December 21st, 2009 Money Management
For the past year or so, a lot of people have lost their livelihood and had no other choice but to give up their homes and other assets. For the past ten years, a lot of blue and white-collared workers have spent much of their income on luxuries and not saving an adequate amount for emergencies.
With the amount of young personnel and professionals, the majority of their earnings go to material things such as the newest gadgets, hottest fashion trends, or out of country retreats. It’s not that there is something wrong with any of these, but the source of the problem starts when individuals splurge most of their hard earned money to these kinds of things. Things get further difficult if the money spent for these things came from loans or credit and have not been given any planning at all.
There has been a major change in personal financing involving the previous and present generations of workers. Back then, our moms and/or dads saved as much as they can in the effort to raise their living standards and be able to provide for their family by spending sensibly and be ready if ever something ill-fated happens to their fiscal position.
As credit cards and loans become more and more easier to acquire, a lot of people nowadays have been short sighted in managing their money and their earnings. Moreover, with job losses skyrocketing, a lot of people have also acquired high sums of debts, forcing them to abandon their homes.
The collective mentality of today’s younger workers that say they would instead enjoy everything while they are young rather than spending most of their youth working and only enjoy what they have stashed when they are old and aged. This sounds reasonable but the fact that we exist in an unpredictable economy where there’s a good chance we can see ourselves falling down the financial ladder and lose everything.
Even though the present state of the financial system is shaky, you can still keep a fairly generous lifestyle and still set something aside for your future.
Having to put away as much as 40 to 60 percent of your income will ensure your financial future potentially in a big way. In case of a recession or a job loss, you will have something to lean on for a while before you can get on your feet again.
As best as you can, refrain from impulse buying. Self control and discipline is the key. If you see something you like, make sure the price is within and won’t hurt your resources. Good things come to those who wait, if you think it might compromise your present funds, wait for the sale season where just about all inventory prices are slashed.
Credit cards should be used only if needed or if you are positive that you’ll be able to compensate for it on schedule. As well as with loans.
Be moderate on your purchases. When personal finance is involved, it is better to have more than less. Your funds should be the excess and your debts or expenses should be fewer. Each person understands what that means. But in order to make this likely, being sensible with your money should be given significance.