There was a whole week left until payday - and the salary ended? What to do? Pay with credit money again for groceries, for gasoline, for purchases school supplies for children? But this path will certainly lead us to the “point of no return.” When interest on loans taken will “take away” almost our entire salary. Below we will look at several ways to solve the problem of the eternal lack of money. 1) Money is just a “tool” A very useful tool. Perhaps the most useful tool of all that we come across in our lives. This tool does not work on its own. He is guided by our head. It's like a hammer - you can hammer a nail with it, or you can flatten your finger. Therefore, when handling money, you need to follow the basic principles of so-called “financial literacy.” Only in this case will money significantly improve the quality of our lives, and not push us off a cliff into a bottomless “debt hole.” What to do: Find and read any book on financial literacy. As an option, here’s this “7 Steps to Financial Freedom.” 2) Don’t let your eyes be bigger than your wallet. We should learn to control our desires. Only in this way can we curb our expenses – which we are pushed towards every day by the advertisements we see, discounts in stores and the thought “you only live once, you can go for a walk” that has been implanted in our subconscious. What to do: Convene a family council and draw up an estimate for the large expenses ahead of you. Vacations, birthday gifts, buying seasonal clothes, renovations, etc. Decide on the exact amount and make it a rule to save money in advance for such expenses. So as not to take out another loan (in addition to the existing ones). 3) Goals set the direction of movement Our financial goals are something like the North Star for ancient sailors. They headed for it because the “navigators” so familiar to us did not yet exist . As well as a compass, astrolabe and other instruments for navigation on the open sea. But the Goal alone will not be enough. We also need oars, a sail, an outboard motor, etc. - something that will actively bring us closer to our goal. What to do: We need practical actions to “materialize” the Goal. Otherwise we won't move. We have to learn how to earn money on our own, develop our professional competencies, make savings and investments. 4) Become the author of your own Destiny Highlight from 20 to 50 steps that you will need to take in order to get to your Goal. Don’t rush. Go at a calm pace, at a rhythm convenient for you. Don't overexert yourself. And you don’t need to set overly ambitious goals like “Become a millionaire by the New Year.” What to do: Divide your Big Goal into small blocks. Which you can handle without much difficulty. Then focus on the next block of actions that you can handle. Move from milestone to milestone, from block to block. Don't try to climb a high mountain at once. Go with rest, spend the night in base camps, eat well and get enough sleep. 5) Make your money “make you a rich person” Make it a rule to invest with every salary you receive. First of all, accumulate a “financial cushion”. Then switch to buying index funds denominated in different currencies. Due to this, you will gradually form an impressive capital, the income from which will fully support you.Additionally: Read my other article “Where NOT to invest money? TOP 3 most dangerous places for your money." I will be grateful for your likes and reposts of this article. Author of the article - Alexander Evstegneev, personal finance expert, author of 20 books on financial literacy, investor with 25 years of experience, laureate of the Russian Ministry of Finance Prize for the best media project on financial literacy