10 Commandments of Financial Happiness
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 11:40 pm
Picture this. You have two American families.
The first earns less than $50,000 but is in control of the family money. These folks aren't anal with a capital A, but they've adopted at least four of the following six habits:
They balance their checkbook at least once a month.
They have some sort of filing system in place.
They pay their bills as they come in.
They don't spend more than they can afford on three or more things (though they may occasionally bust the budget on one or two).
They don't often buy things that they don't need.
They know where their money goes.
The second family earns at least 50 percent more -- upwards of $75,000 a year -- but its members don't feel they have as much control. They are not financial fiascoes across the board, but they have at least two of these six bad habits:
They don't balance their checkbooks every month.
Their finances are disorganized, so they have to scramble to find what they're looking for.
They pay all their bills once a month.
They spend more than they can afford on three or more items.
They often buy things they don't need.
They don't know where their money has gone.
Who's happier with their finances?
Neither one. Roughly six out of 10 families in both categories say they're financially happy.
My conclusion
Adopting good money-management habits is like earning another $25,000 a year. And that's it.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/29/pf/chat ... tm?cnn=yes
The first earns less than $50,000 but is in control of the family money. These folks aren't anal with a capital A, but they've adopted at least four of the following six habits:
They balance their checkbook at least once a month.
They have some sort of filing system in place.
They pay their bills as they come in.
They don't spend more than they can afford on three or more things (though they may occasionally bust the budget on one or two).
They don't often buy things that they don't need.
They know where their money goes.
The second family earns at least 50 percent more -- upwards of $75,000 a year -- but its members don't feel they have as much control. They are not financial fiascoes across the board, but they have at least two of these six bad habits:
They don't balance their checkbooks every month.
Their finances are disorganized, so they have to scramble to find what they're looking for.
They pay all their bills once a month.
They spend more than they can afford on three or more items.
They often buy things they don't need.
They don't know where their money has gone.
Who's happier with their finances?
Neither one. Roughly six out of 10 families in both categories say they're financially happy.
My conclusion
Adopting good money-management habits is like earning another $25,000 a year. And that's it.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/29/pf/chat ... tm?cnn=yes
