The preview

Money is the foundation for everything in the world. We need it to buy our homes, rent our apartments, pay our bills, travel, and more. There are many sayings about money like: “it comes in, it goes out” or “money is just a tool” and what about “money is the root of all evil” Fun quotes right? Well, regardless of what they say about money, the key thing about it, is understanding it. How I look at money is simple, it’s a systematic function. This system consists of 3 major functions: Earn, Save, and Spend.

• EARN. How you earn your income is not the part to focus on, it’s how much income is being earned. Is this taxed income? Is it consistent? Creating a budget is something everyone has tried, yet some are more successful than others. This is because they know their income traffic and how to produce more.

• SAVE. Saving is the key thing to building that foundation you’re looking for. You should have at least three different saving “ways” or “accounts”, which are for emergencies, personal, and retirement.
  • Saving #1- Should be in account somewhere, where it can not be easily accessible. This is for those unplanned moments in life which we all have experienced.
  • Saving #2- This can be attached to your checking account. You want to be able to transfer to this account quickly and have access to these funds. This account will be for those online shoes you’ve seen online or that trip you have planned for the end of the year.
  • Saving #3- Yes, I know! Retirement? Retirement is something younger people don’t necessarily think about because to them it’s so far away. For some middle age people, they’re just undecided and don’t know where to start. It’s important to start saving for it as soon as possible, social security will only can cover so much.

For people who are not in favor of financial institutions, you can still accomplish these 3 saving practices. You can invest in a small safe for your “emergency” saving, a pre-paid account for your “personal” saving, and a coin bank for your retirement (yes, a coin bank).

• SPEND. There are actually two categories for spending: one for expenses and the second is for yourself. You want to separate how you spend, this reduces the chances of missed payments for bills and/or just over spending in general. You want to be able to take care of what’s important, yet have fun in life.

There are many different ways to budget, but it starts with the way you think and look at money. Money can get in your hands and lead you to spend, spend, spend. If you can get a grip of your money and make it go where you want it (while having a disciplined mind) you are now in control. Allow this way of thinking to set you up for the rest of your life or at least the beginning to a new and improved life.