Financial Management - Motivation is the Key Factor

There are things that only we can do for our self. One of these things include financial management. It does not matter your: profession, educational background, how much you have etc., the truth is that finances are the life blood of every Human being. It is not my intention to bother you with some accounting technical terms here. My utmost faith is to see you take action that will better your finance for good. Listed below are some of the skills you need to become your own financial manger:

Discipline: For you to become your own financial manger, you cannot do away with being disciplined. Being disciplined helps you in the area of consistency. Every accountant out there knows that consistency is a (principle/convention/theory) that is highly valued. What this will do for you is to make you be in a position to make comparison between different time frames.For instance, how do you know you over/under spent on certain item(s) in the previous month if there is no yardstick for doing such?

Budgeting: This is not a difficult thing to do; is as simple as saying; Hey Guys, I want to spend Fifty Thousand Naira this month. But wait a minute, do you think is enough to just say it? The obvious answer is NO. So, put it down in writing. Is that a difficult thing to do?

Record keeping/Analytical mind: Hey! Don't go shivering by my mentioning these 'mathematical" sounding words. I don't mean you should be sophisticated in this regard, a simple diary can do the job perfectly well. What you need to do here is: get a portable diary and pen and make use of them to take note of all your expenses (both minor and major). This is very important if you really want be your own financial manager. REMEMBER TO BE DISCIPLINED. At the end of every period (monthly, weekly, daily), compare your budget i.e what you said you want to spend and what you actually spent. Again,write down the difference

Rewarding/cautioning attitude: This is the time to take ACTION. I must warn that you be objective at this point. Don't be lenient because you are dealing with yourself. Be objective. OK, if at this point you get a favourable variance (difference between actual and budgeted), pat yourself at the back and and say "Truly i am a financial manager". If on the other hand you get an adverse variance, CAUTION yourself. learn to be disciplined. I want to assure you that if the above simple, yet powerful steps are taken, not only will you become a financial manager, your financial position will take a different shape and you will be better off in the long run.