Basics: What does Personal Finance Mean to Me?

Welcome to my new series of posts on the basics of Personal Finance. I know many other bloggers have done their own series, but it’s such a personal thing (no pun intended) that it’s good to go over it every now and again.

On that Wikipedia page, they certainly go some way to trying to define it in monetary terms. For example:

“Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit.”

For me though I find that Personal Finance is as much about a way of life than it is just about money. I’ll try and define it in terms of the way we live, rather than the fact that it’s about money.

Over on Twitter, I come across a good quote every now and again and this one can help us define Personal Finance too. From inexpensively:

“Frugality is all about changing the way you spend money, not changing the way you live!”

I do agree with this to the extent that you shouldn’t go without but I don’t think it says everything. In fact, I do think it is a way of life and whilst it shouldn’t force change on your life, it does affect it.

A Way of Life

As I said earlier, it’s about a way of life. I think some of these points also sum it up very well, for me at least:

  • being content with what you have, and not wanting more
  • enjoying life, no matter what the weather
  • not being excessive in the cars we drive, the houses we live in and the things we consume
  • trying to be self-sufficient as much as possible
  • making good decisions in everything we do

... but most importantly …

  • getting to the stage where you are comfortable, happy and healthy (whether this is work, home or money related)

I know this has been a rather short intro on Personal Finance, but I hope it has been an interesting and slightly different perspective on the matter. Let me know in your comments what Personal Finance means to you.

Labels: living, planning

Inserted: 2010-01-01 09:03 (7 months ago)

1 Comment

1. Maha

I like "a way of life" its totally true :)

Inserted: 2010-05-31 16:47 (1 month, 4 weeks ago)

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