Somehow our lives depend on what we earn, big or small, and never will there be a man who doesn't depend on finances to accomplish certain things in life. This means to say that money plays some vital role in our lives, just like the food we eat.
I once lived with a man who never planned or budgeted his finances. Each time a certain sum enters his hands, he rejoices for a moment because, at that time, the money looks too huge and unlikely to get exhausted anytime soon. The pleasure of the moment is conceived in his heart almost immediately, and a single walk around the street will get him buying every item that draws his attention and looks appealing.
Forgetting that money flies even much more than time, like we have often used the phrase "how time flies," Money doesn't only fly; it actually vanishes and disappears into thin air like vapor without proper planning on how to utilize it. Every dollar spent without proper planning will turn out to be a waste of resources, and we may end up regretting our mismanagement of our funds.
The monies that get into our hands from whatever source, as mentioned above, are meant for various purposes, some of which are either to
- spend
- invest,
*Save or - Give out to people as a gift
However you choose to spend the money that gets into your hands will determine if you will end up financially stable in life or live in debt, and the most likely and common one is to live in lack and want. A lot of people have been found in the latter category because they never planned for the money's 🤑 that entered their hands. No budget,and neither an investment savings, to say the least.
We have come to understand the importance of investing our money compared to saving it from the numerous blogs flooding the #hiveblockchain and #leofinance communities. A very risky investment is also a means of saving your money, only that there are additional profits from shares, and all of this while saving can be there for years with no potential yield.
Planning ahead of every potential incoming loan is one of the greatest financial lessons I have learned, amongst others. Planning involves setting goals and targets for what we wish to achieve with whatever money we are expecting, especially if such money is certain to come.
Budgeting our finances is a crucial aspect of planning, where roles are assigned to such finances. We can make our budgets either rigid or flexible. Rigid in the sense that the money meant to achieve certain goals of our lives is utilized wisely until the desired goal is achieved. And flexibility of budget comes in the sense that if certain money cannot produce some results for us, we seek alternative means. The end goal is to achieve something tangible with the money that enters our hands.
Every penny we earn or get can be placed on budgets. This is often perceived to be a daunting task, but accountability is the standard used to measure the effective usage and utilization of our finances. Without that, there may be room for slippage or loss of finances.
The summary of it all is effective planning and a positive use for the finances that enter our hands; without that, we may end up living life in a circle where money comes and goes without achieving anything with it. That is certainly a disastrous and wasteful life that no one will ever want to experience in life. On a side note, while trying to achieve your financial goals and stability, try as much as you can to not owe anyone a penny. Debt is a stain on our success and achievements in life, and borrowing to fulfill our financial pleasure without a proper and responsible payback means can wreck every success we have achieved so far in life.
Avoid the plague of living a financially cycloned lifestyle with no proper plans and work towards financial stability by giving it your best shot. It is better to die hard rather than relent at the mercy of fate. The lifestyle of the man up there has taught me this lesson, and even in his late 50's, we cannot account for any tangible achievement in the money that ever entered his hand. They all came and vanished like the wind.
Images are mine
This is a submission to the Hivelearners prompt, hope you found this worthy of your time. Comments, suggestion and correction will be treated with honour, thanks for stopping by.