Monday, December 10, 2007

STARTING TO BALANCE AT AGE 50

ANYONE CAN GET THEIR MONEY MANAGEMENT ON TRACK FROM ANY AGE. Just being willing to work at this is all it takes and maybe a few phone calls. And yes, it will take some time and work, but training always takes a little adjusting to get use to. First, make a list of all owing bills including utilities and food and gas. Know what your income total is for the month and write it down on the same piece of paper you totalled for your bills.
Don't panic, it may be you pay out more than you make and there lies the problem. A lot of people forget to account for all the nickle and dime that's done through out this period of time. This adds up into the picture as well and can put a dent in your "pocket". "Dad/mom, got a dollar for lunch", "Dad/mom, need $5.00 to go to the mall with my friends". "Dad/mom, got 25 cents for whatever". Before you know it, you're hitting the ATM to make up for your empty" pocket", forgetting the money in the account is for bills. (Don't forget that available balance thing all the banks do.) And now you realize you are also lacking the money to meet one of the bills and you instantly get behind. Even though you are a bank, you can train the little ones on use of their money and give them an allowance, telling them once it's gone, they have to wait tell the next week. No loans or advances. In the mean time, call the place you owe the late bill and let them know when you will be paying it. At this point, you also will owe a late charge, and that costs when you don't plan on it. O.K., so remember, you are beginning a training period. Work one to two hours overtime, just to see what this will do to your pay. It might just make up for the late charge and get you back on track. If overtime isn't available for you, consider re-consolidating your owing bill and get a lower payment, although the payment time will take longer and end up costing more than original. But again, don't panic, there is always a solution and the goal is to get yourself back into balance. " Robbing Peter to pay Paul " is really not a solution, unless you can work it out to not have to do visa-versa with Paul. Remember, everything you're doing is training you how to handle your money and break old habits. This can be done with a little work and commitment on your part.
MOST PEOPLE WANT TO CHANGE whatever is happening in their life because it's not working for them and to them, this is reaching the bottom when they decide they need change. If you have gotten there, then you are ready to begin your re-training and breaking of bad habits. Getting information is the first step of change and then applying suggestions is the on-set of the new habit. You will always have set backs, but have a good sense of humor and smile. Nothing is worth it without a little effort on your part. I recently listened to a young football player talk about his hard work of building up his body. He explained he was protecting his future by helping his body endure all the hard punishment it got from the games he played. Someone told him playing football was like putting his body in a car accident. He felt the body had a better chance of lasting without too much damage if he worked to keep it hard and in shape. This is the same for balancing your money. Keep it in shape with some hard work and it will be there for you when you need it.

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