As I continue this series about Becoming a Well-Balanced Man, I realize I have not covered an important aspect: maintaining financial balance. Financial balance – let’s call it financial stability, supports your adult lifestyle without undue worry or stress. It also provides security to pursue your long-term aspirations. As with the other areas a man needs to find balance, financial stability increases your satisfaction, happiness, and fulfillment with life. The series includes previous posts, The Benefits of Becoming a Balanced Man, and others on Emotional Balance, Mental Balance, and Physical Balance. After this post about financesyour money, I will conclude with one about Social Balance, followed by the need for spiritual balance since all are critical to becoming a well-balanced adult man.
Men Need Financial Balance
Becoming financially balanced typically means achieving a state where your income, expenses, savings, and investments are all managed in a way that supports your long-term goals and provides financial stability. I wrote previously about the importance of Money Management in my series titled, The Complete Roadmap to Better Manhood but here are some keys to creating financial stability:
- Generate Income: Earn an steady income through stable employment, smart business ventures, quality investments, or other sources like owning rental property.
- Control Expenses: Spending within your means, learning to budget effectively, and avoiding unnecessary debt. Learn to life within your means.
- Save for Emergencies and Retirement: Setting aside a portion of your income regularly for emergencies and future goals. Have a minimum 3-6 months of savings to cover unexpected expenses like medical bills, car repairs, or job loss. This reduces the need to rely on high-interest debt (like credit cards) or liquidating investments prematurely during emergencies.
- Have Proper Insurance Coverage – Having insurance policies (health, life, auto, home, disability, etc.) to protect against major financial losses. Proper amounts of coverage prevents financial ruin due to unforeseen circumstances like illness, accidents, or death.
- Manage Debt: Minimizing and responsibly managing debt, ensuring that it doesn’t overwhelm your financial situation. Avoid high-interest debt, particularly those from credit cards, payday loans, etc. by borrowing responsibly. This protects against the risk of your debt spiraling out of control, making it hard to meet daily financial obligations.
- Get Financial Advice – Everyone needs a trustworthy financial advisor. Work with them to understand your goals and create solid financial plan. Periodically reassess your financial situation and adjusting your budget, savings, and investments to protect against changes in life circumstances.
- Invest Wisely: Allocating funds into investments such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or retirement accounts to grow wealth over time. Diversify by spreading investments across different asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.) and industries helps reduce exposure to market volatility. This helps lowers the risk of losing a significant portion of wealth due to the poor performance of a single investment or market sector.
- Set Financial Goals: Everyone needs a trustworthy financial advisor. Work with them to understand your goals and create a solid financial plan. Periodically reassess your financial situation and adjusting your budget, savings, and investments to protect against changes in life circumstances. Have clear short-, medium-, and long-term financial goals whether it’s buying a home, saving for retirement, or funding education. Don’t take on more risk than necessary. It also reduces the risk of having to liquidate assets at an unfavorable time, like during a market downturn.
- Increase Financial Knowledge: Continuously educating yourself about personal finance, investments, and economic trends to make informed decisions. Stay informed about economic trends by understanding how inflation, interest rates, tax laws, and market conditions affect your finances. It also helps reduce the risk of being caught off guard by economic shifts so you can adjust your financial strategy proactively.
Effectively managing these areas creates financial stability that will help you weather economic downturns, personal setbacks, and unexpected events over the long term.
Financial Balance Means Mitigating Risk
In addition to the sound financial practices mentioned above, maintaining financial balance involves managing risk. Generally speaking, the higher the risk, the greater the possible returns. However, the higher the risk, also increases the chance of loss.
I know several people who are natural risk-takers. These are entrepreneurs who have a vision to start a business. Several grew their companies quickly, but some failed just as fast. Some are day traders who invest haphazardly in risky stocks, options, and cryptocurrencies, only to see their portfolios collapse due to the swings of each market. Others gamble their hard-earned income or savings by frequenting casinos or are addicted to sports betting apps. Few will make money. Most will lose more than they win. Their ego will not let them see they are taking unnecessary risks.
The Bible on Money
Scholars estimate that money is mentioned over 2,000 times in the Bible. It warns us that money itself is not evil, but that the love of money—or an excessive desire for it— is “the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10) that can lead to a variety of problems. Jesus even taught extensively about the dangers of materialism and greed saying “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24).
Scripture tells us that when we love money and take unnecessary risks, we are out of balance financially.
Do You Have a Financial Blind Spot?
Sometimes, people take unnecessary risks that put themselves, their family, or their businesses at risk. They only see the upside and not the possible losses. This may come from a lack of knowledge, emotional biases, unrealistic expectations, or the often untrue results of others. It may come by not paying attention to certain aspects that will lead to poor decisions, missed opportunities, or financial instability. Most of these people do not even realize they are taking a huge risk. They have financial “blind-spots.”
Do you have blind spots? Do you include your spouse in all of your financial decisions? You should since she has a stake in your financial health as well.
Do you listen to a trusted friend, what I call a GodBuddy, who cautions you about a risky financial decision? If not, you may have a financial blind-spot that can impact your long-term financial success.
My next post will suggest that we are out of balance spiritually if we become unbalanced in our financial, social, physical, and emotional lives.
Wisdom for Men is based on my opinions on topics that help men become better men. The sources used for these posts are not fact-checked, but support my theory that men are better with deeper, more authentic friendships. My GodBuddy theory is based on biblical principles but applies to all men, regardless of their beliefs. Better friendships among men will help solve the crisis of male friendships and many of today’s problems… because the world needs better men!
[Feature Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash]
