This article is written by Alfred Spengly, a student of MakeMoneyFromWriting.com.  Alfred is learning about the business of freelance writing and how to become a successful freelancer.
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money treeWhat is your biggest financial concern? If you were to ask yourself what you would need to be better-off financially, what would you say? Is it to eliminate your debt, decrease your living expenses, increase your income, or is it something different?

Well, according to a Gallup pole done in April of 2009, the biggest personal financial concern is “lack of money.” If this is the case with you, and I’m sure it is to some extent, the question that needs to be answer then, is- “What can be done about it?”

Your Finances Can Be Somewhat Like An Apple Tree

You should ask yourself another question first, “What is the real issue that causes someone to have a lack of money?” Because most of the time what seems obvious to us is just not the answer. And we need to get to the actual root of a problem to fix it.

For the sake of an analogy, let’s consider an apple tree planted in a yard last winter. The ground gets a little soggy at times, and this might seem like a good thing for the tree – since it requires water to grow. But you know what? Too much water on the roots can give you a sick plant, just like not having enough water will do. And in order to keep the tree from having trouble caused from too much water, it needs to be planted in dryer ground. This is basically what needs to be done with our finances.

Do I Not Have Enough Money or Does My Money Not Have Enough of Me

Sure, not having enough money is a legitimate problem. But why is it a problem?

One thing that seems to be consistent among people from all walks of life is that most people are never content with their income – no matter how much that income is. Even a doctor making over a quarter of a million dollars per year might express unhappiness with his or her level of income and be hurting financially. Even at that level of income, it is possible to have trouble paying all of your bills. How is that possible? It’s human nature to spend more, the more you earn.

Most of the time, it appears bad money management is more of a problem than the amount of money people earn. You might think credit card debt is at the top of the list of the biggest personal finance concerns, but it came in at number 5.

If the problem isn’t the amount of money most people are earning, and instead the problem is how the money is managed, one step to a solution would be to keep a good budget! Or, as the analogy goes, put your finances into better ground.

One way everyone can avoid going through life with less money than needed to pay for their expenses is to keep expenses and spending less than your income. This is the most crucial step. Once a person has more money than he or she spends, suddenly “lack of money” no longer seems to be debilitating.



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