Money 101

“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like.” ― Will Rogers

Many of us grew up earning money performing small jobs around the house or mowing a neighbor's lawn. You might have even earned that money by spending Saturday evenings babysitting for your parents friends or delivering newspapers on Sunday mornings.

It turns out that many of us were never taught how to handle that money.

This lack of education happens for a myriad of reasons. In preparatory school, the basics of math, english and history are taught. There is a level of budgeting concepts taught but at that age, budgeting is the furthest thing from young minds.

As we get into our college years and or early job years, these things called budgets, credit, bills and savings are words we have heard. But do we really understand how handle the implications of each? Are we truly prepared for it?

Yes, the reality of money suddenly hits.

For a lot of kids turning into young adults and even older, the struggles to learn and pull out of money issues consumes much of their lives. A capitalistic system is a good thing. It fuels the economies of many countries. It creates opportunities to work hard, get ahead and earn more money. With those better paying jobs, the promise of better schools, roads and lots of things in the stores to buy. But what fuels it?

You and I spending money, lots of it!

The billboards, magazine ads, television commercials and even product placements in the movies we watch. We are bombarded by these things and more, all in of effort to get you to spend your money and to keep the economy flowing. It preys upon our nature to WANT things more than what we actually NEED.

Yet all of this spending short changes us individually with higher debt, less savings and a shorter distance to fall when something major happens effecting our income. Never fear though, you can learn how to handle money now. This is for all ages and it begins by reading.

Take it upon yourself to learn.

There is a great series at CNNMoney which provides a "Money 101" set of 23 lessons on the various aspects of our financial lives. It is simple but it is a place to start getting you on a great financial track.

Some of the lessons covered are;

- Setting Priorities
- Making a Budget
- Basics of Banking and Saving
- Controlling Debt

And others which take you into growing your money.

Start now, improve your finances and your life will improve.

Remember its not about the money. It is about you and how you handle money. Even the richest of us can be miserable and the poorest amongst us happiest. Handling what money we do have in a smart and sensible way makes life much better.

Get your finances in order and bring more balance into your life.

Stay inspired my friends!

One Step Finance

It was Benjamin Franklin that said, "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." And so it is during these tough economic times, you need to be more aware of where your money goes each and every day.

There is truth to the fact that how an economy rises once again is by getting people to spend that money. It does not mean that you should be expending dollars in a 'willy nilly' fashion. What it means is to spend in a smart and structured way.

When times are great and we have lots of money, it becomes very easy to toss our money about. Excess of anything allows us to become lazy in how we treat that excess. But when things become tighter, we usually have to learn once again how to become disciplined.

So how do you become disciplined? I like the idea of keeping it simple and not throw to many steps or bullets out there. Having too many steps to follow simply complicates it. Some call it the 'kiss' principle or 'keep it simple stupid', which is similar to Occam's razor.

Either way, my one step suggestion is (hold on, this is earth shaking); "Create a budget."

Exactly, the one thing we've been told over and over again in our life but never seem to fully adhere to. Create a budget which covers your personal finances. It doesn't matter how you do it or how complex or how simple. What matters is that you do it. When you create a budget, it lets you know what your financial 'reality' is.

Most people don't create a budget because they are afraid to really know how much they spend or how little they really have. Reality can 'bite', but it is the only way you can truly understand how to get through a tough economic time and enjoy even greater the good economic times.

The U.S. government has a really great website that provides lots of free information on a wide range of topics. The site is called the Federal Citizen Information Center and is a forgotten service the government provides that has a wealth of information. To get started on your budget, I suggest reading, There’s a Lot to Learn About Money. It will give you some basic information and a starting place to put you back in charge of your finances.

To quote Benjamin Franklin once again, "All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move." Be the type that moves and change your life forever.
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