Managing money is something that many people feel is never really taught to them. It’s something that you might pick up along the way, especially after you start working, and that you have to make conscious effort to work on too. If you want to learn how to manage your money, there are plenty of articles, books and forums that might help you out. But there are also some more interesting and unexpected ways to learn how to manage money that you might not consider. Some of them are things that you can approach with purpose, while other situations might come at you and force you to learn something new.
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Consider What Money Means to You
Your relationship with money is very important to think about if you want to manage it well. However, a lot of people don’t really consider how they feel about money. One thing to think about is what you think money is for and what it means to you. It’s pretty difficult to survive without money in the modern world, unless you’re willing to go completely off-grid and be self-sufficient. But just because you need money, it doesn’t mean your whole life has to be about earning more money or spending money on things that you like. Maybe to you, money is just something that you need for basic necessities, but it’s other things that bring you joy in life.
Watch How Rich People Spend Their Money
When you think about being rich, you probably imagine spending lots of money on whatever you want. While it’s true that people with a lot of wealth do enjoy the finer things in life, they also know that you can’t just spend all of your money. Spending lots of money might be how you enjoy being rich, but it could also mean that you’re not going to stay rich for very long. Someone who wins the lottery could soon be back to where they were before if they just spend indiscriminately. Managing your money smartly means spending sensibly, saving and investing.
Learn Lessons from the Law
Learning lessons from the mistakes and wins that other people have had can be a great way to learn how to manage your money. One way you might find some valuable stories is to read famous legal cases that touch on money and finances. You can learn some unexpectedly useful lessons by reading both modern and older cases. A case where someone loses a lot of money because they were negligent can encourage you to be more careful to protect your finances. A lot of civil cases can highlight the importance of having insurance, while employment cases can teach you lessons about how to handle your job.
Only Buy with Cash
Some people can feel very disconnected from their money when they always receive and spend it in a cashless and contactless way. Cards, mobile payments and online banking are very useful, but they can also make it easy to spend more than you realise. If you want to correct this, you might consider spending some time only buying things with cash. You could still take care of your bills and regular expenses with direct debits and standing orders, but use cash for your discretionary spending. It can help you to budget better and avoid spending money that you don’t need to.
Face a Financial Challenge
A financial challenge can force you to look at your finances differently. Some challenges might be those that you don’t expect. No one wants to lose their job or face a sudden expense, but these things can happen. It’s also possible to create your own challenges if you want to try and push yourself. For example, you might set a goal to save a certain amount in a certain timeframe. Or you might decide to restrict your budget more than usual to help you put more money away.
Teach Your Kids to Manage Money
Teaching other people how to do something can help you to learn more about the subject too. Parents often want to instill good money management habits in their children, and this can be a good way of learning more about how you handle money. When you think about what you want your children to learn about managing money, it can cause you to consider whether you follow the same principles. Perhaps you’re not practising what you preach.
There are lots of different ways to learn about managing your money. If you’ve tried the usual methods, there are more options to help you learn.
