Take Control of Your Finances
A
ssessing the big picture of your personal
Companies create annual reports for a reason. Whether
finances can be very beneficial when making
you use Excel, Mint, or even old-fashioned pencil and
personal and financial decisions and choices.
paper, first list your assets. How much do you make in
At least once a year, consider taking stock of your assets, liabilities, and financial goals. Understanding how much money you have will help you learn how best to
salary or wages? Do you own your home or rent? Do you have a vehicle? Have you started saving for retirement? Do you have any kind of cash emergency fund?
earn and save the amount of money you want. Consid-
You don't even have to list exact numbers. The idea
er the following tips for understanding your financial
of this exercise is simply to give you a bigger-picture
net worth.
idea of how much you earn and what assets you have.
Track What You Have Most personal finance articles begin by asking you to track your expenses or write down your spending. However, it is more important to start with the
Knowing what you own, what your earning potential is, and how you save and invest money is what you want to learn by doing this step.
Consider Your Expenses
baseline knowledge of the money and resources
Don't wear yourself out by writing down every penny
you currently have.
you spend for a week or a month. That can become a
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thesofiamagazine.com | February 2022
