MONEY AS FOOTBALL: THE KEY CONCEPTS.

If I only had 30 minutes to explain personal finance to someone without even the most basic grasp this is exactly how I best would go about it.

First I would emphasize that it would just not be possible to completely explain every aspect they really need to know.
 Next I would emphasize that the single most important thing to remember is you must have an overarching goal.
How much do you want to have and when? 
And WHY this specific amount by this specific time?
Your why is ultimately the whole point.

 But I would also let them know that the reality is there are only three main points they HAVE to come to understand to achieve some level of personal finance.
 Even scrooge-level accomplishment can be achieved.
 To simplify even further I would explain how personal finance compares to football. 
Football and Finance are founded upon three primary principles.

OFFENSE: MAKING MONEY.

DEFENSE: SAVING MONEY.

SPECIAL TEAMS: INVESTING THE DIFFERENCE.

That really is it. 
Pretty much every topic in personal finance will fall into one of these three categories.
There are exceptions, but not many, and not important enough to explore here.
We explore all three of these subjects (making money, saving money, investing) thoroughly on our landing page and throughout the site.
The message here involves how these three connected but separate aspects work together that, for all intensive purposes, make up your financial picture.

First off is making money.
 As in the actual making of actual money.
In truth, whatever you do for your income it probably could be more.
 Either directly through your career choices or your ability to create additional money outside your 7-3:30.

Be assured of one absolute fact.
 Whatever you make and however you make it you could be more.
 A lot more.

Most lower income people tend to hit the ceiling on their career earnings pretty quickly.
 Any additional income they make will usually come from overtime or bonuses for standard things like perfect attendance, retention bonuses, safety awards, etc.

Higher earners on the other hand generally have much more flexibility at least in terms of career leverage.
Right now your situation is what it is. 
And while in all probability you should be making more you also need to also keep in mind that making money is but one leg in this three-legged stool.
 You can, over a lifetime, still amass far more enough money for even the very best version of what your life could be.

Second is saving the money you do have.
Recently I heard a podcast featuring financial guru Clark Howard who stated “it's not what you make it's how much of (your money) that you keep".
It's a simple but brilliant point.
We'll look at an extreme example to emphasize this point.

You're an especially lower income earner making $25,000 a year (take home). 
While that's by any measure pretty low it certainly doesn't mean you still can't reach you'r most ambitious goals. 
As previously mentioned making, saving. and investing are covered in much greater detail elsewhere. The point here is that of the eight-ten monthly bills we all face, likely as not every single bill of yours can be DRASTICALLY REDUCED OR ELIMINATED altogether.
Yes you need to eat but you will most certainly be able to reduce your grocery bill by 35% or more, while eating healthier, but it will require a serious commitment to a meal planning strategy.
Cell phone plans are more competitive than ever and chances are you haven't compared plans in years. 
Utilities are another area in our lives that we think about little, pay a lot, and often make no effort to reduce.
 Same goes for literally every other bill we encounter.

Last but not least—but still last.
However much money you do manage to save you need to make sure you don't bungle what is nearly always the most overlooked aspect of our "money as football" series. 
The investing of the money you've managed to keep.
 No one can tell you exactly what to invest in or how your investments should be allocated.
Amongst the most popular investment options include index funds and high interest savings accounts.
However you choose to invest, if you choose to invest at all, make sure it's something that allows you to sleep at night.
Maybe your pain threshold is such that something like a high interest account might be the highest level of risk you can handle.
You can change your investments at anytime but jumping from investment to investment is not recommended either.
Theres tax liabilities, Your tax returns become a mess, and you could even find yourself spending years scrimping and saving only to have received little or no growth on your money.

All this said an intelligent long range strategy will eventually dwarf all the money you could ever contribute to your account.

EXAMPLE: 
A nine percent return on your $1.200,000.00 (one million two hundred thousand) S&P 500 account equals $108,000.00!!! (one hundred and eight thousand dollars). 
And thats only for one year.
So again, don't overlook your investment philosophy.