Money Management Skills

Posted On July 21, 2006 | Written by Emmanuel Oluwatosin

I am sure you are wondering what I mean by [tag]Money Management[/tag] Skills… Yea, it does exist. The problem most of us have is not how to make money but how to manage the one we currently receive. You may need to read my You Dont Need More Money to understand my school of thought. Your financial future depends on what you do with that seed in your hand now.

Though the money that comes into your hand is nothing but a small stipend, you can never have more until you are able to manage what you call that little stipend very well. One of the things that our educational system fails to teach us is money management. Money is not taught in schools. The only thing we learnt while going through the educational system is “how to spend money.” This, we learnt and master very well.

Our educational system focuses on scholastic and professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains why even corps members that are well-paid during their service year still have nothing to hold on to just some few weeks after the service. The only thing they have to point to is the financial mess they end up finding themselves through their actions.

The truth is that whether we like it or not, there is an already fixed amount of money that comes into your hand every month. You may say otherwise if you are a [tag]business[/tag] man but that gives you enough reason for you to master this skill as you are not even sure of how much you are going to make on your next business transactions. Everything has to be on speculation which might be far from reality.

In life, it is not how much money you make; it is how much money you keep.

Though it is good to still be expecting that pay rise from your employers, it will do you great good if you can learn to manage the one that you have access to right now. Quite a lot has been said about lottery winners who are poor, then suddenly rich and then poor again. The problem is not about making or earning more money but about handling the one we have now right.

Sit down and think about this for a minute. Imagine a situation where you lost your source of income and you have to sit at home for some time before you are able to secure another job. Also, imagine that there is no source of income for you during this period. Will you be able to scale through the hurdle of this period without borrowing money? I am sure very few can answer YES to this. Never worry if your answer is NO as you still have time to make amendment.

You might even be saying that there is no way you will not get a job immediately. Another job might even be waiting for you right now. As such, you still can’t find the scenario happening to you. But what if it happens? Are you prepared for what you are likely to go through? The simple truth is that you have to make a personal commitment to change your attitude towards the money that comes into your hand now if you would not find yourselves in a big financial mess. You have to increase your ability to manage money.

Like I said earlier, being wealthy is not about spending money, it is about making money. The society has given us a definition of what it means to be rich and this has eaten deep into our system. No wonder, we see people spraying money at party scenes as being the affluent in the society.
Your inability to do the same has made you believe that probably you might never be rich or are destined to be poor. Your money habit today is gradually carving out your financial future. Being successful financially is progressive and until you can manage the little thousands you have now, you are not prepared to handle more thousands or even millions. The earlier you allow this to sink the better. Make up your mind now and handle that money as the seed required to create your financial future…

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