It was my 13th birthday and I wanted a pair of Air Jordan high top sneakers; they were red and ivory with a solid black swoosh. An unmistakable must have in my young life. Back then, these highly cherished symbols of status were a mere $60 brand new, out of the box. Imagine that. Michael Jordan wasn't even my favorite player, nor was I a Chicago Bulls fan (I'm from Philly, 76ers all the way).  However, much like today, these sneakers were just plain cool. It seemed like everyone in my neighborhood had a pair and I wanted a pair too. But, on that cold March day, my mother calmly let me know she could not afford the high price of $60, after-all it was 1986. I was very disappointed to be denied this opportunity to elevate my position among my peers in the neighborhood. I never forgot that feeling of absolute helplessness from not being able to acquire something I wanted because of money. 

The phrase, "I can't afford it" haunted me for a long time. I wondered to myself, "when will I be able to own luxury items?"? I thought at the time only people with money, you know rich people, could afford anything they wanted and never had to worry about money. I took the "I can't afford it" phrase to mean poor people couldn't have nice things. But, "I can't afford this or that" is a common statement people of all economic backgrounds make. There is always something just out of reach for everybody. As I entered adulthood, I would discover the truth about money, that is, everyone worries about it and they never have enough of it. 

So, what does “I can't afford it" really mean? It basically means that you have a set amount of money to work with every two weeks and most of it is allocated to rent/mortgage, bills (cable, cell phone, electric) and other items in your life. In the end, there is not a lot of money left over for luxury items, like the Air Jordan's I wanted. So, in today's society you have 3 options to acquire things outside of your daily living expenses. 

• 1) You can find the money to save every week until you are able to purchase these luxury items. 

• 2) You can use your credit cards for these items and pay interest for acquiring these items right away, this is a very popular choice. 

• 3) You could throw caution to the wind and buy the items out of your next paycheck, with no regard for the other things in your life. This decision is driven by the emotion of "I deserve this item, because I work hard!"! Also, this option is the most dangerous option, because it will lead to late or missed payments, which leads to bigger problems later.    

The main thing I have learned over the years is that we all need a budget or some sort of way to track the money we make. Regardless of the amount of money you bring in every month, if there is no tracking method in place for your money, it will be gone. You will never be able to afford luxury or anything else for that matter, because you will never know how much money you are working with after you pay your bills.

A good budget is established by adding your paychecks you get in a month. Then gathering all your main bills and adding them up. Take your income and minus your bills and the balance is your disposal income. This is the money left after your bills.   

Maintaining a balance between what you want, with what you need, using the money you have is the key to figuring out your financial situation. The money decisions we all face with our limited resources can be overwhelming at times. But, with the proper planning, discipline and a good budget, you will always know what you can afford now and with planning, what you might be able to get later.