Finance is a jigsaw puzzle.

[Marcellin9]

Last weekend I was playing with my daughter at home. She has been interested in playing jigsaw puzzles so she asked me to play with her. Of course I'd love to. To be honest, I am not really a jigsaw puzzle player and always nervous about assembling the irregular shaped pieces, although usually there is a complete picture like a guide aside. Unfortunately that complete picture of my daughter's jigsaw puzzle was gone so I had to figure out all the pieces together all by myself.

In the beginning, I had no clue at all. I thought a while and decided to take one puzzle with the corner first and then tried to find some clue according to the small picture to get the next piece match. To my surprise, after struggling for a bit of time, I did it ! I managed to get the whole picture of the puzzles and my daughter was thrilled.  That night I suddenly realized that managing finances and assembling jigsaw puzzles are very much similiar. At start, we have/set a goal. The first step is not easy to make and usually you have to figure out on you own. There is nothing wrong with taking whatever as your first step but you have to find a clue to continue the next step to lead to the whole picuture/goal. In the process of assembling/working, you will be lost most of time but stay focused and patient, you just need to find that useful clue to the closest picture and then you'll be good. As you progress, the complete picture is getting clearer and bigger, you feel excited and more certain about the decisions you made. All you have to do now is follow the lead and contiue, when the last puzzle piece is perfectly matched, success is yours.

See finance in my explanation ? Replace all pieces with finances, it'll be great as well. I hope each of us will figure out all clues to the complete picture. Make your finance puzzles complete !

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[Poker Player]

Well, I understand that when you say "finance" you mean "personal finance". It is common for humans to draw analogies between some activities and others, but the way you see it is far from being the only one.

For me, more than a puzzle, it is a straight path, a list of 7 easy-to-follow points (https://www.ramseysolutions.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps):

Step 1: Start an Emergency Fund ($1K).
Step 2: Get rid of consumer debt.
Step 3: Complete Your Emergency Fund (3-6 months of expenses)
Step 4: Save for Retirement (15% of your household income).
Step 5: Save for College Funds.
Step 6: Pay Off Your House.
Step 7: Build Wealth.

See how easy it is.

[Supreemo]

i believe that it is your personal view towards finance. it could also be a flow chart or even chess pieces. there are so many comparisons you can choose and it is your own personal preference, but what will never change no matter the circumstances is that, it takes a whole lot of time to build your own personal wealth, and during those times there are internal and external factors involve that may or may not affect your approach or mentality towards money and finance. it is up to you how you handle your self in the end, and that is all that matters.

[franky1]

personal finance and macro economics are both puzzles

many people do not know how money is created or how governments operate to shuffle money around or why certain economics works. it takes alot of edges cases and seeing all sides to put the pieces together to see the whole picture

as for personal finance. you may think little pieces dont mean much, but if you save them up you soon learn they combine to be a big thing. but many only see the big picture once they met their goals. they get frustrated and lose desire to continue during the process. they see no end to their attempts at first, they dont see the point, which is why most just dont bother even playing

[karmamiu]

Depends on how you view finance, but certainly is you will have to learn that everything is connected. All thoss little puzzles are big enough to impact the larger picture of things. In terms of finance, once you accumulated enough money, it is no longer enough for you to save, earn more and invest, it is because along those lines you will certainly find your self slowly learning the mechanics on how money is generated and ciculated. This is one thing I have learned in a hard way. I may not be intelligent in terms of handling my finances but I've realized that I literally needed to learn these things for me move forward. Mostly, for people like us who didn't have a coach and have to start from scratches, we are sure to find this hard and have to handle these things on our own. It is also the time where the transition of your principle begins from learning to earning and goes back to learning.

[Uruhara]

financial management, financial planning or something like that is like a puzzle and is like putting together a puzzle. But of course sometimes it's actually more difficult or sometimes easier. it's more difficult when many unexpected things come that make us spend money unexpectedly but can be overcome if we have prepared an emergency fund.

we really have to have an image from the start or we can also make an image while walking. we have to be careful every step of the way, we also have to adjust everything. such as which should come first and which should be ended (primary, secondary and tertiary needs). and after we make a plan then we must focus on the plan that is being executed. and well if we are patient then we will arrive at the goal that we planned from the start.

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OP I hope your post is made into several paragraphs (two paragraphs might be enough). so it's easier to read. the content of your writing is actually easy to understand and it would be even better if it was made into several paragraphs.

[Marcellin9]

financial management, financial planning or something like that is like a puzzle and is like putting together a puzzle. But of course sometimes it's actually more difficult or sometimes easier. it's more difficult when many unexpected things come that make us spend money unexpectedly but can be overcome if we have prepared an emergency fund.

we really have to have an image from the start or we can also make an image while walking. we have to be careful every step of the way, we also have to adjust everything. such as which should come first and which should be ended (primary, secondary and tertiary needs). and after we make a plan then we must focus on the plan that is being executed. and well if we are patient then we will arrive at the goal that we planned from the start.

