The Art of Financial Intelligence

Confession time!! Am a bonafide ISO certified spendthrift and am not proud of it. I am one person who believes in spending, I chuckle every time when my bank balance starts resembling a radio Frequency 89.9fm or 106.0fm. This is the moment when I know I have made my way to ‘brokeville’. One moment I’m spending my hard earned dollars as if my father is Bill Gates or Strive Masiiwa the next moment I’m sending texts to my sister requesting for a ZWL$ 2000. 00 bail out. Like most people, I’m reeling from the January blues and with the lockdown I’m finding myself in a financial mess. So I have done some research and rounded up some tips that will help me and a lot of other people to better manage finances.

Defining financial intelligence

Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room. What is Financial intelligence? It's the ability not to only make money but to save and to wisely ensure that your money multiplies AKA the art of increasing your wealth. Financial intelligence is not an innate ability that one is born with but it's a skill that can be learned.

Read

You want tips and tricks on how to manage your finances? I am a strong believer of the mantra 'experience is the best teacher’. If you want to complement your experience it's also important to tap into other people's advice and the best way do this is to read articles, magazines, online blogs and books on personal finances. Instead of your money slipping through your hands/ bank account like grains of sand you will acquire valuable lessons on making money, spending ,budgeting and investing it. These will definitely help you to manage your finances on a regular basis. Your starting point is reading the highly coveted books by Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and Dave Ramsey’s “The Total MakeOver.

Save

Some people are the proverbial prodigal son, spend all the money today forget about tomorrow. Cultivate a culture of saving. Nomatter how much you earn, you need to set aside a certain amount every month. This helps in terms of spending wisely it is also prudent to set goals not to just save blindly. Set goals. Whether you saving towards buying a car, house or children’s fees. Life is unpredictable, by setting aside money you will be in a better space in the event of emergencies or eventualities. You will not stress when life throws you a curve ball. The savings might not be enough to cover all the costs for such, but you are guaranteed of a starting point.

Budget

I belong to a special group of people called shopaholics and our common trait is impulse buying. If I see something I like I buy it. So my wish list reads like a movie script, travel every month, buy a stand, but I find myself deviating from my plan. If you are looking for helpful hints on how to manage your finances then one key aspect of financial intelligence is planning. Plan your purchases. To save yourself from financial stress if you see something that is outside your budget save money until you can buy it. It takes willpower and discipline to stick to the budget. Do not live like a millionaire on a ten dollar budget. Spend on what you can afford.

Invest

Budgeting is a good thing so is investing your money. If you have a long or short term, retirement plan or goal, there are numerous ways to invest your money, properties, shares, stocks or currencies. Before your dive into any venture, ensure that you do the legwork. Research about the markets so that you are fully equipped with the pros and cons of such investments. Don’t make financial decisions without checking the financial ramifications. The end goal is to make sure that there is that multiplier effect on your finances - getting a return on your investment.

Track your spending

This might look like a mammoth task but tracking your spending is good for your financial health. Tracking will help you identify unnecessary activities that gobble your money and areas where you need to cut down/ adjust on spending. You can start your journey by diarising daily or weekly on your total spend. Invest in applications that track your spending habits.

Track your spending

This might look like a mammoth task but tracking your spending is good for your financial health. Tracking will help you identify unnecessary activities that gobble your money and areas where you need to cut down/ adjust on spending. You can start your journey by diarising daily or weekly on your total spend. Invest in applications that track your spending habits.