HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY

Your money is a huge part of your life. It can determine what you can do and where you can go. Learning how to manage your money the right way is an important step towards taking control of your life.

Understand where your money is coming from, where it is going to and how to make sure that the way you manage your money is in line with the values that matter most to you. Here are several strategies to help you manage your money.

Keep tabs on your bank accounts

Managing your bank accounts by reconciling them to your bank's records is a responsibility – and one of the best money management habits you can keep.

You should balance or reconcile, your records for all of your bank accounts at least once each month when your bank statement is available. This is one of the best money management habits. Benefits of balancing your records include:

·         It helps you keep track of your money

·         It helps you verify that the bank information you have is accurate

·         It helps you identify any mistakes you or your bank may have made

Make a budget

Drawing up a budget and sticking to it is not easy, but it is the best way to be in control of your finances and make sure your money is going towards the expenses that matter most to you. Here are some tips, in no particular order, on setting up your personalized budget plan:

·         Make a list of your values

·         Set your goals

·         Determine your income; net pay or take home

·         Determine your expenses; fixed, flexible, insurance

·         Create a spending plan that must meet your needs

Pay yourself. Save

The future is expensive and that is why people need to save or invest. Consider the cost of education, cost of retirement especially when your prayer for long life is answered.

Investing; which is a form of saving, is just one individual master plan, which every individual needs to be interested and involved in. Therefore, it is important that as you grow older, you evaluate your net worth by comparing your assets with your liabilities, income versus expenses, input versus output and make a personal intensive effort to have a savings and investment plan to fill in any gap that is noticed.

By Ifeyinwa Olloh