Money Management Is Like Farming

In several of Thom Hartmann's books about ADHD he compares people with ADHD to hunters and people who do not have ADHD to farmers. While many adults with ADD would not make good farmers or money managers, it is still important to know how to grow your own food and to grow your own money. If you have other people who are helping you to grow your money you still need to understand if they are doing it properly. There are four basic areas that you need to understand before you can properly farm or properly manage money.

1. CAN I GROW IT?, HOW DO I GROW IT?, WHAT DO I NEED TO GROW IT?
Before a farmer decides to grow a crop he needs to understand what everything about the crop (How much sunlight does the crop need? What type of climate does the crop need? How much water does the crop need? How deep do you plant the seeds? What kind of soil does the crop grow best in? What do I need in order to harvest it efficiently? etc.) If you do not understand and properly answer these questions you will not be able to grow a crop. If you do not have a basic understanding of money management you will not be able to increase your wealth.

2. CAN I SURVIVE THE WINTER AND PLANT NEXT YEARS CROP? In order to be able to survive and plant next year’s crop you need to properly save a portion of this year's crop. If you don't save money you will not have money when you need it, nor will you be able to grow your money in the future.

3. CAN I GROW MORE CROPS NEXT YEAR? If you survive the winter and properly prepare for next year, you should be able to grow more crops than last year. In order to grow your money you need to be able to save if and invest it properly.

4. CAN I PROTECT MY CROPS FROM OUTSIDE ELEMENTS? While it is impossible to figure out when outside elements will destroy your crops, farmers use different methods to protect their crops. Farmers use fences, heaters, greenhouses, scarecrows and pesticides to help protect their crops from outside elements. In order to protect our finances we use insurance. If you do not have the proper insurance you will not be protected from outside elements. For example a scarecrow might scare away the birds from eating at your crops but they will do nothing against the insects that are eating your crops.