Money makes the world go round, as they say, and while the whole world is full of those crisp or wilted paper bills it seems that they like to slip right through our hands so quickly.
People who know how to make a dollar or two with ease enter the world of finance, which is the business of managing your money and your other assets. If you've got a bank account, finance is involved.
If you're considering an investment to support your future, you're thinking in terms of finance. Maybe it's on our minds 24/7. After all, we need money to survive, and most of our lives is spent on making it. Not just stockbrokers or bankers or investors, the so-called money-jugglers of society.
The thing is, finance is really for everyone. If you've got money, then you have to involve your brain in the act of finance or money-managing to get the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, you will splurge and you will wonder where in the world the money went.
The best time to start learning about finance is the time you start to receive money. Think about it. When you received a check in the mail from your grandma as your birthday present, weren't you already thinking of what you were going to spend it all on?
That is the essence of finance, although that very act may have been insensible and financially disagreeable; hey, you were just a kid, after all.
Maybe you were a smart kid, one who knew how money goes. Maybe you've stashed it in your secret hiding place. Maybe you started to go into business by selling lemonade (although maybe you drank more than half of it too). Maybe you gave some away to your favorite charity. Yup, that was finance too. We all know better now, don't we?
It hasn't changed much; we go out to make money, we spend some, we save some, until we have enough to make a couple of major purchases such as homes or vacations. Only we know a bit more. And we've understood more of the finance jargon that sometimes rolls on the tongue.
Investments. Assets. Loans. Benefits. Mortgage. Insurance. Knowlege is power, as they say, and knowledge on how to finance will lead you to finance greater amounts of money in the future. So study up. Take finance management classes. Follow the stock market. Listen in on discussions.
Finance also includes self-discipline. Sometimes you have to keep yourself from small pleasures in order to attain the bigger more important things. Finance means that you need to set your priorities straight. Sacrifice may seem like a lot at the moment but the end will justify the means.
Finance is planning ahead. For your future. For your future's future. For your financial safety and stability. Because it is a very difficult thing to get by in this world without the proper resources. It is preparation for the unknown. Managing your finances mean decreasing the number of worry lines on your face.
So if you've got money, if you're planning to make money, or if you're thinking about money, well then, you're thinking about finance. Just keep in mind not just to think about finance, but to think about it wisely, too.
James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor ofFinanceWebs.com and writes expert articles about finances.