Teach siblings to manage finances
Those of you who are ardent Bible readers (or better still, conformers) will vividly recall Proverbs 22:6 ‘Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ So, in line with the advice from the wisest king of his time, Solomon, I put my three ‘little’ brothers together the other week-end. All them had just graduated and about to start work. The agenda was simple ‘teaching them how to manage personal finances while young’. Not that they have been bothering me with requests for money or that they are good-for-nothing spenders – well, at least not these three.
Introducing the topic is not easy when one has not started earning money of his own but I felt the strong urge to introduce them to the principles of financial management while young. After all, the Bible is silent on how old the child should be before you start training them. Below are excerpts of the discussion I had with my beloved brothers.
“…Managing your personal finances is a very critical task, which needs to be carried out for a successful long run financial stability and health. However, this is a very tough task, especially when the amount of money earned is considerably low. By inculcating few of the very essential habits of managing personal finance, a person can achieve to save few coins by the end of each month. Irrespective of the amount of money that is earned by a person in a month, it is very essential that the amount earned satisfies the requirements (needs) before wants are considered.
By sensibly managing your personal finance, you can live a comfortable life in terms of healthy eating, environment, sufficient clothing as well as shelter. You need to satisfy your demands with the amount of money that is earned and not by borrowing money excess to what can be easily repaid. Good habits for managing your personal finance can be inculcated from very early in life by how you manage your money.
Keep a track record of your day-to-day expenditure: This is perhaps the first step towards starting to manage the personal finances. Through the record, you can check where the money is actually going and which items you are spending the most on. Surprisingly, you may find that expenses can be considerably brought down by introducing few alterations on non-essential products/services.
As a first tip, put money for savings aside before you start spending your paycheck. This is one of the biggest secrets in managing your personal finance. So, after you get a paycheck, instead of distributing money for varied purposes firstly take some amount out for the intention of saving it for yourself. Unfortunately, most people indulge in paying the bills first when they get a pay check.
It is also important to always shop by list. It is advised that when you go on shopping, go with a pre-determined list.
Ultimately, in order to enjoy a secured future after you finally retire, it is strongly suggested you start managing your personal finances from the first paycheck you get. Set your pension scheme, perhaps with the help of the employers. Managing your personal finances is a very easy task provided self-discipline is adopted. The returns that you will enjoy from managing your personal finances are really valuable.”
