Money matters
- At February 05, 2011
- By Nathan
- In Career Planning
0
A little house on the prairie
Managing money may not be very high on your list of exciting things to do. Being forced to read bank statements, plan a budget, set priorities, and track where the money went, can feel like doing hard time in prison for some personality types.
If you need some encouragement during your Siberian-exile experience, just think about what will happen if you don’t do it. Imagine a headline that reads: “Family forced to sell clothes and join nudist colony.” Or, “Kraft Dinner diet: starving student turns orange.”
Here is a thought (please don’t be offended): Nobody is going to manage your money for you. By and large, more people out there are interested in getting you to part with your hard-earned cash, than helping you managed it wisely. Dangling “stuff equals status” messages in front of you constantly is one of the methods used to drain your bank account dry.
Just in case you are inclined to think that carefully managing your money is somehow a “selfish” thing to do, remember: yes, lots of people have needs, legitimate needs, and so do you.
Since this website is focused on helping you clarify and pursue a career that it is a fit with you are, may I point out the obvious: this will require hard work, sacrifice, and funding.
If you are spending all your money eating out in restaurants, making car payments on a new car, and living in a home or an apartment that you can just barely afford your career aspirations will likely never get off the ground.
You may need help, no matter how well you manage your finances. But at least determine to do what you can with what you have.
Your cost of living will be reduced considerably if you move, sell the new car, and eat at home most of the time. Buy things used if you can. I purchased the laptop computer I am sitting in front of for a fraction of the cost a new one. It works fine some of the time, which is about all you can expect from these often infuriating machines.
Buy a car that no criminal in his right mind (if there is such a thing) would ever even think of stealing. My main means of transportation is a 1993 Toyota Corolla. You’re feeling a bit jealous; I can tell. But, it works fine. Aside from starting spontaneously every now and then…can’t complain.
So get creative. Managing a little bit of money wisely will mean that you have a little bit more to manage.
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