3 Reasons You Should Care More About Personal Finance
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People love money. They love receiving it and enjoying everything it can buy. Most people want to make more money, which they then use to spend more. They get caught up in this paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle with no end in sight. Many accumulate high amounts of debt, put off saving for retirement, and continue trying to buy their way into happiness.
It may appear bleak, but the truth is that the description above fits the average American in society today. This often occurs due to poor financial habits and an unwillingness to learn. Many people work 40+ hours per week to make money, yet won’t spend even ONE hour per week learning about how to manage it properly
Why don’t more people care about managing their money properly and adapting effective financial habits? There are numerous excuses. People are too busy, uninterested, or learning about money is too complicated. “I’ll deal with it later, it’ll all work itself out in the end.” They prioritize other uses of their time that they deem “more important.”
Unfortunately these rampant excuses are far too familiar, and leads to gambling with your future. The most frustrating part is that this gamble is largely unnecessary, personal finance doesn’t have to be complicated. The basics are very simple and it all comes down to whether you care enough or not.
Here are 3 reasons why you should care more about personal finance:
1. It lets you take control.
There are very few areas in life where we have complete control. One of the best aspects of personal finance is that you have complete control over how you spend your money. It’s up to you to determine what you truly value, and then to allocate your money accordingly. Setting up a budget and tracking your expenses can aid greatly in making sure you’re spending your money on what you value most in life.
Another element to gaining control is that the better off you become financially, the more options are opened up for you. For example, if you have a healthy emergency fund built up, you can take the risk of switching jobs or career paths. If you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck you’re unable to take this chance on yourself since you’re tied down to a job you desperately need in order to get by.
This concept is further magnified when you start looking at retirement savings. If you practice good financial habits over a long enough period of time, by spending less than you earn and investing the difference, you can become financially independent. This gives you full control over your time, and you’ll no longer need to work.
2. Set Goals
Another reason why you should care more about personal finance is that in doing so you’re able to set specific goals. These can range from saving up for a vacation, getting out of debt, a house down payment, or retirement. These goals become much more attainable when you are taking deliberate steps towards achieving them. If you don’t care about where your money is going, or learning about investing, you’re simply dreaming rather than taking action.
3. Reduces Stress
Taking the time to learn how to effectively manage your money has a widespread positive impact on your life. One of those benefits is reduced stress on a daily basis. Studies show that money issues are one of the biggest sources of stress and conflict in your relationships. Simply by learning more and getting your finances organized you can start to slowly work your way out of the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle that most people are stuck in. This helps you pay off current debt you have and avoid adding more.
It helps simplify your life, reducing the worries of how bills will be paid. It lets you plan for the future and start building up funds for your future retirement. While money doesn’t necessarily buy happiness, it’s extremely hard to find joy in life if you’re constantly worried about having enough money to cover the essentials.
Final Thoughts
By not thinking more long term and taking some time to learn proper financial habits, you’re potentially damaging relationships, your ability to retire someday, and putting your future self into a big hole. If you take the time to put in the effort and actually care about your financial state, it opens up so many more opportunities. It lets you take control of your present and your future, set goals and work towards achieving them, and reduces the stress of your day to day life.
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