Tag: personal finance

(Continued from Part III.)

Now let’s look at your own personal finances in more detail.

 

SAVINGS, INVESTING, AND PAYING OFF DEBT

Savings should always come first before any spending or investing, except if you are carrying a fair amount of consumer debt or student loans. If you are, make it a point to pay if off first, as we have discussed above.

But do also make sure that there is no penalty actually involved in paying it off quickly. Seriously, they WILL do that. WHY? Because they make more money out of you paying interest, than in paying back the principal (the money owed.

Once you are in the clear on debt, then it makes sense to save.  If an APR is at 15%-29%, then the 4-5% savings you would get from the average online savings account would be meaningless.

Look at your savings options, and choose something with relatively easy access so you don’t run the risk of penalties if you have to withdraw it in an emergency (such as if you had it in a 1 year CD).

If you are thinking of investing it to get a higher return on your money, decide what you can afford to invest and thus risk.

Even a small amount saved will help you reach your short term and long term  financial goals.

 

BUDGETS: A LIVING DOCUMENT

Above all, keep in mind that your budget is a living entity, as the cost of living goes up or down, and your situation changes.  If you are living on your own, make sure you hold yourself accountable, by realizing that short-term sacrifices can lead to long term gains.

If you are in partnership, both of you will need to be happy with the final budget, and feel like it’s something you can stick to. Remember, you’re working together towards a brighter and better future, not playing the blame game.

Once you have your budget, you can look at your overall financial health, and work on the areas that need improvement. At least with your budget, you will have a workable map toward your destination, so while you may not always steer the straightest course, at least if you follow your budget, you won’t sail onto the rocks.

 

 

(Continued from Part II.)

Now let’s look at how to start organizing your family budget.

THE FAMILY BUDGET

If you have a spouse or a significant other, you should make this budget together. Sit down and figure out what you are spending money on both collectively and together to run your household. If there is a lot of fat that needs to be trimmed, try to take it a step at a time. Remember, there is no blame involved, it is just looking at the cold hard facts.

Often just looking at them is to see a problem, and once you see it, you can start to work together to come up with a solution.

 

SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM FINANCIAL GOALS

The next step is to discuss  joint financial goals are in both the short and long term. Car, vacation, house, kids, college, retirement, these are pretty standard goals for most people. You may have other personal goals too, like going to grad school, having to pay off student loans, and so on.

Whatever the goals are, the first step is to identify them. That way you can plan your route to get to those goals.

Every journey begins with a single step, so the first step to attaining your goals is to make a realistic budget that you, or you and your partner,  can live with.

 

NO STARVATION RATIONS

A budget should never be a financial starvation diet. That won’t work for the long term any more than living on lettuce for three months to trim the fat would work. All you will do is get sick of it, and binge.

So, be honest, and realistic. The rate of inflation is about 5%, so make reasonable allocations for food, clothing, shelter, utilities and insurance and then add on 5% for a bit of wiggle room.

Set aside a reasonable amount for entertainment and the occasional treat. If you want a vacation, set aside a certain amount each month, but be clear it will have to come out of your budget, and not from a credit card or at the expense of other crucial items.

Continued in: A Budget: Your Ultimate Financial Management Tool, Part IV

Continued from Part

PLANNING YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

 

BUDGET FIRST

The first thing you should do is work out your budget. That means looking at the reality of your situation here and now.

There are a number of free online tools and sample worksheets you can use, including at the America’s Debt Diet website. There are also templates in the Microsoft suite as well.

Then get out your most recent pay stub, and all your rent/mortgage, utility bills, and start filling in the blanks. Look at the receipts for all the things you’ve bought in the previous week. Work out in round figures how much you spend on items like gas, electric, cell phone, regular phone, food, clothes, and entertainment.

 

EASING YOUR CREDIT CRUNCH

Then look at your credit card statements, and the minimums you are paying each month. Is there anything left at the end of your calculations?

If yes, great.

If no, not so great. But take heart.

Now look again. Is there anything you can cut back on, any ‘luxuries’ you could do without, or do with less of? How much would you save each month.

Look at your credit card statements, at the balances, but also at the APRs, the annual percentage rates for the money you are basically borrowing for that new sweater or great pair of jeans you ‘just had to have’.

 

PAYING DOWN DEBT

If you took the money you saved from the luxuries, how soon could you pay down that debt?  If there is any left over, pay down the ones with the highest APR first, then the second, then the third, and so on.  You will improve your credit score very rapidly too if you don’t always pay at the last minute, but rather pay as soon as the bill comes.

In a lot of cases you can even pay quickly and easily online, free of charge.

 

SPREADING OUT YOUR BILLS

Once you have filled in your budget, make a calendar for yourself of when all the bills are due. It is easy to lose track of one and then end up with big problems on your hands.

Look at whether your pay cycle is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Then you can space out the payments over X number of checks you are getting.

 

Continued in: A Budget: Your Ultimate Financial Management Tool, Part III.

 

A builder uses a set of house plans, or blueprints, whenever he builds a house or office building.

Rocket scientists would never begin construction on a new booster rocket without a detailed set of design specifications.

Yet most of us go blindly out into the world without an inkling about finances,  and without any plan at all as to how we’re going to achieve our  lifestyle goals in the short term and long term.

 

A BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS

The most financially successful people have a blueprint or plan, called a  money plan is called a budget, to help keep them on track in both the short and long term when it comes to achieving their financial goals.

Without a plan, they would spend whatever they wanted, whenever, and basically end up living hand to mouth. Worse still, they might end up running up a great deal of debt, spending more than they earned, until they couldn’t even meet their credit card minimums any more.

 

THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE: CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS

Credit has been easy to come by for the past few years, but in this current economic climate, a lot of credit card companies are pulling the plug on consumer credit. They might also be inflicting much heavier penalties on anyone who misses a payment, or increasing the interest rate, or, in some cases, even changing the payment date in the hope that you WILL make an error.

They are also making a great deal of money preying on people’s fears of credit card fraud, rather than taking the sensible steps of trying to cut back on credit card fraud in whatever way they can.

So credit cards are not your friend, and yes, it may be tough to get along without them, but your budget will be a lot better for it in the long run. Your budget is the one way to try to make sure you don’t end up on the rocks of a financial disaster. Or, if you think you’re already in danger of running aground, it can be the action plan that helps get you out of danger with persistent effort.

 

Continued in: A Budget: Your Ultimate Financial Management Tool Part II