To live financially smarter, one first needs to get educated. Developing a true understanding of terms such as debit, credit, investment, budget, will ultimately lead to financial flexibility. Having this means one is free from the feeling of being controlled by their finances; flexibility means they are controlling their finances.
There are four main parts of financially smart living. These are: being in control of your money; being able to deal with a fiscal shock; steadily working toward meeting financial goals and being flexible enough to make financially positive choices.
Being in control means you are able to pay your day-to-day bills without getting in a panic. When you need to buy a new pair of sneakers for your child, this does not send you into a financial panic. This is an extension of having enough money; it is money management.
Being able to deal with a fiscal shock means that suddenly your freelancer wife is not able to take clients. She is not covered by insurance but this does not send you into a panic. Meeting financial goals means you have a plan in place and you’re not veering from it dramatically and finally being flexible enough to make choices means you can go on a spontaneous vacation or buy the latest iPhone, once in a while.
Living financially smarter – we believe – is the only way to live.