Question-Week ending Sunday 12/15/02:
Do you believe if you invested 20 minutes a day devoted to some aspect of Financial Management, you could improve the quality of your life? Please read the Pre-Poll Commentary before taking this poll.
Pre-Poll Commentary:
In this ninth poll of the Daily Dozen Disciplines, we will discuss the proposition of investing a little time each day on Financial Management to improve the quality of your life.
From a previous poll we conducted on Financial Management we learned that our top vote of 34% of respondents reported that they invested 2-4 hours "A MONTH" managing their finances. That time invested was in sharp contrast to the 3-4 hours "A DAY" we learned our respondents spent Watching TVin our late August Poll on TV Time.
Financial Management must be taken seriously and time must be invested on a consistent basis. Time invested can come in the form of reading and educating yourself on financial matters; performing financial functions like checkbook and asset management; budgeting; planning and goal setting; etc. The important thing here is to spend some time daily thinking about and executing ways to positively impact your financial situation. Without a plan and proper execution, you may find yourself in a financial situation that your would rather not be in.
Let us know how you feel in this week's poll. This poll will end on Sunday 12/15/02. Watch for the results and summary by Monday morning 12/16/02.
Results:
71% voted-Absolutely Yes-that 20 min. daily can improve Quality of Living
29% voted-Probably Yes-that 20 min. daily can improve Quality of Living
00% voted-Not Really-that 20 min. daily can improve Quality of Living
00% voted-Absolutely Not-that 20 min. daily improves Quality of Living
Post-Poll Commentary:
Of all the polls we conducted this year, this poll produced the most conscious results. Overwhelmingly, 71% of our respondents believed that they ABSOLUTELY could improve their quality of life by investing 20 minutes a day, focusing on some aspect of Financial Management. That aggregate of time may not sound like much to devote daily. However, I assure you it's more than most people will invest.
I think a good place to start investing time on Financial Management is reading. All major news magazines have great articles on personal finance. I learn a great deal in the financial sections of the following publications: NewsWeek, US News and World Report, BusinessWeek, Money, Forbes, Fortune, etc. These magazines can be found on the internet for free. You can link to them from our News Magazine section on this website. Once you are in the magazine's website, you can check out the incredible resources each has set up on Personal Finances. You can also check our weekly News Reviews for articles on Personal Finance and Investing. When I come across interesting articles, I take the time to share them with our readers. This can be a good place to check as well. The key is to READ a little daily to get the broadest perspective possible on matters of Finance.
Along with reading, I believe THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of Financial Management is keeping accurate records. There is no excuse for not using software packages like Microsoft Money or Quicken. These programs are easy to use and fantastic. If you're not managing your finances using a good software tool, you are missing a great opportunity. You MUST plan, budget and have more control over your finances if you want to maintain and expand your assets.
I hope that the overwhelming response from this poll motivates lots of people into action to INVEST more time on Financial Management. Check the Finance Section under Happy Living at this site, to search for resources to help you "Get EXACTLY Where You Want To Go!"