How Easy is Planning Financially?

Financial Planning starts with identifying your financial aspirations, then building up a personalized detailed plan to achieve them. It’s like drawing up a ‘map’ specific to your goals and needs, and based on what you want out of life, your attitudes and goals whether personal, professional or financial. That map shows you how to get there and if necessary it should be kept secret….!

Some of the areas that will be covered include:

•  Your goals — a new house, children’s education, travel, a secure retirement, etc.
• Your investments and assets — your house, car, fixed interest, shares, etc. 
• Your income and commitments — mortgages, cost of living, etc. 
• An action plan and investment strategy — to achieve your goals.

 There are three basic money problems that a person will face during the course of his or her life. 

• Accumulation problem. This is the problem most of us actually have, how to accumulate money.  
• Investment problem or what to do with money when you have some.  
• How to create money and provide for the availability of money in the time of need or crisis.

 Putting hard-earned dollars back to work is the cornerstone of accumulating capital and building wealth. Choosing the optimum mix of savings and investments from the many options is the secret to achieving financial success.

Everyone has different goals...Think about your own for a minute. They may include buying a house, planning for your retirement or getting into a new business. In other words, the financial security to help you enjoy what you want out of life. This is why financial planning covers such a wide area. Once you've determined what you want out of life, you start the planning. This planning puts financial strategies such as investments, shares, fixed interest, unit trusts, superannuation, insurance and cash management into a written plan or map designed to work just for you.

Simple Ideas to Cut Down on Your Expenses-00-10

By: grumpyjack sa

In these tough economic times, many of us have to keep our expenses in check. Unfortunately, it seems like an impossible task, considering how expensive everything has become.

It is actually not as complicated as it may seem. it may mean you have to modify a few habits, but it is not rocket science by any means. With a little common sense and commitment, anyone can do it.

Firstly, get into the habit of noting all your expenses, even the sodas you bought on the way home. You will quickly see where your money is slipping away, and decide for yourself what is essential, and which are luxury items. How much of the luxury you cut back on will depend on your particular situation.

Next, take a look at how you do things around the house. Could you maybe use a little less hot water when you bath? Do you switch the light off when you leave a room? Do you use the stove a lot, when some of it could have been done in the microwave at less than half the cost? Do you get in the car to visit a shop every time you miss something? Simple things like these can add up over time, and if not attended to, keep on draining your cash flow.

Do you indulge in simple luxuries like having a soda on a regular basis? Have you calculated the cost over a period of a year? Do you smoke? Did you calculate the cost over a year? You do not need to quit altogether, because simply smoking a bit less will already result in a significant saving.

Have you considered starting a club to share the expenses of driving to work? City driving is heavy on fuel and maintenance. Even if you car only runs half the time, it will still amount to a considerable saving due to the saving on wear and tear.

Lastly, have a look at your financial management. Can you possibly obtain cheaper insurance without sacrificing cover? Have you looked at the option of refinancing your home at a better interest rate?

These points are all common sense, yet many people overlook them, and wonder why their budgets don't fit. Find the little holes in the bucket, and plug them up. They usually spill a whole lot more than the few big ones. Don't allow your habits to rule your finances. Take control - your life will be a whole lot easier.

These ideas were brought to you by Discussedhere.com and House Talk , both of which are websites dealing with discussions about real estate. Click here to read more on expenses.

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How to Teach Money Management to Your Child

Financial responsibility is one vital attribute of a successfully managed life. It is a lifelong effort that should start at an earlier age up to the twilight years and even beyond. Learning financial responsibility while you are young prepares you for proper money management later in life. Training your child to manage his money is not just a gift, but a responsibility as well for the parents. When a child learns how to responsibly manage his finances, he gets a foretaste of financial stability when he grows up.

Teaching a child financial responsibility should start early. This can be as simple as telling a 3 year old "no" when they want you to buy something. Or even saying, "We don't have money for that today". These statements are helpful for a child to hear as they are based on reality. It will also allow the opportunity to open a discussion about money. This may not happen at 3 years of age, however, it will allow a child to be more comfortable when he/she is developmentally prepared.

Next, teach children the actual value of money. Teach them the meaning of a penny, dime, quarter, dollar etc. Teach them how to count money. Although this is taught in school, it is vital to financial responsibility to grasp this concept early. There are many books or workbooks that are helpful.

