I’ve been getting a lot of a great questions from my readers recently (which I LOVE), and I’ve been learning about how everybody’s financial situation is different and sometimes different answers will work better for different people. Perhaps you read my last post on leasing a car and decided that actually leasing a car would be better for you. Perhaps you read my article on grocery store tips and realized that actually you can save more money by going more frequently to the store. Although there are several cardinal rules or personal finance (Or are they more like guidelines?), to be successful in managing your money, you need to find a solution that works for you.

Know thyself

In an effort to control and stay on top of your finances, you’ll first need to know how you operate. You’ll need to know what your weaknesses are: can’t say no to that magazine at checkout of the grocery store or love going out to eat for lunch? Are you good at keeping track of your spending or do you not even bother getting receipts anymore? Perhaps even risking one dollar in the stock market scares you. Maybe you didn’t even know that you should be saving for retirement. Before moving forward with a financial plan that will help you be successful, you first need to take a personal inventory of where you are at with your money and with your mindset.

Do your homework

If you don’t know something, learn to ask. Managing your money is no joke and unlike the game of monopoly, you can’t just restart the game if you lose all your money. The key to financial success in life is finding a solution that works for you. You can read tons of articles out there (hopefully most of them mine!) about personal finance and try all sorts of things. Before you know it, you’ll have signed up for 14 credit cards, then gone to a cash only budget, signed up for Mint.com and then gone old school with an Excel budget. Perhaps you’ll consolidate all your student loans and then get a #sidehustle to pay them off quicker. You can read personal finance 24/7, become smarter than Warren Buffet and still not be better at your own finances. You’ll have to not only learn how to control your finances, but also learn to tailor a plan that works for you.

Do what works for you

And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There will always be people out there trying to tell you how to run your lives and how to do things differently or better. Don’t pay any attention to them. Once you’ve learned what works for you and have found success going down that route; stick with it. The only way you’ll be successful with your own personal finance is if you make it personal.

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