April is Financial Literacy Month.
When it comes to money we can always learn something new.
The education system never offered us a formal education in money.
For some reason, Chemistry and Geometry were more important
subjects to study in school instead of learning about how to deal with money.
You most likely learned about money on your own or watched how
your parents spent money, which might have not been the best example.
Because no one ever taught you how to handle money, it’s only
natural to make some mistakes. Unless you know how to quickly
correct them, these mistakes can easily destroy your future.
Ironically, these mistakes seem like the right thing to do. Because it’s
what the masses are doing. But if you are following any of these
common (but destructive) methods, you may be slowly killing you
chance at financial freedom.
Since it is Financial Literacy Month, it is a good time to get
on the road to winning with money.
Here are three suggestions you can start with over the next few weeks
to help you get your financial house in order.
Create a Spending plan: Develop a true budget for the coming month.
If you have $4,000 in income in May, calculate how much you will
allocate to groceries, gas, the mortgage and more. Putting all your
expenditures down on paper will help you get a better idea of where
you stand on a personal finance level.
Read a book: Read just one finance book this month. Do a Google search
on money or search your local library’s catalog section to find a financial
book that catches your eye.
Create Financial Goals: You don’t need to wait for the
beginning of the year to create goals. If you have not done already,
you can set a goal to save up seven-months worth of income in an
account (what I call a smart fund) just in case you have to deal with
any unforeseen circumstances in the future. Also you can set a
long term goal to contribute 10% of your income to your
retirement account each year for the next five years.
So use this month as a time to get started on continuing your
education about money and developing solid habits that help you win
with money.
Listen to Money on Your Terms show live on Thursday nights 8:00 pm
at blogtalkradio.com/tim-mann. If you can’t make it Thursday nights catch the archive shows anytime.