Most people know when they are having financial problems but they can't admit it to themselves. They look to the future for some sort of miraculous bailout, such as income tax refunds, raises from their jobs, lottery winnings, or an inheritance when Aunt Louise dies. They make excuse after excuse until they don't have any choices but to confront their spending habits, but by then, it may be too late.
Then there are others who don't know that they are in financial trouble because they close their eyes to the obvious. They just keep spending and spending and then rearranging their financial obligations, not realizing that they are paying Peter out of the money that they owe Paul. It becomes a game of who gets paid this month and who don't. They, too, will eventually have to face financial reality.
Are you okay financially? Can you look to your financial future with honest, heartfelt, certainty? Will your children be left holding a bag full of your financial dirty laundry?
Ask yourself these questions:
•Are you waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep because you can't pay your bills?
•Has your savings account dried up?
•Are you refinancing your property to pay off credit card and other debt?
•Are you frustrated because you can't seem to get ahead?
•Do you question yourself about where your money has gone?
•Are you jumbing every time the telephone rings because you are afraid that it is a creditor on the line?
•Are you begging for overtime hours on your job?
•Are you and your spouse arguing over who is spending too much on what?
•Are you ashamed to tell your children that you can no longer afford to pay for their tuition.?
•Do you put your bills where you can't see them?
•Do you use one credit card to pay another, knowing that you have already charged over the limit on that card, too?
•Do you pay just the minimum on your bills every month?
•Do you delay making payments on certain bills so you can pay others that you didn't pay last month?
Go ahead and admit it. Admitting to yourself that you are struggling is important if you ever want to get ahead. If you are asking yourself those questions, it may be time to start making serious efforts to curb your spending and to start heeding some of the advice that you hear every day on the televison and radio, and read about in newspapers and on the internet.
You are not alone because, during times of a weak economy, high inflation, and soaring gasoline prices, everybody feels the pinch of financial uncertainty. It has became an issue for millions of households and most of us realize that the days of unchecked spending has come to an abrupt end. For your financial health, managing your money is more important today than it has been at any time in recent history.
Not all money management tips will work for everybody because each of us have different financial issues, goals, and income. You have to chose the best course of action that will work for you. You can get help from professional money managers, or you can help yourself by reading financial advice books, going on the internet and clicking on financial websites, or enlisting the help of friends and family members. There is literally tons of financial management information that is free and readily available.