Look at our society. Everyone wants to be thin, but nobody wants to diet. Everyone wants to live long, but few will exercise. Everybody wants money, yet seldom will anyone budget or control their spending. – John C. Maxwell
Honestly and legitimately working for and receiving money at the end of the day is a good feeling. What you do with that financial resource will determine how disciplined you are.
The commercial world system is driven by money and does everything it possibly can to get your hard-earned cash out of your hands before you have time to touch it. There are men and women who believe that money will manage itself while they go on spending sprees to meet the desires of their hearts in hopes of quelling their emotional problems.
There is a category of individuals who seem to have difficulty in seeing things, admiring them and leaving them alone; they believe they must have them at any cost. Yet there are others who are about instant satisfaction: they want things now, without thinking how their actions would affect them, their spouses, children, friends, credit rating, reputation, jobs and future.
I have heard this expression several times: “This is my money that I work hard for and I will spend it however I like.” Such an attitude towards your personal financial resources may become a recipe for disaster especially if you are not bearing your future in mind.
Managing your scarce resources is critically important. I have seen relationships rise and fall as a result of lack of money management.
There are several consequences that stem from a failure to manage one’s money, including loss of property, frustrations, distress, death of love, divorce and the emotional distress of the couple’s children.
Many individuals I know do not have a problem with income, because they earn more than the average employee, yet they are stressed out every month because of a lack of money management. I also know of persons whose income is considered to be average, but they are not distressed at the end of the day.
The difference, most times, rests in one group of individuals trying to live above their means while the other is not; one set of individuals not managing their money properly while the other is being thrifty.
Responsibility
Planning is crucial in effectively managing your money. Consider the following steps:
1. Planning should commence with you. It is nobody else’s responsibility. Parents, friends and teachers may assist you by providing information, encouragement, incentives and motivation, but planning your life is your responsibility.
I know of young people and adults who continue to make little or no progress in their lives because they blame others for their failing rather than accepting responsibility for their own actions. As an individual you must set out to plan your life from your youth.
Planning has to do with order, discipline and arranging your life as to what you want to do; why, how, when, where and with whom you want to do it. These are hard questions you must ask as you continue on your journey to acquiring and managing your money.
The thought of planning your life must not be viewed exclusively in financial terms but in developmental terms, where your whole personality: social, mental, emotional, spiritual and physical components become your targets for growth.
I am meeting some very young children and adolescents who have already decided their career path and are able to articulate very clearly the ways of achieving their goals. I also speak with youngsters with tremendous potential to accomplish great things in life and unfortunately, they act as though things will successfully just click into place as they get older. These youngsters therefore waste time in school, college, university and other institutions of learning and to their further demise, associate with peers who affirm their lethargy.
2. Planning should continue with action. You can have the best plan in your head or even on paper, but until you convert it into action it is only a good idea.
In looking at your future with the goal of acquiring money, learning to develop good social relationships with your peers and adults is important. Such linkages can help you to foster rich friendships; to get involved in team-building skills; to sharpen your communication skills and to expand your knowledge base, all of which can put you in a position to find gainful employment later in life.
Positive thinking
Make your mind work for you in obtaining money. That would involve diligently pursuing every opportunity to enhance your mental capabilities with your career path in view. Also thinking very positively and creatively can take you beyond the average person’s way of doing things. Shaping your emotions by discouraging hatred and bitterness from forming in you can shape stability, self-esteem and confidence as you pursue your future dreams.
Keeping yourself in a healthy physical state, by way of good eating and exercise, is necessary if you are going to be productive and reap financial rewards.
Developing your spiritual life should be seen as vitally essential. God is the source of “all good and perfect things”, including all wealth. Committing your life to Him therefore gives you opportunity to benefit from His guidance, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, for it is “He who give us the power to acquire wealth”.
3. Planning should conclude with benefits. The present benefits of planning and managing your money can be numerous. All areas of your life can experience growth, making you a well-rounded, focused individual to reap future financial benefits.
I agree with Jim Rohn who said: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you, not much.” If you are thinking about money management in the truest sense, it must begin with managing yourself.
Next week I will take Step 2 in money management.
• Reverend Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. Email [email protected].
