There are many financial management tips that you can use to help you be more in control of your personal finances. We all know that debt, one of the most destructive financial problems, is only a result of poor money management skills. If you want to avoid problems with money in the future, you may want to ensure that you will be practicing the right skills today.
We all have to learn this management skill sometime and fortunately, there are many sources for you to get lessons from. If you find that to be boring, you may want to relate financial lessons into something that is of interest to you – like lessons in love for instance?
Money is an important aspect in any relationship – especially in one where the couple share financial burdens. An article published on WSJ.com revealed that more and more financial advisers act as marriage couselors. Money is and will always be part of fights between couples. This connection should give you a hint that the same concept that will help your relationship will also help your household finances.
5 lessons about love that can be applied in money management
So what are the lessons in love that you can use to improve your financial management efforts?
- Be on the same page. It is true that in some relationships, opposites attract. But even if that is true, these couples compromise to keep themselves from fighting all the time. This is also true for your finances. Your goals, plans and actions should all be on the same page. Otherwise, you will never reach any of your financial goals. It all has to be aligned with each other. That is how you improve your financial standing faster.
- Stay strong in the midst of problems. Couples who persevere through ups and downs are usually the strongest. You will last as long as you are able to face problems together. The same can be applied to financial management. There will always be problems. That is a given. But if you persevere through the ups and downs of your finances, you will stay motivated to keep on doing the right practices. If stocks fail and you lose money, that is okay. Keep a level head and plunge through the next investment to try and recoup your losses.
- Do not focus on the sin – focus on the cause. Anyone can make mistakes. Even the people who say that they love you can do you wrong. If you want to salvage the relationship, ask yourself why they did the sin. Do not concentrate on the act itself but more on the reason why they did it. This is also applicable when you are trying to solve your debt problem. Do not just treat the debt as the problem. Look deeper because debt is just the symptom. If you want to be free from it, you have to go to the root cause. An article published on MSN.com likened it to having a headache. You immediately take medicine for the headache but if you do not treat the cause of the pain, it will persist after the effects of the medicine wears off. But if you solve the cause of the debt like overspending or lack of savings, then you will lower the chances of ending up in debt again.
- Learn how to trust. No relationship can survive without trust. Even if you start with a very strong love connection, that will die eventually if you do not learn how to trust each other. In the same manner, you have to learn how to trust – in yourself and in other people. First of all, trust in yourself that you know how to make the right decisions about your money. The only way for you to do that is to keep yourself informed. Financial management is all about staying on top of your money. If you know your finances, you can trust yourself to make the right choices. You should also learn how to trust professionals because they can help you out. Learn how to spot the trustworthy from the not and you should be able to get the needed help at the right moment.
- Split the responsibility. In any relationship, you need to share in the responsibility of making things work for the both of you. Married couples start to resent each other because of household chores. You need to share in the burden of doing them. The same can be said for your household finances. This does not only refer to splitting the household costs. You also have to learn how to jointly make a decision about your finances. Do not shut one out and or let them make all the decisions. You need to work as a team – in all aspects of your relationship.
Why managing finances is a lot like being in a relationship
You may be asking what makes love relationships similar to that of your personal finances? There are three important qualities that these two share.
Both needs constant work.
Any personal relationship, regardless if it is between lovers, friends or business partners, require effort from start to finish. It is a give and take relationship. You cannot keep on giving and you cannot keep on taking. That is not healthy for any relationship. In the same way, financial management requires constant work. If you want to boost your financial fitness, you need to always make an effort to keep it healthy. You have to always monitor where your money is going. You should keep yourself from giving in to the temptation of spending more than what you can afford. Not only that, you have to keep your financial goals in mind before you make any decision. There is constant work involved to ensure that your finances will always be healthy.
Bad practices can ruin both.
Some mistakes in relationships can be costly. Infidelity can ruin your relationship in a second. But even forgivable mistakes like forgetfulness or lying, when done repeatedly as a bad practice can end up destroying your relationships. That is the same effect that you can expect from your finances. IF you keep on making the same mistake over and over again, you will destroy it eventually. Overspending here and there, missing out on payment or failing to follow a budget – these bad practices can lead to your financial demise. Make sure you correct these bad practices and instead change them so you can improve your financial management skills.
Both have lasting effects in your life.
It takes one bad relationship to destroy a person’s trust in falling in love again. If you have been scarred by someone so deep, you will find it hard to trust someone again. Even if the person you met is sincere, you will interpret it as something different. This is also true for a failed financial management effort. We mentioned that debt is caused by poor management of finances. If you do not manage your money well the chances of you getting into debt is more likely to happen. If that comes to pass, you will suffer for a very long time. An example is the current student loan problem. According to USAToday.com, the beginning of the big student debt today can be traced back to the years prior to the Great Recession. Millions of Americans got loans to finance their college education and when they graduated, they did not get the jobs that was needed to help pay for the loans. This failure to pay will have lasting results like delayed investments in homes and cars and even in starting a family.