Next, teach a child the meaning of money by teaching them how to earn money. Discussions often happen early about why a parent must go to work or pay bills, etc. Discuss ways an adult earns money by discussing various jobs or careers. You can then discuss how they can earn money. Common jobs for children are chores, lemonade stands, paper routes, mowing lawns, and babysitting.

After a parent has taught a child how to earn money, it is time to teach a child how to spend and save money. 1 way to teach spending and savings is to have 2 piggy banks. Mark 1 as spending and the other as savings. Have a standard plan of how much goes into each piggy bank. For example, if a child earns $5.00 per week by completing chores, maybe $3 goes into savings and $2 goes into spending bank. It takes quite an effort to teach your child how to spend and how to buy something. This is also a delicate task to handle as a parent because it should be modelled and appreciated.

After there is enough money saved to open a savings account, take the child to the bank. Explain why people use banks. Next explain their new account by discussing their savings statement. This is very helpful for young children, as it is a hard concept that you have money being cared for by someone/something else. Banks are often initially frightening for children. Continual friendly explanation is often helpful.

As a child grows, you can have them place their checks for birthdays or holidays in their respective piggy banks. As he becomes ready for work until he finds a job, try to keep them on the same system. This helps encourage proper appropriation of funds for wise spending and saving.

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10 Guide Questions for a Better Financial Life

"You answer my questions with questions..." The lyrics of the song "Question" strike me often.

What does it really mean? So, each of us has the ability to find the answer to any question. They key is to ask the right questions. If you're frequently asking yourself, "Why was I so dim-witted to get into debt?", your mind will provide an answer like, "Because you're a loser."

You should remember that your brain will keep working on your question subconsciously until you obtain an answer. We've all had the experience of waking up in the middle of the night with the answer to something you were thinking about earlier in the day. The quality of the answer is directly related to the quality of the question. A better question is "What action can I take today to start reducing my debt?" Your brain will ponder this until it returns an answer. like a concerned friend. That may be something like, "Get financially organized. Look through all my credit card statements and see if I can determine if any one card is better than another."

According to Scott Bilker, the founder of DebtSmart.com, here are 10 questions whose answers will guide you to a better financial life:

1. What action(s) can I take today to start reducing my debt?
2. How can I start making more money within the next 5 days?
3. What can I do to start saving money?
4. What did I learn about finances today?
5. What day, this week, can I commit to going to the library and researching my financial options?
6. How can I use my computer to improve my life financially?
7. How can I double my income within one year?
8. What dreams did I have when I was younger that I should revisit today that would improve my life?
9. Do I have the right amount of insurance?
10. How can I enjoy the process of working to reduce my debt?

Now find the answers...


Related site: Pinay Questions (filipinastudes.blogspot.com)

Being the family reserve fund…

If you've saved well and others in your family or clan haven't, should you feel duty-bound to spend on their behalf? Well, here are some situations you could be falling into:

• Your mom just called again. It seems that because you and your husband live a lifestyle that is careful, frugal and paid-off, you 'owe' your brothers' kids gifts; you 'owe' it to other family members to go and visit, and when you 'fail,' your brothers call her and complain. They all seem to think that you should spend because you can.

• Or, no one on your side of the family talks to you anymore because you finally said 'No more' -- to thousands of bucks streaming from your bank account to theirs. The blood connection seems weakened and even the friendship goes low.
  

• Your mother-in-law expected you to let a struggling relative and his wife live in a property you own, for less than market rent. But you are planning to rent it to augment the expenses for your daughter's education.
  

• And, you know what it's like, too, when a family member is in financial crisis. You’re helping a relative now, with some amount here and there, when you can. It's intended on your part; You were asked directly only once, for help with a car problem. It may not be wise but you continue out of . . . guilt . . . sympathy . . . fear of them suffering if you don't help.

You begin to ask yourself if you have to bust your butt for someone else's gain especially when that someone feels like they only need to work 25 hours a week! You are fed up with being treated like the local ATM by family members who either expect gifts (the biggest gripe) or who need the occasional bailout.

What's outrageous is when the request is a demand, an expectation. "You have more money, so you should share it!" And it could be worse when that expectation threatens your own financial stability. What happens if you get consumed?

Whose fault is it when relatives expect a handout? Is it your responsibility to communicate what you are and aren't ready to do. Should you be forced to wear a "Reserve Fund" label?

