Page 70 - Making It To The End Of The Month

MAKING IT TO THE END OF THE MONTH
of our finances, we plan to fail. Planning our financial lives is the only way to experience financial freedom and, in turn, to live generously.
With so much information available on the subject, planning a financial future can seem daunting. The key is to learn the basics and to take one step at a time. The main problem with spending plans is that they concentrate on a typical month. In so doing, they massively underestimate what people really spend, because the plan doesn’t take into account other significant expenditures, such as Christmas, birthdays, holidays, car and house maintenance etc.
The idea of a spending plan is simple. It will tell one truth – either, we spend more than we earn or that we receive more than we spend. When we know which category we are in, then we can make decisions about our finances and ask questions like, ‘What can I afford to spend?’ Furthermore, we must make the commitment to stick to our financial decisions. This is so important. By default, following a spending plan requires self-control. Without self-control, we may start our journey but never finish. We need to have the determination not to give up when it seems to be difficult. Self- control is what enables us to keep going, and this is crucial in making it to the end of the month.
70