If you are someone who thinks financial management is over your head,
then it's probably time to change your way of thinking. Financial
management is just a reality of life, and you can definitely do it.

You may however have tried to save or have gotten out of debt before
and failed-many times over. If you have failed at these tasks before,
you also may have built up a great sensitivity about money and you may
be avoiding dealing with the very issues that are causing you anxiety,
panic or other negative feelings. Many people avoid dealing with
money, the problem is when you avoid dealing with your finances,
generally a sense of shame follows.

Take a moment and reflect on your past money dealings. Have you ever
gone on a money-spending binge, bounced a check or paid your rent
late? How does it make you feel when this happens. Most people feel a
great deal of shame and the impulse to hide their problems and shame
from others.

If you operate from this point of view, it is likely that you will be
frightened when you get mail that looks like it could be "financial"
or "legal." You will also be frightened if you receive a phone call or
get a notice or phone call that sounds "official." Maybe it makes you
feel intimidated when you go to the bank and you worry that the
tellers will see how little money you have in your checking account.

One thing that you can do if you suffer from this type of
money-management avoidance is to educate yourself about financial
terms. Once you become familiar with what the words actually mean,
they will probably no longer intimidate you. Here is a short list to
start with: . Stocks . Bonds . Asset . Net worth . Compound
interest . Simple interest

• . Net revenue

• Gross revenue

• Equity

• Interest rate

• IRA

• Broker