Money, Money, Money

When I was younger if I wanted something my parents would make me save my own money to buy it. I didn't receive an allowance so to buy something I wanted took a lot of time and effort, saving money from birthdays, Christmas, and countless hours of babysitting. Eventually I would make enough and was able to buy what I desired. This has been true for many of the things I've wanted and it has taught me a valuable lesson on saving money. It also taught me how to decide what was valuable or worth my money and what wasn't. I am beyond grateful that my parents taught me this lesson as a child because now I'm conscious of my spending in college and focus my spending on my need and occasionally my wants.

In the family, finances are extremely important. The money that is provided by income pays for the needs and wants for a family and can help lead the family to success. However money can be the root for many problems within a family as well and according psychologists money is the cause for 70% of divorces. One way money can become a problem is when the idea of needs and wants are considered the same. So lets clarify what they are...

Needs are the basic necessities that are a essential to a family's survival such as food, water, shelter, electricity, clothing

Wants are everything else

When family members begin to blur the line of what is a need versus a want money can be spent on the wants which can then lead to lack of money for the needs. This can then lead to conflict within the family. It is important that this line is defined at the beginning of a marriage and is redefined as the family grows because when the family grows some needs change. When the line of needs and wants are defined they members of the family can spend and use their money in smart ways that will allow they family to live free of major financial trouble.

A smart way to be financially aware is create a budget. Budgeting can help you know where and how much of your money should be spent. Since being at school I've created a monthly budget for myself. I first looked at my spending trends for a month so I would have a realistic number to use when I created my budget. I then look at how much money I had and budgeted according to my needs and wants. Budgeting doesn't mean that you have to use your money solely on you needs and completely disregard the wants of an individual or a family. Budgeting allows you to address your needs first and then once those are accounted for you can budget some money for your wants. There are many different ways and tools you can use to budget and everyone's budget is unique to them. Budgets are ever changing because needs and wants are ever changing. For example, during my first semester of college I budgeted mainly for groceries, actives, eating out, and church funds. I've used that budget and it worked for me, until I took my clothing construction class this semester. I had to rearrange my budget according to the needs for that class because with fabric, zippers, buttons, and thread for various projects it wasn't just a few dollars I had to deal with adding.

In families budgeting changes just as often. As children grow their needs change. I come a family of 5 children and I think of the additional finances that were added to my family when we all started doing various activities, such as soccer, swimming, colorguard, and band. There are also the unforeseen finances that occur like ER visit or maybe a car breaking down. Budgeting for a family of multiple people is harder than for an individual, but it is possible. Practicing budgeting and smart spending allows the family to address the needs and wants of the family while avoiding financial conflict and crisis.