Achieving Financial Balance Step By Step
Financial balance is within your reach. Like anything else you do though, you have to really want it. If you really want to lose weight, you will do whatever is necessary to achieve it. And if you really want to find a better job, you will also do whatever it takes. The same is true with achieving financial balance, you have to really want it. Now do not become discouraged it you at first you don’t succeed at it. It will take an effort on your part. Becoming self-disciplined enough to focus on a few basic steps and before you know it, you will be financially balanced. Keep in mind that it is a slow go; your chances of achieving financial balance greatly improve if you are not in a hurry. Here are 4 easy to follow steps that will help you to balance out your financial life.
Step #1 – Define It
Before you can achieve any type of financial balance you will first need to define what it means to you personally. We all have our own ideas about what balance means. For some people it can be as simple as living within ones means so that expenses never exceed income and debt never piles up. For others balance can mean managing their debt to a level that doesn’t keep them awake at night. There are no right or wrong definitions of financial balance, it’s too much of a personal thing for there to be only one definition. You need our own definition…do you have one?
Step #2 – Push Yourself For An Answer
Have you ever taken the time to define what financial balance means to you? If not, maybe you should start thinking about it. If basic financial survival is a daily struggle then you probably have not had the time nor desire to analyze anything beyond the day-to-day conflicts and difficulties that come your way. But if you do not break out of that cycle, who will get you out? You are responsible for your own finances. Think about it. You can hire someone to cut your grass, prepare your taxes and pick up your dry cleaning, but it’s a bit harder to hire someone to keep your personal finances in check. Keep yourself out of a financial mess by defining what financial balance looks like to you and then push yourself to get there.
Step #3 – Ya Gotta Have A Plan
Are your day-to-day road blocks stopping you from planning? If they are then you need to redirect your efforts. In other words, shift your efforts from basic survival to planning your future. Remember the old saying that “people don’t plan to fail…they just fail to plan”? Well there’s a lot of truth to that. No one wants to or enjoys living from paycheck to paycheck or being buried in debt. However, that is exactly what happens when someone does not plan. Planning is easier than you think. You do not need a fancy computer or smart-phone, a simple piece of paper and pencil will do the trick.
Here’s an idea to start your plan. For a month or two, write down every thing you spend money on, even if it is just a piece of gum. Then, check that list for items purchased that were simple things you wanted instead of needed. Can you eliminate any purchases on that list? If so, for a month, stop buying it. Continue this exercise for six months to see how much money you have saved.
Step #4 – It Starts And Ends With The Planning
Start planning, you have nothing to lose. Remember to begin with a broad brush then narrow it down. Where do you want to be 1 year, 5 years and even 10 years from now? What does your debt load look like? Do you have any student loans? When will those loans be completely paid off? Will you still be renting or paying on a mortgage? How much credit card debt will you have? Do you plan on making minimum monthly payments or pay your credit card balances off in full every month? When will you have a retirement account started? If you have any children, will you have college savings accounts for them? The questions are endless…and they are all personal, just like your definition of financial balance. Your financial future depends upon your ability to plan it…get started today, you will not regret it.
