What is Personal Finance?

Personal finance is a very broad topic, and there are a lot of ways to look at it. Here are some points that we’ve come up with:

Money is a Tool

You need to understand how the economy works in order to be financially responsible. And while this is generally not taught in schools, it’s important to understand that there is a relationship between your income and your spending.
 
You need to keep track of what you spend and where your money goes. You should know exactly where every penny of your hard-earned money goes. This is the most important thing to practice.

Determining What Your Needs Are

You should strive to keep your expenses much lower than your income. “If you can’t pay for it twice, it’s too expensive”. Determining what your needs are is the most important part of this process.
 
Money has many different uses, so there are a lot of different ways to manage it.
 
Using  “chips” or “dollars” makes it easier to track and understand what you are spending money. It gives it a visual effect and helps you keep a mental note, compared to spending it digitally through a debit or credit card.

Money is a Beautiful Thing

Just like any relationship,  money has two-sides to it. The more you know how money works and what it does, the better off you’ll be.
People have different opinions on spending, savings, debt, and investing, but what we can say is, there is no one single way of thinking about personal finance. People are different, and we all have different needs. Get creative with it. Learn to risk it for the biscuit. 

Money Demands Respect

If you see that you need to change something about your spending habits, do it!
 
Treat money with respect and it will reward you. Money in motion, stays in motion. It had to be fluid, so don’t allow it to sit too long or it loses value.
 
Personal finance isn’t just about money, it’s about being responsible, investing in yourself, and maturing with it.
 
One of the most common things people get hung up on is trying to figure out what they *should* do with money.
 
It’s pretty simple actually.
1. Save
2. Spend wisely
3. Invest
4. Don’t go into bad debt
 
If you follow those four money rules, you will be in great shape. They will set you up to go in the right direction.
 

Get Started Today

There is much more to be said about personal finance, and it can be broken down into so many different topics.
 
We encourage you to read our other content here at Shiirs, where we go into detail on everything from budgeting, to insurance, to credit score health, and much more.
 
Feel free to write us and we would be glad to discuss and go into more detail with you.