Why do you still not see "wealth" after a year of financial management?

Introduction: Many people have realized the importance of financial management and have started to take action, yet they still do not see an increase in their wealth. This is because they need the right methods and continuous practice.

Nowadays, an increasing number of people are becoming aware of the importance of financial management and have begun to take steps towards it. However, many individuals have a superficial understanding of financial management, which leads to the situation where they are managing their finances but not seeing a significant increase in their wealth.

Xiao Xia, a 25-year-old image editor at a photo library, earns a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. Although her salary is not high, she lives with her parents and contributes 1,500 yuan each month to support the household. The remaining amount is at her discretion.

According to Xiao Xia's previous spending habits, she could barely save 500 yuan out of the remaining 3,500 yuan each month, and any more than that was unlikely. She often found herself at the end of the month with no savings.

However, since last year, Xiao Xia has started to manage her finances. Lacking knowledge in this area and with a lower salary than she currently earns, she began with the basics, such as saving and keeping track of her expenses. As a result, she is no longer part of the "moonlight" clan, referring to those who spend all their income each month.

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But after a year, Xiao Xia has not noticed much growth in her wealth, and she has encountered some issues along the way. Since deciding to manage her finances, Xiao Xia has downloaded an expense tracking app and records her large expenditures. However, for smaller amounts, such as tens or one to two hundred yuan, she often forgets to record them. Sometimes, even when she suddenly remembers that she has not recorded an expense, she cannot recall the exact amount or the date, leading to discrepancies in her accounts.

Moreover, after keeping track of her expenses for so long, Xiao Xia has not found that she has saved much money. She still spends as needed each month, and even when she reminds herself to be more frugal, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. According to Xiao Xia, there always seem to be some unexpected expenses each month.

In terms of savings, Xiao Xia adopts the method of making regular small deposits, saving 800 yuan each month. Since this amount is non-negotiable, after a year, Xiao Xia's wealth consists only of these monthly deposits and the interest earned.

Xiao Xia feels that there seems to be little difference between managing her finances and not doing so. If she didn't keep track of her expenses or save, and simply exercised a bit more restraint in her spending, she could achieve the same outcome. Moreover, if she had put the money saved in the bank into a Yu'e Bao (a popular Chinese money market fund), she might have earned even more interest.The reason why Xiao Xia feels that her financial management is not yielding "wealth" is that she has not yet mastered the correct methods of financial management, which need to be improved in the following ways:

1. Keep accounts but do not just "record" without analyzing

Although Xiao Xia keeps accounts, on one hand, she does not record every transaction, leading to inconsistencies in her accounts; on the other hand, she merely records her expenses without ever analyzing them. Combined, these reasons naturally result in poor accounting effectiveness.

It is suggested that Xiao Xia should record every expenditure immediately after making a purchase and clearly mark the purpose of each expense, such as clothing, dining out, or cosmetics. When she conducts her monthly expense analysis at the end of the month, she will have a clear picture of where she spends more money. She can also review previous records to identify unnecessary expenditures, which can then be reduced in the following month.

2. Insufficient mandatory savings

Financial advisors have always recommended using the formula "expenses = income - savings" when managing finances. Although Xiao Xia saves 800 yuan per month, the overall proportion of savings is not high.

Xiao Xia can increase her monthly mandatory savings amount, for example, to 1500 yuan or more. This will not only increase her savings and accumulate wealth more quickly but also help her reduce unnecessary expenses, preventing the situation where "there are always some unexpected places that require spending" every month.

3. While saving money, one must also learn to "make money grow"

Both accounting and saving are processes of saving money, but they are only part of financial management. To see "wealth," one must also learn how to "make money grow."

Spare change can be deposited in Yu'e Bao, but not all money should be, as Yu'e Bao allows for consumption at any time, and the more money there is, the more likely it is to be spent. Therefore, it is advisable to only keep spare change in Yu'e Bao.You can also withdraw a few hundred yuan each month for fixed investment in funds, and long-term persistence can yield good results. The money from the maturity of annual zero-deposit and lump-sum withdrawal can also be allocated to other products with higher returns.

