Managing your money and managing your love life

I have spent quite a great deal of my youthful years studying accounting and finance.
Most of these years have taught me the importance of not only balancing my accounts but also my life.
Most persons struggle with managing their money, as the saying goes, just when you're about to make ends meet, someone moves the ends.
Managing ones money is a combination of the following:

• Setting goals and devising a plan to achieve it
• Staying organized
• Cutting spending waste wherever they occur
• Building and keeping a budget
• Always keeping your revenue above your expenses (Inflows v outflows)
• Saving and investing money

Managing your money is much like managing your love life. Some persons may not necessarily agree with me; however stay with me a little. Managing your money and your love life both require a lot of attention and they both affect each other. Poor money management can lead to a bad love life or even no love life in some regards. On the other hand, not managing your love life properly could also steer you into serious money woes. Let us take a look at my list above in the reverse order.

Saving and Investing
Most people do two things with their money which are to spend and save. There is also a third and important use of money; that of investing. If you were to keep your money at home under the mattress, instead of investing it, your money doesn't work for you. However, if you invest your money, you make more money by earning interest on what you put away or by buying and selling items that increase in value. The idea behind investing money is allowing your money to work for you as well as getting back more than you have put away.

In like manner, the experts will tell you that you must invest in your love relationship and spend time building a solid relationship even more than you would for a solid investment plan. This will definitely ‘save’ you unwanted relationship stress.

Inflows and outflows
In money management you should always keep your inflows above your outflows.

However, in managing your love life it is recommended that you always give more than you expect in return. Simply put, keep your outflows above your inflows. According to relationship specialists if each partner gives 60% and expect only 40% in return, then they both will receive more than they were expecting.

Building and keeping a budget
A budget is a tool to help you prioritize your spending and manage your money—no matter how much or how little you have. Keeping the flames alive in your romantic relationship should be a high priority item. Being creative, keeping the intimacy alive and communication are three important items in a successful love relationship.

The remaining three items above will be dealt with in the second edition of this blog.