Personal Finance Advice

A man sits on the couch with his spouse, lamenting about how they can’t possibly make more than the minimum payments on their credit cards this month.  They are both incredibly frustrated because they can’t seem to get ahead financially.  They both agree that this entire situation is unfair, and soon they’ll both sit down and figure out a way to tackle this debt problem once and for all.

Then they turn on the television to browse all the premium channels they pay for while eating the pizza they ordered in.

What is wrong with this picture? The most glaringly obvious thing is that people who do not have the money to pay more than their minimum credit card payments probably shouldn’t be enjoying expensive cable and delivered pizza.  The less obvious thing - and the thing that needs the most attention - is the absence of a comprehensive budget.  These folks don’t have any idea where their money is going, but if they sat down and made the effort to figure it out they would probably take a hard look at their finances and cancel the cable and stop ordering in when they could cook at home for a fraction of the cost.

Getting your personal finances straight involves much more than just not spending money on frivolous things.  You have to be committed to budgeting your money and figuring out where you funds should be going every month.  Sometimes folks don’t really make the connection - like figuring out that the cable bill would probably cover much more than the minimum payment on a credit card - until they write everything down and have a look at it on paper.  It can be an unsettling discovery, but an important one nonetheless.

 If you feel as though you aren’t making the financial progress you should be, start writing down how much money you spend on things you don’t really need.  The picture will become clearer when you start to realize that the money you pay for a mocha latte every morning might cover the cost of a couple of bills you thought you were having trouble paying.

It’s time to get your financial priorities in order.