Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below are affiliate links meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you purchase something using the link. Read the full disclaimer policy here. Personal finances are one of the best areas of your life for you to apply Strategic Thinking. You can use strategic thinking to help you meet your financial goals, such as buying a house, saving for retirement, and building investments. As with other life goals, strategic thinking will help you reach your financial goals. Beyond even that, however, it can help you live an overall better financial life by staying or getting out of debt and planning for future spending and emergencies. Finance Goals and Strategic Thinking Strategic thinking for your finances starts with your financial goals, as usual. What are they? Do you have any? If not, you need to set some so you know where you are trying to steer your ship, or you will never get there. Create some SMART financial goals for yourself and you will have done more for your personal finances than most people. Create a Plan You will create a plan for reaching these goals just like every other exercise in strategic thinking, but you will also spend a lot more time working on roadblocks and obstacles that can set your personal finances awry. Anticipate Your Financial Obstacles Chances are that you are not wealthy, which means that you have a limited amount of financial resources. Part of strategic thinking is about anticipating obstacles, which in the case of limited money, means planning for spending you have to do in the future. When you set down to make your plan, you will start with the amount of money you have coming in and your bills and create a budget. You need to include things that are not everyday occurrences in said budget -you have to renew your car registration once a year, for example, and you know if you will have to buy presents at the holidays. Make an Emergency Fund Planning for these sorts of things in advance instead of scrambling when they come due is the essence of strategic thinking. You also need to plan for things you do not expect that will happen sooner or later anyway -flat tires, illnesses, etc. You will need to create an emergency fund to cover these costs. Conclusion Will strategic thinking about your finances make you wealthy? If that is what you want, over the long term with a workable plan and dedication, it can. But even if it does not, or that is not your goal, it can help you keep your financial world more ordered and predictable, which will lower your overall stress levels. Peace of mind is priceless.

The post Strategic Thinking and Personal Finances appeared first on Tales of the Rebooted Realigned Mom MD.