Mustering up some financial will power

By Leslie Penney

Penney-wise

People are usually ashamed to admit that they don’t have a clue about controlling their finances. In a perfect world, we’d have a firm grip on our finances, save a hefty portion of our income, make travel plans, purchase a new home, and save up for retirement. Now, how do you manage all your money, save up and go to Paris for a month, and still get the most out of what you already have?

It’s a little like dedicating yourself to losing weight – you’re full of resolution in the beginning, but after a month of boiled vegetables, and daily gym excursions, you’re just not that motivated anymore. Personal finances, unfortunately, are the same. The trick is to come up with a sensible plan and stick to it.

Like most diets, a lot of what you’ll find out there is complete crap. Usually, talking about money management makes people feel bad about their situation. Ever feel that way? Ever hear an athlete talk about what great shape they are in and then you look down at your pear-shaped figure and want to crawl in a hole? Well this is how someone who has credit card debt racked up feels when hearing some expert tell them what they need to do with their money.

The worst thing you can do, however, is avoid the topic. Face your demons, tackle the situation, and move in a positive direction. Imagine being 45, still renting a basement apartment, driving a 10-year-old car, and just going through the motions of life. Then, at a reunion you see all your classmates from university and they’re talking about how great everything is going for them. There are ways to prevent this from happening.

Getting ahead in life depends on a few things: Career choices, work ethic, a few lucky breaks (usually created from previous choices), and good old money management. Ironically, personal finance information is usually quite expensive. Also, when you’re in debt, the last thing you want to do is go and spend more money on something that you’ll forget about when you leave the office/lobby. Instead, I would suggest a good book. These are usually priced reasonably, rather than the more expensive seminars and tool kits. Rationally, if you’re in debt, all that these seminars will do is put you further in the hole.

Another negative aspect of financial literacy is that many young people are relatively unschooled at personal finance. If you try to learn about it, try to think about it in a practical manner. You don’t need to start using up all your electives to register for finance and accounting courses.

The key to successful money management comes from realizing its importance. Once you’ve figured out that it’s not all about making a shitload of money after you graduate, you’re on your way to solid financial planning.

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