2 Pillars of Personal Finance

Let’s face it, when you start breaking down personal finance and managing your money to it’s core, you have 2 options:

1. Spend less

2. Earn more

Often, we focus on one and not the other, much to the detriment of our potential well-being. Bringing in extra money can provide a cushion for your month to month expenses, allowing you to sleep a little easier at night because you have that extra cash in reserve. Whether this is from another job, a freelance gig, blogging, or simply taking the next step in your career, focusing on bringing in more money can make it that much easier to manage (you have more to work with!). However if you foresake option 1, and focus only on 2, you will inflate your lifestyle and your cushion, your safety net, will be gone. Now you’ll need to make your usual income and more from your side income to just to stay afloat.

Conversely if you don’t focus on growing your wealth, or bringing in more income, you will likely struggle to get ahead despite scrimping and cutting down on your expenses. After all, if you don’t have a lot to begin with, even cutting down expenses and spending precious little will still result in…well, a little left over. There are tons of great resources for bringing in extra money, and while I try to help out in my own way via Money Projects on Monday (When I have a new project to showcase!). Look, I know, you have such little leisure time already, but there are an innumerable number of ways you can bring in a few bucks with little time. Check out my money projects page for proof!

The key here, to be cliche, is to work smarter, not harder, and to find balance in your work/life. Me? I’d be perfectly Ok with only working 20 hours a week if I could live comfortably. I’m preparing myself for the downshift into a not-so-typical semi-retirement. I’ll still have some income on the side as well, through my freelance writing projects, survey income, and investments. I happen to enjoy free-time to pursue my own interests, not further someone else’s agenda.

Good luck!

-Xias