I’ve long been fascinated by personal finance as an area of study. I was attracted to personal finance through mathematics, a subject I’m fairly adept at and have a professional interest in. I also became interested in it through watching my professional income run through my fingers like water, never gaining much traction. Unfortunately, I was pretty adept at that too.

The longer I study it though, the more I realize that the math is just a small part of it. The “personal” part of personal finance entails more than what you can derive on a calculator or a spreadsheet. 

It’s psychology. 

It’s spirituality. 

It’s emotion. 

It’s dreams. 

It’s fears. 

It’s all of that untidy stuff that makes us human. Our budgets are simply moral documents expressed in mathematical terms. It’s all in there, all of the gooey stuff in your psyche, the stuff that makes you, well…you. If it’s not contained in the line items of your budget, it is contained in the omissions. Too frequently, people attempt to solve their personal finance problems through math alone. Many people think additional income or a windfall will cleanly solve all of their problems. 

While I’ve met people who truly had a problem with under-earning, it’s much more common to see over-spending and mismanagement through a lack of self-discipline.  Without self-discipline, any more income or a sudden windfall will almost assuredly result in more difficulties rather than fewer. It’s such an archetype that cultures around the world contain numerous fables, proverbs, and dictums regarding what happens when you combine cash with a lack of self-control. 

And if cultural wisdom won’t convince you. Stories abound in modern headlines of people who suddenly receive great wealth and end up worse off for it. To get really good at personal finance, you have to confront the person in the mirror. The bad news is that it is you; also, the good news is that it is also you and wealth building happens slowly enough you have time to address your own behaviors at length.

Some people feel like they need help managing their finances and often turn to financial advisors when they should turn to a coach instead. While a financial advisors will gladly help manage your money, a coach can get better results by helping you learn how to manage yourself.