Managing personal finance is a skill, actually a very important skill, and hence can be learned like any other skill in this life. No body is born with this skill. Even the best financial managers who control the budgets of the biggest companies in the world can be bad at managing their personal finance if they have not been trained on. Did you know, for instance, that most of those who consider themselves experts in managing personal finance, including the humble author, have suffered a lot from financial crises in their life that you might not even be able to imagine??!! The good news though is that if those great managers have made their way through those crises and survived their impacts, then you stand a very good chance of improving your management skills and becoming more successful in your life.
How do people learn personal finance management skills??!! Well, people can learn these skills from different resources and in different ways. They can learn them from their parents, friends, colleagues, spouses, or most commonly from their experiments and experiences. However, there are people who can repeat the same mistake for many times without realising that. This type of people need guidance and someone to tell them that they are wrong or that there is something they are not doing the right way. Also, there are people who find it difficult to master something without having a manual, a guide, or a mentor. This article can act as that voice that tells you ‘Go Ahead‘ when you do something right and ‘Don’t Even Think of Going Near That‘ when you do something wrong. This book can be your guide on how to make the most from your tight budget and limited resources. The author has tried his best to make it the only One-Stop Guide you will ever need to best Manage your Personal Finance.
But first and before we go deep into details, let us define ‘Managing Personal finance‘. This phrase dear reader has many definitions, but in a simple way it means the ways and methods that can help you make the most from your income or budget in a way that it best covers your expenses and in some cases leaves you with some money to save.
Now being aware of what Managing Personal Finance means, who or what do you think should you consult to get the best advice about managing your personal finance?? Should you consult books like this one?? Should you consult experts in this area or attend courses about this issue?? Should you consult your parents, friends, or those people that you trust the most?? Should you consult those people whom you consider successful in that issue and good at managing their financial matters?
No, actually none of those will be good enough to give you the best advice about managing your financial matters. Dear reader, your best consultant about managing your personal finance is
‘YOU‘
Yes, it is you. You only can help yourself manage your personal finance the best way. You only can help yourself to get out of that ditch and be something special. All those mentioned above can be very helpful as tools you can use to show you the way or give you the tips about best strategies in doing things. They can even be very helpful in putting you on the right tracks towards becoming a better manager of your personal finance. But that is all. They can do nothing more than that. The rest depends on you. You only can make the choices that will make you the best personal manager of your finance like you are now making the killing choices that make you the worst manager. If you think that you cannot do this alone, then don’t waste your time with experts and courses for they will not be able to change anything in your life. Your participation in this matter my friend is very important. It is actually a top requirement for you to be a better manager of your personal finance. So, if you currently are consulting a book, a course, an expert, a friend, or whatever … put in mind that they will not be able to help you much without your sincere participation and serious commitment. Don’t be surprised or disappointed of what you have just read because simply … you are capable of changing your life upside down and becoming the best financial expert in just a few years. Yes, you can. If you think that because of some minor financial problems and because of little shortage of money you are a bad manager of your finance or that you can never have control over your budget, I would tell you with assurance that you are wrong. You are an excellent manager of your finance and all that you need are some tips from this book and that course and some hard work from your side. In other words, this book is meant to give you some tips and enrich you with the author’s experiences and the positive expertise of some professionals that can put you on the right tracks towards controlling your expenditure. The rest is on ‘YOU‘.
Now that we have agreed on the basics- i.e. the definition, the resources, and your role in improving your management of your personal finance- it is time that we move towards equipping you with the skills that will make you a better manager of your personal finance.
My name is Saif and I am 37 years old. I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. I hold a Master Degree in e-Learning. I am currently doing my PHD in Business Management at the University of Bath.
