It’s not how much you make, but it’s how well you manage your money that brings you prosperity and happiness in life. Most of us think that the more money we earn, the happier we’ll be. However, it’s not true. It’s not only how much money you earn that matters, but it’s also how you spend it. It’s important to earn money, but it’s more important to learn what to do with your money. As we all know the famous quote “Too many people spend money they earned…to buy things they don’t want…to impress people that they don’t like.” – Will Rogers. So let’s look at some tips on managing your money so that you’ll have a better, happier future.

Tip # 1: Budget your money

Sticking to your budget and living within your means are two of the most important aspects of your money management. If you do not budget or do not live within your means, you could soon find yourself broke and deep in debt. When you start earning money, you should have a pretty good idea of what you are going to spend your money on,how much, and what your priorities are, throughout the month or week. It is, however, very easy to get swept up with the material things in the world where you could buy anything with your credit card and your computer.

Before you spend, think about what you absolutely need and stop spending on things that are not necessary. Think of ways you could minimize your cost and save money. Try to save on your weekly groceries, your daily commute, or on anything else that you buy regularly. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to find the best possible ways that you could stretch your hard earned money further. You need to keep your eye on bargains and watch out for bad deals.

Tip # 2: Save for the future

Start saving from a very early age. It does not matter how much you save at first, but get into the habit of saving; it is one of the most important financial habits that you can get into in your entire lifetime. You should have several types of savings set up, as your life progresses. Have a retirement plan, an emergency fund, fixed deposit, and anything that can help you save money. Try to save as much as you can, and if you cannot reduce your expenses, find ways to increase your income. Having a good amount saved will give you the security of knowing that you have enough resources in case some emergency situation arises. For example, if you are living on a too tight of a budget with no savings, you would not have money for an emergency such as if your car breaks down. If you start early, later on in life you should have enough money saved up to put a handsome amount towards your house payment.

Tip # 3: Get organized

Keep track of all your expenses for the entire year, and you should be able to see where most of your money went, and what unexpected expenditures you came across. This will also allow you to eliminate expenses on your unwanted, bad habits that could end up costing you a small fortune, like cigarette smoking or drinking habits. Keep a monthly calendar of all your bills for the month, with due dates, to avoid late fees. Paying bills on time will also help you build a good credit score. Set your financial goals, and stick to them.

Tip # 3: Invest

A part of your financial goals should include investment. In addition to your regular income, fixed deposit and emergency fund, put some money aside to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or money markets. Often you’ll get a higher return on your money than what you’d get if you had your money sitting in the bank. But before you start investing your money in anything, make sure you research the market, gather enough knowledge about the market, and gain experience by starting small, or you will risk losing your investment. Visit sites like investopedia.com or How To Invest – For Dummies to begin learning about investing. You’ll find a lot of information and also business terms there.

Tip # 4: Get educated even further

I’d like to tell you a story here about Shaquille O’neal, the famous basketball player. Shaquille O’neal spent his first million dollar in less than 30 minutes. Then he got a phone call from his bank manager, who sort of warned him that if the current trend continues, he would soon be broke. Shaquille then decided to sharpen up his knowledge on money and finances. He went back to college, got his MBA and his Ed. D. Today O’neal owns 155 Five Guys Burgers restaurants, 40 24-hour fitness centers, 17 Auntie Annie’s Pretzels restaurants, 150 car washes, a shopping center, a movie theater, and several Las Vegas nightclubs and earns roughly $22 million a year. (kmojfm.com)

Shaq has often quoted these words – “It is not about how much money you make. The question is, are you educated enough to KEEP it.”

It’s true that money can’t buy happiness, but you will not be happy without it either. “It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” –Robert Kiyosaki. Money could lead you to freedom, and one of the biggest steps toward leading an independent life is financial independence. This means taking control of your life, as well as your money – both the money that you earn and the money that you spend.

We’ll be giving you more tips on finances on this website periodically, so please visit our site often.We’d love to hear from you, so please add your comment in the comment box below.

Source: Balanced Life Team