Although money management doesn’t focus specifically on debt, it could be said that managing your debt is also a form of managing your money, however I prefer we look at it more as a “preventative” to getting into debt in the first place. And, as they say, “Preventative medicine is the best medicine.”
When it comes to money matters, the list of helpful tips, tools, and advice can be long, but this page is created to provide you with a brief overview and some resources. This page will grow, so please subscribe to it to stay up-to-date on new posts and information.
We’ll start with the basics of managing your household finances with our short money management blog series: 5 Steps to Get Out of Financial Purgatory
Managing money really comes down to three basic things: How you Make, save, and spend your money.
Making More Money
Unfortunately, even if you’re working overtime, there never seems to be enough money to go around. Bills are higher, taxes are crazy, and houses are bigger and more expensive to buy, rent, and maintain. The cost of living just keeps going up, so what is the average Jane or Joe supposed to do?
Making more money is the easy answer, but the real question is “How can I make more money?”, and that’s usually where people get stuck. When you’re already working full time, or more, you don’t exactly have time for a second job, and you still want time for family and a little fun, right? These “hustles” include the obvious, the not-so-obvious, the once-a-week, and the “hit it and quit it” ideas – so start your search for the perfect side hustle: 51 Ways to Side Hustle for More Money
Saving Some Money
Saving money sounds like a drag, but it’s really exciting! Why? Because your future self will get to do all kinds of cool things with this money, and you get to decide what those things are, whether they’re big or small financial goals.
You can start on your emergency fund, new couch, or save up for that family vacation. If your dreams are bigger, like saving up for a house, RV, college, or saving money to fund some new investments, then there’s really nothing to stop you from from starting right now. Saving takes planning, but it’s quite easy, and you can start small.
Saving Money in a Digital World
Is your relationship an obstacle to saving money?
Spending Your Money
Money is made to be spent, to some degree. That’s why we’re out there doing what we do. We need to pay for our homes, cars, and the way in which we live. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just how things work in our society.
Spending money responsibly is one part forethought and two parts discipline. The discipline part is larger because it includes mental discipline and may also include discipline in the form of a budget, for those who need help staying “inside the lines”. This can prevent you from falling into debt, help you save more money, and avoid small and large financial regrets, like these: My 5 Most Disastrous Financial Mistakes
Managing money takes practice, discipline, and planning, but mostly it requires the motivation to do what needs to be done. If you have that, the rest is easy. We’re always here to help, so please post in the comments for feedback, suggestions and ideas, or to share the things that work for you.
