It is a common thing to talk about schemes and strategies to make more money, save more money, invest more, pay your taxes and pay off debt. Balancing every area of life and finance, however, is often left untreated. You may look for an enrolled agent for your taxes.

You would agree with me that though your finances are important, it is not as important as your life. The only thing more important than these two is balancing your finance and your life. It wouldn’t make much sense when you excel financially but every other aspect of your life fails. That would defeat the purpose of excelling in your finances in the first place.

Making your finances and your life work symbiotically is not a very hard thing to do. I would show you only if you could just take a little out of your time to take a look at these ways you can balance your finances and life.

Let’s dive right in!

Plan: The first thing to do if you want to balance your finance and life is to plan. If you fail to plan, then you have planned to fail. You would agree with me that two things do not naturally work together seamlessly except a deliberate action is exerted. The same thing goes for your life and finances. If you want both to work together you have to purposefully plan for both. You must take the reins of your finances to make your life better. You must also plan your life in a way that will not affect your finances

Create a budget: One of the ways to gain control over your finance is to create a budget. Financial planning is a great way to ensure you raise and spend money at the right time for the right purpose. A budget will help you manage your finances well to suit your life demands. Budgeting will also ensure that you allocate your financial resources adequately to provide both short and long-term benefits.

Work and play: Many people see their finances as work and their life as a play. This is inaccurate and it is the root of most imbalanced finance-life relationships. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Conversely, all play and no work, make jack a poor boy. As much as you work to get financially stable, put some effort into your life too. Plan and allocate funds for your holiday, take time off to rest and make your finances ease your burden.

Reduce your debt: It is a bad idea and an impossible task to impress people every time especially when it comes to financial matters. One way to have your life balanced with your finances is to live within your means. If you cannot afford a thing twice over, don’t buy it. It is not an asset, don’t buy it. If there is a cheaper alternative, you guess it, don’t buy it. It is just like basic finance 101, don’t keep up with the jones. Trying to do will put you in debt that will make your life unpleasant.  You may check what does an enrolled agent do for your taxes.

Save and Invest: Saving is good but investing is better. Reducing your cost and building your savings is a good idea because it gives you security. You can do better with that savings so that it works for you. Yes, the investment carries more risk than saving yet it carries more returns too. Saving your money will keep it safe with little or no risk and can serve as security for the future. Investment on the other hand can build your financial portfolio and provide more securities for the future. To get your life in the sweet spot you want it to be, save and invest.

Moderate your finances: While most of the points are putting a check on your life, you must also moderate your finances. I have read of a woman, a legal secretary who died at 96 shortly after retiring. She was wealthy but she lived a frugal life. After her death, her wealth was discovered. She has taken the time to build up her finances that she forgot to live. Time, they say, is money because you can use the time to get money and use the money to buy back time. The reason to have stable finance would be defeated if you do not do anything with it. 

Live your life: We all set different financial and life goals. We also have different strategies for reaching those goals. One thing you must put into consideration while setting the goal is the reason for that goal, which is your life. The reason you set the goal would keep you motivated all through you achieving the goal.  Don’t ever lose focus of the reason for setting the goal. Don’t compare your goals or journey with someone else, it’s unhealthy. Nevertheless you can always pick a lesson or two from those who are doing well.

You can ask these question to benchmark your finances and life

  •         What is the reason for making this decision, does it fit into my life and financial goal?
  •         What is the impact of this decision on my goals?
  •         Will this make me happy in the short and long term?

Life is about our relationships and time with others. Your finance is a tool to make that life happen. Use the tool to get the job done.

Make sure you enjoy your life while preparing for the future.