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OP I hope your post is made into several paragraphs (two paragraphs might be enough). so it's easier to read. the content of your writing is actually easy to understand and it would be even better if it was made into several paragraphs.

Thanks a lot, both for your comment and the reminder,haha. I actually noticed the paragraph problem after I sent the post but I was not allowed to delete the post. I will definitely work on this next time. Two or more paragraphs will be much better for a large content post. Thank you again 

[Fiatless]

Your analogy is interesting and I can see the picture you are painting. But I want to relate it to investing and building a business. Starting a business is very difficult because one have to engage in so many activities like planning, seeking funds, choosing a location, employing staff, advertising, and seeking customers. But as you strive to settle these issues one after another, the business becomes easy to manage or run. That is why every investor must be patient and persistent at the beginning of the business without that the business will underperform or even collapse.

Thanks a lot, both for your comment and the reminder,haha. I actually noticed the paragraph problem after I sent the post but I was not allowed to delete the post. I will definitely work on this next time. Two or more paragraphs will be much better for a large content post. Thank you again  

I want to commend you for your simple writing style OP. But you can always edit your post by using the edit button. Regardless of how old the post is, it can be edited. Paragraphs make your work attractive and easy to read.

[adaseb]

I think the reason why many struggle with finance is because they are burdened with debt at a young age and think it’s normal to always have debt.

Look how easy it is to get a credit card these days. After a few months of using a credit card they want to offer you a higher limit, just so they can make more money off you. And that’s how the cycle starts. Later it’s another credit card and maybe a car loan or Line of credit and you are pretty much trapped.

[slapper]

It's not all horrible to manage money. I mean, who doesn't like a good problem to solve? Like a jigsaw puzzle, find the proper parts and assemble them.

If you're snowed in, don't worry! Rotate the pot. Try something new, think outside the box, and don't worry about mistakes. The oddest parts sometimes fit. Can anyone say? You can make something you never believed possible with creativity and time

[Plaguedeath]

Most people seems to be very hard to manage their money, I don't know why the reason is since I don't have any problem about financial. I'm not rich and I don't have many privilege, my life is simple and never want any expensive product.

I always eat cheap healthy food, exercise, learn a new thing, looking for a job with better payment and invest as much as I can. The point is don't wasting any money, you'll be rich sooner or later.

[Findingnemo]

More precisely you're talking about the financial goals of an individual, yes of course we need to find a way for that we have to take stap by step to reach the designation however there are lots of practical difficulties are there too that is where assets and liabilities will play a major role of reaching what we are aiming.

1. Start as soon as possible.
2. Make enough research before investing your money either its business or an asset.
3. Going from the scratch will take time so be patient in ups and downs.

I can write endless points but going to stop here and refer reading the rich dad and poor dad book for better understanding about this topic.

[mu_enrico]

It's not only about finance, but life as a whole, relationships, family, etc. Everyone starts without any idea of what they will do, but that's the art of problem-solving. As a human, we can think and solve our problems and then draw conclusions about what's best according to our experience. It's not necessarily worked for everyone since it's a personal experience.

The most important thing is you think and you try to finish the job and get the job done. Do it every time for every task and you'll finish your finance puzzle perfectly.

[Marcellin9]

It's not only about finance, but life as a whole, relationships, family, etc. Everyone starts without any idea of what they will do, but that's the art of problem-solving. As a human, we can think and solve our problems and then draw conclusions about what's best according to our experience. It's not necessarily worked for everyone since it's a personal experience.

The most important thing is you think and you try to finish the job and get the job done. Do it every time for every task and you'll finish your finance puzzle perfectly.

Yes indeed. I thought about this analogy and found that it applies to life, relaionships and family issues as well but narrowed down to the financial topic here because I feared that the moderator would remove this thread to other sections . To be honest, I like the repeated viewers in this section because most are serious thinkers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[btc_angela]

It's not only about finance, but life as a whole, relationships, family, etc. Everyone starts without any idea of what they will do, but that's the art of problem-solving. As a human, we can think and solve our problems and then draw conclusions about what's best according to our experience. It's not necessarily worked for everyone since it's a personal experience.

The most important thing is you think and you try to finish the job and get the job done. Do it every time for every task and you'll finish your finance puzzle perfectly.

Yes indeed. I thought about this analogy and found that it applies to life, relaionships and family issues as well but narrowed down to the financial topic here because I feared that the moderator would remove this thread to other sections . To be honest, I like the repeated viewers in this section because most are serious thinkers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

And that is the very definition of life itself, we really don't know what the future holds, what we have right now is just one piece of the puzzle. And we have to find out how each and everyone will fit into our life.