How to Handle Your Debts

In this time of global recession, there’s such a mounting hitch when it comes to debt. Many men and women nowadays are burying their heads in the sand rather than facing up to the situation that is escalating. There are various things that can be done to rally round your situation. It is vital to face up to your debt. By working out your monthly expenses you can make a plan.

Write down how much your monthly outgoings are. Start with utility bills, rent/mortgage, shopping and any other outgoings you have. Once you have calculated how much you need for all your expenses you can work out what you have left to spend or save for rest of the month. This is a good way of making sure you do not exceed your monthly income.

There are many options out there for people who are getting deeper into debt. Regrettably, people are not aware of the options that are available; There are a lot of options available and a debt consolidation loan is one. However, there is a lot of advice available so it would be wise to look into it. A bad debt consolidation loan can be very helpful to some, however if you are looking at getting one, it would be useful to look at more than one loan company and see what deals are being offered.

If you have a poor credit rating it is usual for people to think that it would be a lot harder for them to get help for a loan. This is not always the case and although not all companies can help a few can, making it possible. The interest rates are normally higher if you have a bad credit rating, nevertheless it is still obtainable. In fact some companies use people facing bankruptcy as an example.

Debt consolidation loan means merging your bills into one monthly payment; this is what makes a consolidation loan appealing to many as it takes away the pressure. The monthly amount can be considerably reduced although you will be paying it back over a longer period of time. It should be researched carefully before any decisions are made on consolidating your loans.

Improving your debt will take hard work and dedication this is why a debt consolidation loan shouldn't be taken lightly, much consideration should be taken to make sure monthly payments can be met.

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Get on the Right Financial Track by Tracking Your Expenses

We keep track of our expenses because things add up, sometimes in surprising ways. To make significant changes in your spending habits, you need to know your outflow or expenditure score. Record-keeping enables you to spot that all-important “big picture”: exactly how much you spend, and on what, as well as how it swings over time. If you can’t trace your expenses, making changes in your habits will be fairly jumbled. You might strike on something that will save you a lot of money, or you might not. You might cut down expenses a lot in one area, only to spend more in another area without realizing it. On the other hand, if you do know where your money goes, you can target those areas that need work the most, and you can make good decisions about how to spend your money. Often, your assumptions will be wrong.

Whether you earn much or just enough, the same principle applies. We frequently commit the error of considering each expense in isolation, deeming it worthy, and moving on… only to find that somehow there seem to be more worthy expenses than there’s money to pay for them. The technique is to look at the big picture and the real one…

How to track your expenses

Let’s fire up with the traditional method of record-keeping, and suppose that if you’re a computer geek, you’ll settle toward software later on. For the time being, keep it straightforward!

I suggest purchasing a small, cute or manly notebook. Why so? Because this is a constructive venture; strengthen it by using an nice-looking notebook, one that says “I’m doing a good thing for my life!” when you look at it.

For daily expenses, you can either write everything down in your notebook right away, in which case you need to carry your notebook with you, or you can save the receipts from your purchases and then use those receipts in the next step. But if you do the receipts-saving method, make sure you actually get a receipt for everything, and that you actually do save them.
Once you have gathered enough information to start looking at the big picture – and this could be after as little as a week or two, if you’re eager to get started – then start categorizing the expenses and adding up the totals. To do this, you’ll need not only your daily record of purchases, but also any credit card bills, utility bills, checkbook register and any other bills that you have paid.

Keep in mind, be honest, be detailed, and be prepared to be surprised.

Hidden Expenses

Jotting down even the little bitty expenses is significant, because if you’re not sure where your money is going, it’s often going to what I call hidden expenses: ones that are small enough that ignore them.

The hidden purchases usually fall into one of three types:

• impulse buys
• Low-cost purchases
• part of a routine or habit

Impulse buys often don’t get noticed because we don’t tend to plan for them: the CD on sale, the chocolate bar at the drug store. Even when they’re expensive, the fact that they seem spontaneous somehow tends to sabotage our rational spending: we justify the purchase as being exceptional. Even impulse buying often falls into some sort of pattern overall, though.

