ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the theory and practice of creating and maintaining a personal financial plan. One of the most important principles is to understand where money comes from. There are three sources of money: labour, land/property and capital. The media focuses on what personal finance professionals call 'noise' or 'financial pornography' in the form of negative stories or sensationalist 'gets rich quick' ideas because they are newsworthy. Having a cash reserve available is essential to enable people to cope with the inevitable ups and downs that arise in life. One's cash reserve should represent between three and twelve months' expenditure, or however many months it would take them to find new employment or earn an income from self-employment. To beat inflation, people need savings or investments with a higher rate of return than the inflation rate. The price of goods and services can stay the same, fall or rise from year to year.
