On Living Within My Means

Living within my own means tells it all how I should manage my finances in order to be financially free in the future.

There are three departments I know that are directly tied to the idea of living within my own means. The three are my Department of Revenues, my Department of Expenses, and my Department of Means [of Revenue].

image credit: www.mint.com 

To live within my own means I need to adapt into a very simple formula. The simple formula is to keep my Expenses below my Revenues. This is no hardcore mathematics. But most of the time, for most people, the idea of keeping the expenses below the revenue is easier said than done. What happens is that the impulse acting against the idea of prudence or thriftiness is so strong and very few managed to deal with it successfully. I can tell because I am still that kind of person as my personal financial tabulation shows.

But living within my means has a third ingredient that is so important. That ingredient is the third department. 

The third department is very important. And of the three, this is the one that can be dealt with much flexibility. In comparison to the Revenue and Expenses, the Means of Revenue orders the need to expand financially. It says, hey man look for more gold mines. Tapping this department means to have more sources of income. Perhaps this is the only consistent way to increase the volume of both Revenue and consequently will allow for more room of Expenses. Of course, maintaining a sound proportion between Revenues and Expenses must always be observed at the same time.