Low-cost items are another type of purchase that tends to fall under the radar. Something that only costs a dollar or two, like a cup of coffee or a little knick-knack, seem almost too small to be worth tracking. Except that little items add up to bigger totals. If you let a $1 purchase slip by every day without thinking about it, by the end of the year you would have let $365 drift away without knowing where it went. I bet you’d be interested in keeping track of the $365 if it were given to you all at once!

Purchases that are part of a routine are often the hardest to track, but in many ways the most important. These are purchases that we don’t even think about, but they can account for a lot of money: buying sodas from the soda machine at work, popcorn at the movie theater, coffee and a magazine on the way to work in the morning. Each purchase individually may not be expensive, but they add up, particularly since you may make these purchases frequently. The fortunate thing about this kind of spending is that it’s possible to change your routine slightly and eliminate a lot of these expenses: bringing a snack from home to work instead of plugging money into the vending machine, for instance.
In the long run

Once you’ve gotten a clear picture of your finances over the course of a year or so, you may or may not want to stick with the “record every penny” method, depending on your personal style, I still recommend that you keep a reasonably exhaustive record, so that you can keep track of changes in your spending… are expenses in one category starting to creep up again? Recordkeeping also ties in well with budgeting, so it’s a win-win situation to keep track of your expenses. Good record keeping is essential to your financial survival.

7 Biggest Money-Making Strategies

Nearly everyone desires to have more funds and retain more of the riches they have for their future or for some pursuits. However, a good number of us live paycheck-to-paycheck, deep in arrears and unsure on how to break out of the snare.

Here are the 7 biggest Money-Making Strategies you should learn:

1. INVEST. Whether you're 20 or 60, you are never behind schedule to begin. You'll be no better off in three years than you are right now if you don't start investing right now. Even a dollar a day in a mutual fund can make a big difference in a short amount of time.
2. MAKE YOURSELF IMPORTANT. You deserve to have some money set aside for you and to make as much money as you'd like. No one can stop you unless you let them.
3. GET A GOOD RATE OF RETURN ON YOUR MONEY. If most of your money is in a checking account paying 4 1/2 %t, you're losing money! Inflation will make your money worth less tomorrow unless you're getting at least 5-10 % interest on your account.
4. THINK THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU FINANCIALLY. Whether you're depending on the government or meeting Mr. or Ms. Right, you're banking on something very unpredictable. It's time for you to take control.
5. ASK FOR HELP. There are lots of money advisors, books, seminars -- you name it -- on making your money work for you. Only people who want to succeed ask for help.
6. PLAN FOR THE FUTURE. Retail therapy can be fun. But how long does the thrill of a new outfit or gadget last? Will you regret what you spent later when you are barely scraping by? How good will that purchase make you feel if you can't pay your bills?
7. TAKE TIME TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY. Good for you -- you've read this far so you have invested in yourself already. Spend at least five minutes each day managing your accounts, learning more about money and investments, and tracking your expenditures.

The time you spend will yield wonderful outcomes and facilitate your having your richest life!

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The Frugal Connection

I received just last week an email from a friend who now stays in Japan for good. He got married there and excitedly broke the news on his first born. Unwittingly, I replied by telling him that he’s got to have another one soon for he’s growing older, now at 43. He got back at me with all the pick holes on how hard life is, financial woes, high cost of living, difficulties in raising children, etc. Then I remember how tightfisted he was with us. Being single for 40 years, I could not remember any generous initiative he’s made in terms of spending. Maybe we were wrong or maybe he had a different view of life – stoic like the Japanese. But other people find him miserable and stingy, and worse, selfish. He said to me once that he’s just being frugal – a defensive mechanism huh! So I thought of discussing frugality for a while. I’ll hold tight my chance to understand him next time…

Frugal living doesn’t mean being miserable, or giving up what you want. It doesn’t call penny-pinching attitude that holds down your sharing capability. It doesn’t say ignore others and suppress your needs. Frugality is basically the system of finding less expensive alternatives. Being frugal simply means to spend wisely. Don’t waste money on things that you don’t need but don’t be cheap and skimp on the things that you do need. Being frugal means that when you do have to go out and buy things, you don’t really need the best of the best most expensive things. Buy things for less, and what do you get? More money left over to buy more of what you want! Frugality doesn't have to mean living without comfort.