As wealth accumulates, you can gradually change the products you are allocated, choosing safer and more stable products with higher returns to preserve and increase the value of your wealth.

In summary, to escape the dilemma of not seeing "wealth" in financial management, you must first see if you are using the right methods, and then you also need to find the appropriate "wealth-generating" channels.

Financial advisors remind that financial management must first achieve these four points.

If you want to manage your finances, let's start with the preparatory work.

1. Understand your financial situation

The first thing to be clear about before managing your finances is your personal financial situation.

First, you need to calculate how much liquid capital you have on hand (including Yu'e Bao, Wealth Management Pass), how much bank deposits you have, and determine the idle funds on hand. These "idle funds" are all money that can be used for financial management.

Then look at the monthly income and expenditure situation, after deducting various expenses, credit card repayments, etc., how much can you really save each month.

(PS: There is a method that allows you to save an additional 13,780 yuan a year, follow: Rong 360 Wealth Secret, reply "365" to check.)The remaining money each month will be one of the sources of our long-term financial management capital.

If you have tried some financial management before, then organize how much money you have actually invested, when it matures, and what the return situation is... For some financial management with poor returns, you should consider whether to continue investing.

By summarizing in this way, we can clearly see how much money can be taken out for financial management. However, the editor suggests keeping 2 to 3 months of living expenses in Yu'e Bao.

2. Correctly understand personal risk tolerance

Risk tolerance considers how much loss we can bear without affecting normal life.

This needs to be considered comprehensively from family conditions, age, experience, and other aspects.

If you are relatively young and have no family burden, then at this time, you can try some high-risk financial management; but if there are elderly and children at home, the burden is heavier, you have to think more.

If you are a "veteran" in financial management with rich experience, you must have a certain understanding of the risk and return levels of various financial management and fluctuations, and know how to weigh them;

Newcomers who have just started should appropriately reduce the proportion of high-risk financial management.

Although personal risk tolerance is just our own subjective judgment, to some extent, it tells everyone what financial management can be bought? What financial management should not be touched?Before purchasing financial products, it is crucial to consider your current risk tolerance and use it as a "baseline" for financial management.

3. Clarify the goals and planning of financial management

At different stages, the goals and planning for financial management will vary.

Financial goals can be viewed in two categories.

First, through financial management, one may hope to achieve some phased desires.

For example, when I first started working, my first goal was to save 100,000 yuan as soon as possible, and for this goal, I worked hard for a year and a half.

Second, one may hope to achieve a certain level of returns through financial management, which is more straightforward and direct. For instance, some people hope to achieve an annual return of around 8% through financial management.

The goal is simple, but then it is necessary to think about how to plan and how to achieve it.

For example, with so many financial management methods available, which ones are more suitable to achieve your goal? If you want to achieve a 10% return, how should you allocate your assets?

Planning does not need to be complicated, but at least you should have a general idea. Which financial product to invest in and how much money to invest, you should think it through in advance.4. Take the Time to Learn the Basics

When approaching any new subject, having a fundamental understanding and knowledge is essential.

With the preparations mentioned above, everyone should have a clearer idea of which financial products they want to invest in. The next step is to understand and learn about them.

If you want to engage in fixed investment in funds, you should at least know the methods of purchase and how to select funds; if you want to buy some gold, you should learn more about the products on different platforms to see which one is more suitable.

The current trend is towards "fragmented" learning methods, so there is no need to think of "spending time learning" as a hassle.

You can follow some professional financial management WeChat public accounts and also visit forums to see the investment experiences of some "experts."

If you have more time available, you can also buy some professional financial management books, on funds, stocks, etc., learning more is always beneficial.

It is also important to remind everyone that while learning, pay close attention to various news, especially those related to financial markets and political situations, as these can directly affect our investment returns.

Financial management is a slow and orderly process; no one can become rich overnight. It is best to make these preparations and then proceed step by step.Please provide the text you would like translated into English.

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