Money

Are you constantly thinking about money?

Perhaps you are wondering how you can possibly survive another winter, in light of another economic crunch, right? A lot of people are thinking about that right now.

Money is often at the center of our thoughts, particularly when we are financially strapped, in one way or another. Not everyone is in dire straits, but many people are in serious financial trouble. At times, it seems that for them, there is no way out.

Let's think seriously about money, just for a moment. In other words, think about nothing else but money. Whatever other thoughts come into your mind, toss them aside, momentarily.

You will find that it is almost impossible to do that, as other thoughts continually surface, too. You know you should think them through, but you also need to take the time to sort out your finances.

Take a day to have a serious look at your financial status.

Begin by creating a mini-budget where you write everything down in a notebook.

Look at your fixed expenses and see how they can be reduced.

Examine your day-to-day expenses, noting exactly how much you spend daily, weekly and monthly. You may be spending far more than you realize. More than likely, you can cut back there, too.

Sort through your financial needs and wants. Determine which are which, as they are definitely different. What you want, may not necessarily be what you need. What you want can often be put off until your financial situation improves.

Plan ahead into the future as you do your budget. Picture your financial situation five years or ten years from now. How will it be different? Even further down the road, what changes?

In other words, think things through.

You don't have to stop living to get ahead financially. You may just need to live differently, perhaps being more careful with the actual dollars and cents you have coming in.

Look at your actual income and ask yourself what you can do to improve upon it immediately, or how you might be able to enhance it in the future.

Do your finances balance or are you steadily falling backwards financially, getting deeper and deeper in the red? How much are you 'investing' in smoking, drinking or substance abuse, that is harming your health? Do you toss money in the lottery, expecting it to return? There are better investments.

Ideally, you want to move forward setting up emergency funds, savings and potential retirement income.

Examine your existing debts and taking one debt at a time, look at interest rates in the light of re-payment with a minimum of 15% of your actual income per year. In setting up a re-payment plan, you will become debt-free, over a period of time.

Use your thought processes to resolve financial issues.

You are able to do that. Think about money in a positive light, where you are the one who is in control of your finances.