How
Smart Are You When It Comes To Managing Personal
Finances?
Individuals
who lack skills in managing personal finances tend
to make bad financial decisions that get them into financial problems.
Are
you one of them? ... Let's find out...
Does your monthly expenses exceed your
disposable income?
Do you have enough savings to cover
your expenses in the event of an emergency?
Are you a double-income family that requires both incomes
to maintain your lifestyle?
Do your total housing payments, long-term debts and major
fixed expenses exceed 60 percent of your income?
Are you accruing interest charges by
not making timely deposits, because you are spending more
than your net income?
Do you live on borrowed money or credit
cards to cover living expenses and fail to pay off
the balances at the end of the month?
Do you neglect bills to make an impulse
or luxury purchase?
Do you buy things based on monthly payments
instead of actual cost?
Will your health insurance cover you if
you suffer a significant or catastrophic illness?
Do you postpone planning
for retirement because you think retirement is still far
away?
Do you make a purchase based on a perceived need
or desire, or what you feel you deserve, instead
of what you can afford?
Do you buy expensive branded goods
because of the emotional feeling?
Do you sometimes finance luxury items
without first considering their financial impact on your
finances?
Do you use borrowed money, such as
credit cards, to make payments on items you have already
purchased?
Do you buy items out of guilt for your
children, whether or not you can afford them?
Do you when stressed out, anxious or celebrating,
spend money you don't have?
If you answered "yes" to two or three of these,
it's time you change how you've been managing personal finances. You
need to learn financial skills that will enable you make smart
financial decisions that will contribute to the fulfillment of your
financial goals .
Managing personal finances does not require you to be a
certified
accountant. Neither does it require you to have a sophisticated
financial calculator. And if i may add,...it does not require an 'A'
in maths. Actually, basic arithmetic...the '1+1=2'
kind of stuff, will do quite fine here.