Money is more than a way to pay your bills. As a social construct, money and the ability to accumulate it is linked to our place in the world. For many of us, revenue is synonymous with freedom, growth and self-esteem. Therefore, mastering money is mastering oneself.
When you are savvy businesswoman or a mom with coupons, the way you manage money will define you in one way or another.
[Tweet “You are in a relationship with everything around you.”]Develop Your Fiscal Relationship
You are in a relationship with everything around you. From your loved ones to the barista making your coffee, you relate to each person somehow. This does not stop with the almighty dollar. You are in a relationship with money and everything that it means, so it is important to define this relationship. There is a direct relationship between a person’s financial self-awareness and her later-in-life general well-being. Before you launch into budgeting and planning, you need to ask yourself how much money is enough? What does money mean to you? Find all of the other reasons to make money, the ones that are not about paying a bill. You will find that words like “security” and “freedom” make the top of the list.
Plan, Plan and Plan Some More
If you are an entrepreneur, you will need a business plan. Even if you are not creating a business and are focused on your own personal finances, you will want to make a long-term plan. A business plan is a tool that helps you guide your vision, moving it forward financially and operationally. The Small Business Administration is the definitive source for business planning and templates that make the process easier. Plan out every aspect of revenue generation. The typical business plan includes information about the person’s vision, the day-to-day operations as well as income and expenses. Whether for your enterprise or your home life, a written plan will place you at the helm of your financial decisions.
[Tweet “The process of developing a budget & the resulting written budget is a motivational tool for anybody”]Understand The Budgeting Process
Where a business plan is full of long range hope, a budget is a tangible device from which you can measure your success. This can be used for your business and at home. The process of developing a budget and the resulting written budget is a motivational tool for any organization, business or family. List all of your projected expenses, including savings and contingency, then prioritize them. Make putting money into savings your first bill. Try making use of bookkeeping software. QuickBooks, for example, lets you maintain a paperless office in addition to offering W-2 forms for your employees. Compare your actual expenses monthly to your budgeted expenses and make adjustments. Continue this cycle until your finances are aligned with your business plan.
[Tweet “Making purchases is an inevitable outcome of revenue generation. “]Purchase Only Forwarding Items
Your budget is made up of different categories of things that you need to buy. Making purchases is an inevitable outcome of revenue generation. When you buy something, make sure that it pushes your goals forward. An office decoration may be visually appealing, but company checks lend ethos to your business. Everything that you purchase should be aligned with your goal; if something isn’t, then you should reconsidering purchasing it.
Be Rich
Coco Chanel once said that there are people with money and then there are rich people. Money does not make you rich. The joy and happiness that you get from being fulfilled is what makes you rich. Money is an outcome of your success but not a goal unto itself. Be rich in your mind and let the money flow to you.
[Tweet “Be rich in your mind and let the money flow to you.”]Identity Magazine is all about empowering women to get all A’s in the game of life — Accept. Appreciate. Achieve.TM Every contributor and expert answer the Identity 5 questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the above article. As a team, we hope to inspire and motivate ourselves and inspire you to get all A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? What are you still working on accepting?
I accepted that if I do not make myself a priority in my own life I will never have what I want.
2. What have you learn to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? What are you still working on to appreciate?
I appreciate that I can be single minded and accomplish anything I set my mind to.
3. What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? What makes YOU most proud? What goals and dreams do you still have?
I completed my PhD in Psychology in June of 2015 with the support of my husband and children. I still want to write books about relationships with my husband.
4. We all have imperfections, so we think. The truth–we are all perfectly imperfect. What are your not-so-perfect ways? What imperfections and quirks create who you are–your Identity?
My not-so-perfect way is accepting the bumps in the road because they make the best stories.
Passionate and a bit obsessive would be a nice way to call my quirks.
5. “I Love My…” is an outlet for you to express and appreciate all the positive traits that make you…well… YOU! Sharing what you love about yourself will make you smile, feel empowered, and uplift your spirit and soul. (we assure you!) Identity challenges you to complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
I love my husband. My husband has taught me to love myself by loving me so unconditionally that I had to learn to love and appreciate the object of his affection: Me!
