Prioritize Spending - first things firstFailure to prioritize spending is a "here and now" problem as well as a problem waiting to bite you in the future. When it comes to managing money, you should have priorities assigned to your spending so you know what you're going to do with your money. If you understand that money gives you options, then you have an ability to prioritize. If you have little money to spend, then you'll find that things tend to prioritize themselves. Let's look at the type of things we need to assign priorities to. Not everyone has the same priority, but then, not everyone is successful with managing money either. Things that deserve priority consideration in my life:
As you can probably imagine, there are priorities within each of the groupings above. For example, people with low income often forego medicine and instead direct that money towards food. In their mind, food is a higher priority. Sometimes it is. In any event, we all need to get better at putting first things first, and that means we need to prioritize spending. Much of our ability to prioritize will depend on how well we can distinguish between needs and wants. Something else that will help us prioritize is being able to identify marketplace alternatives and less expensive substitutions for the things we need and want. This can help give us options to consider, and sometimes having more to pick from can help us make better decisions when we prioritize where our money is going. Remember, first things first. As the old saying goes, "Don't put the cart before the horse." If you're focused on frugal living, you have to prioritize what you are spending your money on. Done with Prioritize Spending, back to Managing Money |