On the other hand, maybe you don't buy the idea of clipping discount coupons and buying clothes at rummage sales. That's okay because that never was and never will be the important part of truly frugal living. For it to be the most advantageous, frugality has to launch with the big things, and if it never gets down to the small items, you'll still be further ahead financially than most people. Here are some suggestions for you to consider.

Ways to Cut Spending

1. Consider dropping your home telephone line. Your cell phone is probably all you really need, and most likely it has free long distance. You could save $30 or more per month by dropping your "land line".
2. Cut back on trips to Starbucks or other premium coffee shops. Often called the "latte factor", spending several dollars per day on luxuries like premium coffee can really add up. For example, if you spend $4 for a cappuccino five times a week for 50 weeks out of the year (you're on vacation the other two weeks), you would spend $1,000 in a year. Try treating your trip to Starbucks as a treat instead of a habit. You'll save money and probably lose weight too!
3. Pay your mortgage payment bi-weekly instead of monthly. You'll pay less interest and pay off your mortgage faster.
4. Carry cash instead of credit cards. Psychologically it's harder to spend cash than it is to use the credit card. You'll spend less and save on interest charges.
5. Use the "envelope system" for groceries, dining out, entertainment, and other discretionary spending categories. This will help you track how much you spend in these categories as well as prioritizing your spending.
6. Raise the deductible on your homeowners and auto insurance policies. It's not wise to file claims for small losses anyway (insurance companies love to raise rates after you file a claim), so a higher deductible will save you money now and in the future.
7. Buy regular gas instead of premium. Most cars don't need premium gasoline. Also, take public transportation if it's available in your area. Take advantage of "park and ride" and carpooling options.
8. Plan your purchases to avoid impulse buying. Take a list with you to the grocery store and stick with it. Studies show that impulse buying can add $10-50 to your grocery bill ouch!
9. Go to the library instead of the bookstore. If you're an avid reader, give yourself a book budget for books that you will want to keep, and go to the library for everything else.
10. Take a vacation at home. Check out all the local sites and happenings. You'll rediscover your hometown and save on travel and hotel costs.

These are just a handful of ways you can cut spending and stretch your dollars, but if you follow these tips you'll discover you have more money at the end of each month to apply to other financial goals, such as saving for college, retirement or just for a rainy day.

Frugal Living Examples

1. Search the Sunday paper for coupons and clip them out. Make a list of things on sale that you can stock up on in order to get your average cost down. Plan and run a route of four stores in order to get everything where it is the cheapest. Total extra time spent: three hours.
2. Sit with a pen and paper and determine what you really need in your new house to be happy. List the cheapest homes that meet your criteria. Make several extra phone calls and check out several bank websites to get the interest rate down to 6.25% from the 6.75% you were expecting to pay. Total extra time spent: three hours.
3. Let's assume you save $30 on your groceries for your effort. Your frugality made you about $10 per hour. In the second example, suppose you found a suitable home for $20,000 less. Let's say you only have to borrow $120,000 at 6.25% instead of $140,000 at 6.75%. Your payment would be $169 less per month, for a total savings of $60,900 over the thirty years of the mortgage. In this case, your frugality made you about $20,000 per hour.
4. I think you can see that it is the big stuff that makes a difference in frugal living. On the other hand, sometimes the small stuff is the big stuff, especially when it is repeated over and over. This is why it makes sense to save money on groceries. They are something you buy every week. How you do it makes a difference though.
5. Suppose you don't want to clip coupons or spend time looking at sales flyers. Let's face it; if it only saves you $10 per hour of effort, you might be better off staying a few hours extra at work and skip the hassle. On the other hand, why not invest just an hour or two to figure out which store is cheapest for the things you buy? Then shop only there, and buy more of the things you use and like when they are on sale. You might still save $20 per week, with no additional investment of time. That's a $1,000 per year!
6. Have you read newsletters and magazines about saving money? They often have tips on things like how to re-use plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Is it worth the time to wash out and dry your ziplock bags? Maybe, if you like that sort of thing and you are making minimum wage. For most of us, it is better to spend the time analyzing the big and the recurring expenditures. That is the key to frugal living.

Specific Guidelines for Saving Money Successfully

Nearly all of us were taught the value of saving money when we were still young. You perhaps remember your parents or a beloved aunt or uncle advising you to put coins into a piggy bank or a portion of your Christmas and birthday money into a bank savings account. Unfortunately, for most of us those lessons were among the first to be forgotten or ignored as we grew older and, purportedly, smarter.