Just like in financials, hard to manage our wealth and money and those who can, are just a small percentage and they become very successful in life.

While the rest of us struggles to even earn a decent money, be it in job, or businesses and then we have a lot of debts to settle. So that's life and it takes a lot to be able to fit each and every jigsaw puzzle.

[dansus021]

I think the reason why many struggle with finance is because they are burdened with debt at a young age and think it’s normal to always have debt.

Look how easy it is to get a credit card these days. After a few months of using a credit card they want to offer you a higher limit, just so they can make more money off you. And that’s how the cycle starts. Later it’s another credit card and maybe a car loan or Line of credit and you are pretty much trapped.

Well I do 1000% Agree with you, these days is heaven for a Lender. In my country alone you can get credit just install some app register and boom you got the money. Buy and Paylater become a habit even myself know the feel of this.
The best thing is to get rid of anything like this and start saving or at least do an investment and keep learn how the financial system work what the Poker Player says is true try the seven things above and maybe you will find the puzzle is not that complicated

[BVeyron]

Last weekend I was playing with my daughter at home. She has been interested in playing jigsaw puzzles so she asked me to play with her. Of course I'd love to. To be honest, I am not really a jigsaw puzzle player and always nervous about assembling the irregular shaped pieces, although usually there is a complete picture like a guide aside. Unfortunately that complete picture of my daughter's jigsaw puzzle was gone so I had to figure out all the pieces together all by myself.

In the beginning, I had no clue at all. I thought a while and decided to take one puzzle with the corner first and then tried to find some clue according to the small picture to get the next piece match. To my surprise, after struggling for a bit of time, I did it ! I managed to get the whole picture of the puzzles and my daughter was thrilled.  That night I suddenly realized that managing finances and assembling jigsaw puzzles are very much similiar. At start, we have/set a goal. The first step is not easy to make and usually you have to figure out on you own. There is nothing wrong with taking whatever as your first step but you have to find a clue to continue the next step to lead to the whole picuture/goal. In the process of assembling/working, you will be lost most of time but stay focused and patient, you just need to find that useful clue to the closest picture and then you'll be good. As you progress, the complete picture is getting clearer and bigger, you feel excited and more certain about the decisions you made. All you have to do now is follow the lead and contiue, when the last puzzle piece is perfectly matched, success is yours.

See finance in my explanation ? Replace all pieces with finances, it'll be great as well. I hope each of us will figure out all clues to the complete picture. Make your finance puzzles complete !

The same thing happens when you get new knowledge in any field: at first you have very small field visible and tons of work, as you progress, the picture becomes visible and it brings excitement. Jigsaw puzzle is the clear example of knowledge-acquiring process.

[lizarder]

See finance in my explanation ? Replace all pieces with finances, it'll be great as well. I hope each of us will figure out all clues to the complete picture. Make your finance puzzles complete !

You will realize that the game will sharpen your mind to think more logically, I get this moment in a chess game, where we always rely on the pawn for the king's deadly Staregi. The pawn movement is indeed slower and can only move one step, but at certain times the king's position will be pinched only because of one step we move. Likewise the way we manage finances, when we do not have a long -term strategy and preparation, the amount of money we have will actually be used up in conditions that are not needed.

The small pieces that you mean will be collected in increased amounts, when you put in some places of money and most of us think to place on one concept without thinking about some of the posts another place for far greater and more stable opportunities, so that one failure will be destroy everything even though there are some places worth trying?
1. Investment
2. Savings
3. Business and
4. Avoid loans

[panganib999]

The allegory is a little bit of a stretch but I could understand and make sense of what you mean. Financial Literacy and Freedom isn't a one-time bigtime process anyway, that just because you read tons of books about finance and how to save money you'd finally understand the secrets to effectively managing your finances and earning a lot of money. It doesn't work that way. There has to be experience for it to effectively happen else it will all be theoretical work.

It's not only about finance, but life as a whole, relationships, family, etc. Everyone starts without any idea of what they will do, but that's the art of problem-solving. As a human, we can think and solve our problems and then draw conclusions about what's best according to our experience. It's not necessarily worked for everyone since it's a personal experience.

The most important thing is you think and you try to finish the job and get the job done. Do it every time for every task and you'll finish your finance puzzle perfectly.

I would agree. We're basically born to rawdog life itself coz no definitive blueprint, secret, or guide is available that will always work for everyone. Decisions you make may go awry and backfire but the most important thing is that you learn and improve.

[Sarah Azhari]

That night I suddenly realized that managing finances and assembling jigsaw puzzles are very much similiar.

You shouldn't think too much, it's not a similar as you think, because when you understand how to play jigsaw puzzles, you will easy to solve that puzzle like your daughter. It's the same as you managed finances, if you understand it, you can easy to manage and solved like you eat something. That's just the calculation of income and outcome, and the big problem people have is, there isn't income to solve the outcome.