there is no more to waste.” –M.W. Harrison
"Sow a thought and you reap an act; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." –Samuel Smiles, Life and Labor, London 1887
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." –Aristotle