You may not see yourself as a manager, but we all have the responsibility to manage the different aspects in our own lives. This includes everything from managing the time that we have to managing and developing the talents and abilities that each of us is blessed with to managing our finances which includes making sure we have enough to pay our bills and other financial responsibilities as well as save for the future. These three things are what are considered the three T’s: Time, Talent & Treasure. The nice thing about being the manager of these things is that we have the freedom to manage them as we think best. The difficult side of being the manager is that we’re responsible for the outcomes of how we manage these things. So if we make wise and good choices with our management, then typically things will go better than if we make choices that are poor management of what we have, whether that be our time, our talents or our treasure.
We all make decisions on how we will spend our time. There obviously has to be a balance in what we spend our time doing. In most cases we need to spend some of our time doing something that brings in income, usually in the form of a job, or is doing work that is supporting someone in our household that is bringing in income. We also need to set aside time for rest and recreation. There are other things we can spend our time on as well. If we spend too much time in one thing while neglecting other important areas, problems can arise. If we spend too much time in recreation, and not enough time working for the income we need to pay our bills, things can quickly go in a direction that can get us in trouble financially. If we spend too much time working and neglect taking time for other things that are important, this can also create problems, like for example with our family.
Everyone is blessed with talents and abilities. I always say that everyone is good at something and everyone has things that they aren’t good at. But even things that you have a natural talent for need to be developed. From an early age, I found that I had a natural talent for playing the piano. Now this doesn’t mean that from the time I discovered this, that I was all of a sudden a phenomenal pianist. I had to work hard to develop that talent. Someone may have a natural ability for engineering. That person couldn’t go through life never studying engineering and all of a sudden decide one day they want to apply for a job as an engineer at a large company. They would need to spend time studying what they need to learn to be a good engineer. No matter what you are good at, if you spend time developing that natural ability, the more beneficial it will be to you in life.
The same goes for managing our finances. Some people have more than others whether it was given to you through your family or you have a job that provides a higher than average income. No matter if you have a small amount of money or bring in a lot of money, the way that we decide to manage it will make all the difference in the world. Someone can make $200,000 a year at their job, but if they manage it poorly they can easily be living paycheck to paycheck or even be deeply in debt. Where someone that makes an average or even below average income has the ability, if managed well, to stay out of debt and build wealth for the future.
The key to managing your money well comes down to being intentional about making a plan on how you will manage the resources that you have. You may be someone who feels more like your circumstances are controlling your finances rather than you taking control of how your money is managed. It all comes down to the everyday choices each of us makes. Realizing that each decision you make regarding your money affects not only your present situation, but also your future. We want to help you in being able to see how those decisions affect your overall financial situation so you can learn to manage things in a way that helps you to move forward with your finances.
Most people will fall into one of several different stages in their financial journey and determining where you are in that journey will determine what steps to take to begin the process of moving forward to accomplishing your goals of being a better money manager. Once you’ve determined the stage you are at, and discover what steps need to be taken to move forward, the decision is then up to you to make the changes necessary to accomplish your goals.
If you have debt, whether it be credit card debt, student loan debt, car loan(s), a mortgage or personal loans, and the amount of debt never seems to go down, or actually increases over time, then you are in the Debt Accumulation Stage. Debt is one of the greatest obstacles that will prevent you from being able to move forward in your financial journey. If you are in this stage, your focus will need to be on making a plan to eliminate the debts to give you the freedom to have better control of your finances.
Being in this stage can seem overwhelming and sometimes feels like you’ll never dig yourself out of the hole. Determining what your debts are and what things brought you to the point of having debt is the first step. Ready to move forward? We are here to help. Click here to begin your journey of becoming debt free!
Once you’ve been able to determine what brought you to the point of having debt, you can work on developing a plan to eliminate it so you can better focus on building wealth which can bring about more financial freedom in your life. During this stage, it is best to be intentional about paying off the debt as quickly as possible. This involves changes in the way you manage your money and most likely a lot of sacrifice is involved. Eliminating your debt is the first step in creating a solid financial foundation to begin building on. Click here to begin the process of eliminating your debt!
A huge milestone has been reached when you make your last payment on your final remaining debt, whether it be a credit card, car loan or student loan. Once you’ve reached this point, you can focus on other priorities such as paying off your mortgage, saving for future needs and building wealth. In this stage you have a lot more freedom to choose which direction you take based on your own personal goals of what you’d like to accomplish. Click here for some guidance on helping you make a plan for your next steps.
Once you have your foundation laid by having your debts paid off, having an emergency fund established and are making progress toward paying off your mortgage if you have one, you can focus on building a nest egg for growing your assets for the future. Even though paying off your debt is an exciting milestone, getting to the point where you can see your wealth growing to be able to use for the future whether it be early retirement or the ability to move to a job that you may enjoy more, but may not pay as much, or the ability to have extreme generosity as part of your lifestyle is an exciting point to reach. Click here to begin your wealth accumulation stage!