No matter what stage of life you are in, you may have a particular goal or objective in mind. As children we are often advised to save up on our allowance to buy that new toy or book we love so much and we do make a conscience effort to stash up just enough to get what we want. As we grow older and priorities shift, our dreams evolve and our horizon expands. College students or youngsters wanting to get their hands on a new gadget they have been eyeing for months, career taking off so getting your dream car or that house you desire so much? All these goals require substantial amount of money in relevance to your earnings. The more you earn the better choices you may have.
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However, this does not necessarily mean that you make the decision that best serves your interests. Having a clear objective in mind while planning your savings, investments and expenditure is the first or the basic step you need towards taking control and managing your finances. Therefore, whatever stage of life you are in it is pertinent to have an efficient finance management system in place.
Start early before it gets too late
Often it so happens that when you have just begun your career and started earning money, you may think that you are too young to do finances management. Similarly if you are in a stage of life where you feel you have sufficient funds and don’t really need to keep a track of your expenditures or do budgeting; chances are you may not be putting anything aside for later in life and when you feel the need to start taking control of your finances, you may not have enough saved up. Believe it when we tell you, now is the best time to improve your outlook towards personal finance management.
The importance of efficient finance management
You may be wondering why it is so important to take control of finances. A good financial plan gives you a clear perspective on where you stand in terms of your finances. It helps you set your short and long term goals and then create a plan that will aid you in managing your funds so that you can meet those objectives.
Let us look at just a few perks of managing your finances in a better way:
- With an efficient finance management in place, you will get a clearer picture of your inflows and your outflows. You can manage your income efficiently when you get an understanding of how much expenditures you incur and how much you can save.
- Once you determine the saving and spending patterns, you will be automatically compelled to spend conscientiously. You may be able to properly organize your savings based on the amount of outflow you are willing to incur in a given month. This will eventually help you in savvy budgeting and saving more.
- Improvement in savings will then lead to enhanced capital status and you will be encouraged to consider investment plans that will uplift your financial health.
- Having the assurance that you can manage saving without compromising on the quality of your life, you can set clear financial goals with a tentative time line as well to give you clarity and direction. You can evaluate and determine your priorities. For example if there is a loan that needs to be paid off, your short term objective could be based on first getting rid of that loan and then move on to future goals
- Your investment plans will bear fruit in the future helping you build assets. However do remember that certain assets have liabilities attached with them; mortgaging a house for instance. This is also an aspect where financial management comes to your aid. When you have a better understanding of finances, you can assess whether you can commit to those liabilities and consequently add value to your portfolio through those assets.
- Lastly, setting some money aside, building an asset or an investment that will give return in later years, may mean that you are most likely set for life. By getting an early start to better managing your finances, you have given yourself a financial cushion that will help you to achieve an improved quality of life and maintain your standard of living.
Final Words
Comparing yourself to peers, who may not have taken a head start on controlling and managing their finances; you may often be compelled to throw caution to the wind and splurge without any care for the future.
However let us tell you that by becoming a better manager of your finances today, you are buying financial autonomy. You can generate multiple income sources from one income source just by careful planning and budgeting. While others may regret their past life monetary decisions and not putting anything aside for the rainy day, you may be reaping the benefits of your conscious efforts, enjoying financial security and a good quality of life.