Here is a sample of my work:
What is Finance?
I want to make one thing very clear, Finance as a whole is not simple. There are a lot of different aspects that go into finance such as investing, loans, savings, management, and much more. However, the goal of this site is to make Finance easier to understand for the average Joe or Jane. A lot of articles I've read on Finance tend to use a lot of terms that people who haven't studied Finance or Economics would understand. This makes readers feel as if Finance is something they will never get and end up hiring someone else to manage their finances. I'm not going to pretend like Finance is exciting and but it is a necessity and therefore it's important to understand it. So with this introduction, I'll break down some of the basics and hopefully give you a tighter grasp of this whole Finance thing.
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What is Finance?[/FONT]
Simply put, Finance is how money is managed and controlled. The way we save, loan, invest, and distribute funds is all a part of finance. Often times Finance is broken down into different divisions, Personal, Business/Corporate, and *gasp* Government. The rules and laws of each may differ but they all are about how money is managed. The one most of us are common with is personal finance since we deal with that on a daily basis. Business finance involves the financial movements a business entity makes with the goals of acting in the best interest of the firm. Government finance is perhaps the most complicated since the financial decisions of the government affects so many people. The way your taxes are distributed, how government gives and receive loans, and how they attempt to stabilize the economy is all a part of Government Finance..
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How exactly does Finance work?[/FONT]
Ok, so let's assume you have a job and receive a paycheck every week. You have bills to pay, friends asking you for money, you want to save some money because you're financially responsible, and you like to treat yourself to a nice night out sometimes. Well you only have so much money to allocate towards each of these things so you have to plan out how to disperse your paycheck. You must get your priorities in order and decide how much money goes where. This is a simplified example of how finance works.
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Why is Finance important?[/FONT]
Unless you enjoy being broke, or are supported by someone else, Finance is an absolute necessity. You must know where your money is going and where it's coming from. Businesses and governments are the same way. Without knowing how money is being distributed, Businesses would cease to exist. The most important element of finance in my opinion is the management of funds. You can have millions of dollars but if you don't know what you're doing with it you'll be back to living paycheck to paycheck in no time. This is why you hear tons of stories of people winning millions in the lottery but end up losing it all in a matter of years or sometimes even months. So unless you want to end up like them, you really want to understand finance.
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Conclusion[/FONT]
If this article jives with you and you have a hang of it then you're on your way to understanding Finance. If you're still feeling a little confused or timid, I encourage you to go back and reread this article. As I stated, Finance can get a bit complicated but you will definitely get the hang of it (I have faith in you!). I encourage you to read as much as you can and learn a little bit every week. One book I highly recommend if you're just getting into Finance is Personal Finance for Dummies. I'm a big fan of the "For Dummies" series because they assume you have absolutely 0 previous knowledge of the subject so you're basically starting from scratch. This book gives you the basic tools so that when you read more advanced material you don't get lost and give up. Like all things, figuring out Finance takes time but once you get a strong grasp of it, Finance will seem simple and you might actually start to enjoy managing your money.