What happened, no one exactly knows. I presume that impulsive financial demands of adult life coupled with insidiously effective marketing caused us to forget those early, ever-so-valuable lessons. After all, inflation would only cause your savings to lose a great part of its value.

Those who yield in to the dictates of excessive consumerism often never come to their senses until retirement looms near. By then it would be too late to recover from the circumstances. But such shamble doesn't have to be your destiny. There are effective ways to start saving money seriously and these can be immediately put into work before you run out of time:

Encourage yourself that you matter at least as much as everyone else.

We never get serious about starting a savings program due to our entrenched harboring of a precariously mixed-up set of priorities. We pay all our bills first, and then see what's left at the end of the month to save. And because our month lasts longer than our money, that predominantly accepted mind-set is an intoxicating recipe for lifelong insolvency.

You work hard for your money so surely you deserve to compensate yourself first, or at the very least second depending upon your religious beliefs? By choosing to first set aside a chunk of change for yourself, you'll be sending a message out to the world. One that's bold, simple and clear: "I matter to myself. That's why I pay myself ahead of others. This puts me back in control of my financial destiny."

Comprehend the true potential of compound interest.

While financial experts suggest that we set aside 10% of our earnings, the real economic heavyweights should set loftier goals. Inspire yourself to gradually spread out your talents set so you'll be capable of earning more and more money. Concurrently, lay down a personal goal of achieving a 40% - 50% savings cum investment rate over the next ten or twelve years.

Well, that’s rather extreme and it certainly is by the criterion of today's consumerist society. This is simply your decision TODAY to simply get started. So, calm down because your resolve is more important than setting such high final savings targets.

Given sufficient time and with sheer luck (don’t forget to say your prayers), even small sums parked in low-yielding financial instruments can mature to surprising values. So, make a start. And while you're at it, don't forget the primary lesson we all absorbed in childhood: We should learn to crawl before we can walk before we can run. Learn to save before you try to invest or, scarier still, speculate.

Unleash the power of goal-setting in this vital area of life

Get serious about instituting a personal wealth building strategy, or you will end up becoming pawns in someone else's personal scheme to grow affluent... at your expense. Learn to set challenging and motivating goals/priorities to help inspire yourself to commence on your own journey to financial autonomy. That onset is nothing more complicated than ascertaining in your heart that you have great value, and it’s your uncontestable privilege to save money for yourself.

You may begin your personal savings agenda in something as secure and straightforward as a bank account or a money market fund. Concentrate more on gradually raising your personal savings rate than in reaching - or over-reaching - for yield.

Let these three straightforward tips prompt you to immediately embark on a personal savings program or to get far more earnest about the one that you already have. I wish you luck in your personal pursuit for financial freedom.

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Manage Your Money and Manage Your Life

Money management suggests pulling off greater control over cash flow, both in personal and business perspective. It is the process of budgeting, saving, investing, spending and/or overseeing the cash handling of an individual or group. Effective money management can be achieved by establishing budgets and analyzing costs and income. A relatively second-rate investment can roll into a dynamic gold mine through effective handling of financial assets. What percentage or what part of your wealth should be put into risk in order to maximize your utility function? Controlling risk by proclaiming the amount of closing-out loss is different from directing risk through a money management model that determines the extent of your problem. You do not have to save your entire paycheck, but you should save at least a little something out of it. You must use a method to trace where every single dollar goes. Only when you know where your money is going, can you take steps to channel it to your savings and investments.

Financial management gives practical advice for gambling, for business contingencies, and for stock trading/buying or selling stock shares. Deficient money management is one major cause of bankruptcy among unseasoned traders. Only when you develop the habit of managing your personal finances, can you manage the finances of your own business. So many people financially mismanage their businesses into bankruptcy because they mismanage their own finances. Don't be one of them! It may take some time to change your habits and actions, but it will pay well in the long run if you do. If you want to be wealthy, do not expect it to happen automatically. You must commit to spend time on your finances. Millionaires spend an average of an hour a day on personal wealth management, while most people spend less than an hour a month, usually on paying bills. Financial stress resulting from poor money management skills can affect our capacity to make good decisions, harm our relationships, affect physical and mental health, and ultimately to function well in life. Many people think that if you cannot manage your life, you can't begin to manage your money.