A Break Down of Personal Finance

Time is often considered the most sought after commodity. When people stop and think about it, this is typically what they are running around so frantically to preserve. That extra hour with the kids, their spouse, or even just to enjoy a relaxing moment by themselves every once in a while is what everyone is striving for. While this is evident throughout a typical day’s activities, personal finances also play a huge role in this quest for more time.

What is personal finance?

In its most basic form, personal finance can be explained by income coming in, expenses going out, and for the lucky ones whatever is left over from that equation. However, when people really dig their heels in to the numbers they find many of the things that are the driving forces of personal finance:
• Income from their jobs
• income from investments
• assets
• credit card interest rates
• house payments
• car insurance premiums
• groceries

All these things and more tell a story about how an individual is doing with their personal finances. With closer examination it could even tell them where they can make adjustments to improve upon their portfolio. This is typically the goal of everyone that wants to enjoy more of their life.

Playing offense in finance
For the sports fans out there, personal finances could even be thought of in terms of offense and defense. A good example of this is an individual's income that would be thought of as an offensive play. They can ask for a raise from their boss to try to improve upon their field position. They could ask for more hours and try to capitalize on overtime pay. However, that particular approach would work against the whole conserving precious time concept. They could also start a business, and try to improve their income this way. Other ways to increase the income could be through investments like stocks, commodities, gold, and even interest on a savings account.

Defensive finances
On the other side of the equation people want to work defensively to keep the outgoing expenses to a minimum. They can try to negotiate with their credit card companies to see if they can get a lower interest rate. Many people are saving money on food expenses these days by clipping coupons, or doing their shopping in bulk opposed to impulse buying. They’re conserving energy they use at home, driving safer for lower insurance premiums, and even finding room in entertainment expenses for a cutback. These are all ways that people can improve on the outgoing portion of their personal finances.

There's a number of ways to get the ball rolling more favorably for the individual or family. If they're serious about improvement in this area, they could start with just one thing to do a little better at. Once they’ve saved or gained money in that area they would move on to the next. With enough dedication they'll eventually have a strong producing portfolio, and have all the time on their side to enjoy the finer qualities of life.