Living on your own? Graduating? Getting married or expecting a baby? At some point we all must learn to manage our own finances.
When you’re facing all kinds of expenses—tuition, insurance payments, daily lunch—you might feel flustered. The first step toward improving your finances is simply feeling positive about your ability to improve them. In “Providing for Our Needs” Elder M. Russell Ballard describes how your attitude, along with planning and self-discipline, can change your financial future.
Love Work
Your finances will seem more manageable as you learn to love working hard. Elder Ballard tells of a time when he slacked off while working sales for his father, who then presented him with a $10 paycheck after two weeks—in front of all the other salespeople. He was determined never to be the lowest-paid employee again. As he worked harder, his paychecks got larger.
Set Goals
When was the last time you revisited your career goals? Elder Ballard recommends planning and praying about education, work, and even entrepreneurial opportunities that come your way. “Outline a plan of action, fast and pray for confirmation, and then move forward and make the change,” he encourages.
Increase Discipline
Putting away the credit cards may ruin your shopping plans, but your wallet will be happier. Elder Ballard’s next six tips are about exercising self-discipline:
- Avoid debt.
- Tell yourself, “I can’t afford it.”
- Stick to a budget.
- Know wants from needs.
- Do home and car repairs yourself.
- Invest wisely.
Managing finances can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can move forward with faith by improving your attitude about work, setting financial goals, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and increasing saving.
Watch or read “Providing for Our Needs” by Elder M. Russell Ballard.
Source: LDS General Conference
—Leah Davis, Mormon Insights
Find more insights
Understand the main principles of managing money in “One for the Money: Guide to Family Finances.”
Find some financial calculators and tips in the Gospel Topic entry on Family Finances.
Learn about the spiritual and temporal blessings of tithing in Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “The Windows of Heaven.”
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This is so useful for people our age! So many people are constantly worried about money, and I feel like we just need more education on the matter.
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