Do you have money troubles? I can remember being over my head in credit card debt after college. I ended up burying my head in the sand so I wouldn’t have to deal with it too. You have to work on your finances every day.
How often do you think about your finances? Or, do you stick your head in the sand and just continue spending money you don’t have?
How often do you think about your budget or tweak it? Do you follow the news of companies you own stock in? Do you know what the mutual fund managers of your funds are doing or thinking?
If you focus on your finances a little bit each day, you will be able to handle and understand them better than ever. I’m not talking about buying and selling stocks everyday or watching their prices like a hawk. I’m talking about raising your financial IQ.
Work On Your Finances Every Day
You Are Good At What You Practice
It may not exactly be fun to everyone, and it may invoke memories of piano lessons of our youth. But, you are good at what you practice every day. Malcolm Gladwell is famous for pointing out in his awesome book, The Tipping Point, that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice at any one activity to become an expert at it.
So, all of you aspiring guitar players should definitely keep at it. The same is, of course, true for your finances. You have to practice to be good at it. What do I mean by practice? When was the last time you calculated your net worth? When was the last time you followed the stocks or mutual funds that you own in your retirement accounts?
Do you know the mutual funds top holdings and their rationale for it? Do you listen to conference calls of the companies you own stock in? It is not rocket science, but doing one small task each day will keep your finances in the forefront of your mind.
Do Not Make Yourself Throw Up With Worry
You should focus a little bit of your time and effort on your finances every day, but you shouldn’t dwell on them though. You shouldn’t worry so much about them that you want to throw up. I know how that is. I’ve been there before and had those sleepless nights.
That’s not where I want you to be with your focus. That’s not the type of everyday focus I’m talking about. It is not important to religiously track the share prices of the stocks and mutual funds you own daily. But, do you read everything that you can about those companies? Do you purchase those shares and simply forget about them?
You should be continuously tracking how these companies are doing, what they are doing, if they have any great products on the horizon, or any other great knowledge. If you are investing your hard earned income in stocks and mutual funds, you should be extremely knowledgeable about those companies and everything that is written about them in the public arena.
Read Something Financial Related Every Day
I would like to think that you want to learn something about your finances, and that is why you are reading this blog. Or, maybe you love anything money, investing, and finance related like I do. It does not take much to raise your financial IQ. One of the best ways to become smarter about your finances and how personal finances work in general is by reading every day.
I love to read personal finance blogs like Budgets Are Sexy, Cash Money Life, PT Money, and many others. That’s how I got into blogging in the first place. I’m also a huge fan of reading financial magazines such as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Money, SmartMoney, and others. There are a host of great resources out there to help you learn more about taking control of your finances if you want. Reading something every single day is a great way to learn and work on your finances.
Just because you are tracking your finances and learning about personal finance everyday does not mean that you have to make changes every day. In fact, that is a horrible idea. You should be a long-term investor with years or even decades before you need your investments if you are investing in stocks. Tracking your investments and learning about your finances is not the same thing as meddling with them too much.
What about you? Do you work on your finances every day? Are you trying to constantly learn about your finances? Are you trying to raise your financial IQ? I’d love for you to leave a comment below…