Money Matters: That Funny MATH
By: Jeffery Marlow
Welcome to the New Years’ edition of Funny Math, an article designed for information, awareness, and perspective for financial success. This edition I will focus on one principle in particular that you can start today, that you must start today, if you ever want to be successful financially. Doing well with what you have today is a tell tale sign of how you will manage your money later, whether you have a little or a lot. It is the principle that many may have heard or read in The Bible, Luke 16:10 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much…” This principle is fundamental. People who do not take care of the income they have now, no matter how small, will not take care of the money they may get in the future. So what are you doing with the money you have? Are you living check to check? Are you giving to charity or to your church? Are you saving your money? Are you investing your money? The answers to these questions should give you a general idea of whether you are being “faithful” with the money you have and if you are on the right road to financial freedom. I have heard many people say, “If I only had an extra $1,000, I would get out of the financial mess I am in” or “If I had some extra money, then I would give to my church” or “Once I pay off this bill, then I will start to save some of my money.” Anthony Robbins put it very well, “If you aren’t willing to save 10ยข out of $1, you aren’t going to save $100,000 out of $1 million.” The same is true of giving, investing, and money management.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU MUST START NOW, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
INVEST
There are even more investment vehicles out there for your money than savings vehicles. When it comes to investing, the best time to start is now! Don’t wait until next month or next year, start now. Some basic and advanced investment vehicles are Mutual Funds, Stocks, Rental Real Estate, and Stock Option trading. These are the most popular investing activities, and I urge you to do your research on your investments before you put your money into it. Look for an investor to model if you can, or consult your financial institution in order to get the ins and outs of particular investments. Try not to get intimidated because you don’t have much experience, the best way to get experience is to get started!!! I will go into more detail on some of these investment vehicles in future articles so stay tuned!
SAVE
Try to save 10 cents out of every dollar you earn…you’ll be surprised how much that actually adds up to at the end of the year, and even more surprised when you see what it does after 20 years. There are many vehicles available that you can use to save money. The more inaccessible your money is when you are saving, the better. Sometimes it is difficult to see your money growing without dipping in to take a little out. Yet, that is the worst thing you could possibly do! Every time you dip into your savings, you dip into your financial freedom. Use your savings to invest, and then you can use some of the income from your investments to dip if you really need to. Some savings vehicles that you can get into are Money Market Accounts, Certificates of Deposits, Aggressive Savings Accounts, Government Bonds, Bank Savings Accounts, etc.
TRACK YOUR FINANCES
Get into the habit of tracking your finances. You should know how much money you have in your bank accounts, how much you owe in bills, and how much you spend for miscellaneous activities. This is vital because it will give you a financial picture of where you are, what you spend most of your money on, and what you can cut back on to allow you to put some money into savings, giving, and investing. One of the best ways to track your money is to keep your receipts and review them weekly. This allows you to see where and how you spend. Also, keeping records of your cash flow with easy-to-use computer software like Microsoft Money or Quicken is another good way of tracking your monthly income and expenses.
CHARITY
Last but certainly not least you must give!!! The principle is that you must give in order to get. You reap what you sow. If you want something, give it away, and it’ll come back to you greater than when you gave it. This principle is fundamental and works whether you believe it or not. It doesn’t matter who you give to, where you give it, and whether the person or organization knows that it was you that gave, but you must give. If you don’t have enough money in your life, than you aren’t giving enough, and you need to start as soon as possible
Common places to give to are your local church, non-profit organizations like the Salvation Army, GoodWill, United Way, Red Cross, etc. I recommend again for a person to give 10 cents out of every dollar they earn. If you have yet to experience the power of giving or have heard stories of others that have given, I’ll just tell you now, it is more than worth it!!! If you follow these four points and make them a part of your life, you will have no choice but to become abundant with your finances. Although this is not the be-all and end-all in what we need to do in order to bring our finances to the next level, it is a good start. Don’t wait!!! There is no time to waste!!! Begin your journey and I’ll see you at the top!!!
