It’s no more than a guess that you work very hard to earn your money – so you need to make sure that your money is working hard for you in return. That’s one.

Money, when it is all said and done, is a means to an end. You work to make money; you take that money and use it to make sure that you have a place to live, a car to drive, food to eat, and clothes to wear.

And with luck, you take that money to enjoy some of the finer things in life. Many people believe that money is made to spend, and in a sense, that is validly true, and you will spend it – but not necessarily today.

If you are young, it is hard to imagine that you will reach a point in life when you can no longer work for your income. It may be a long way off, but that time will come, and you must be prepared for it. You cannot expect to start saving for retirement the year before you will need to retire!

The sooner you start saving and investing for your retirement, the better your retirement years will be – and that should be a major goal for everyone! When you retire, you will start spending the money that you’ve worked all of your life to earn and save. With luck and planning, there will even be some or plenty left over to give your grandchildren or great grandchildren a good financial start.

Just because you make a lot of money, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. We would all like to live rich and famous lifestyles, but it isn’t very realistic. Common sense is best when it comes to money, so again, why would you pay more for something that you can have for less? If you are using common sense, you wouldn’t!

If you don’t have to spend your money, don’t. It really is as simple as that. Instead, put that money to work for you, and have it make more money for you and your future.

The very first step is to ask yourself some simple questions.

Do you open your bank statements and bills the minute they come in the mail or throw them aside and do a Scarlet O’Hara, “I’ll worry about that tomorrow”? Without looking at your bank balance, can you say within $10.00 what your balance is right now? Do you know what stocks and/or bonds you are invested in? Can you say with certainty how much you spend on gasoline or entertainment in a month? You do…you don’t…no clue? Yes, you need help and you need to get your financial house in order.

Tip: the Internet can help. There is a mountain of financial information out there on the net and all you have to do is look for it. Use any search engine you like and type in “Personal Financial Help”. Follow those leads until you find programs that can help you get a handle on all things financial. There are a lot of very good ones…some free…some not. Some sites will even help you make a budget you can live with. When you have less income than out-go, making more money isn’t always the answer.
The answer is usually managing the income you have better, more efficiently and wiser. Here are three simple rules to follow:

1. Save first. When you get your paycheck, before you spend one penny on anything else, set aside a few dollars in a savings account. I call that, “Pay Yourself.”
2. Budget your necessities. Necessities are food, clothing, shelter, and transportation… not necessarily in that order. Shelter includes utilities.
3. Subtract #1 and #2 from your total paycheck. The remainder is all you have left for entertainment. Stick to this plan and your financial house will soon be in order.