Life is full of twists and turns, days filled with innumerable tasks, and moments of nothing. It all passes by in a blur, with important moments lost in the hustle of business. And the only way to slow it down and to be able to enjoy life is if we can structure and organize the busy and important (if not boring) parts of life.
Browsing Tag
finances
A great way for couples to manage their money effectively is to routinely set up money dates. Pick a time when you are both alert and set aside about 30 minutes to discuss your current financial situation. Be sure to touch on any outstanding or upcoming bills and evaluate your current debt situation. It is also important to talk about how much you are saving as a couple each month and what your goals are for the short and long term.
Couples who set up money dates on a regular basis find it much easier to manage their money. It is important for both parties to understand where the family is at now and where they are headed. Both can contribute to the discussion and can have input into where changes need to be made.
When setting financial goals, the goals you set must be realistic. Don’t set goals that will overextend you financially or put a hardship on you or your family.
You will find that some of your goals are long-range, such as purchasing a home, and some are short-range, such as establishing good credit. Is your goal to be debt free? Do you desire to invest in your retirement? Would you like to qualify for a low interest rate credit card? You need to evaluate what you want to accomplish financially and set a plan of action. The following steps will help you achieve your financial goals:
Step 1: Write out your goal. This makes a commitment.
Step 2: Visualize your goal. Cut out a picture of what you want to accomplish. It may be a house, a car, a dream vacation or a needed appliance. Whatever it is, cut a picture out of a magazine and put the picture in a place that you can see it for reinforcement.
Step 3: Set a time frame to accomplish the goal. Remember with establishing credit, it can take several months to get approvals. Be realistic on setting dates.
Step 4: Write out your plan of action.
Step 5: Remove the excuses you have for not following through with your goal. Get rid of these phrases, “I’m too busy,” “I don’t have time,” “I’ll do it later.”
Step 6: Anticipate any situation that may arise that will cause you not to accomplish your goal. If you know of anything in your credit portfolio that could cause you a problem, find a way to correct it.
Step 7: Define your motives. Are your intentions to build a credit portfolio for the future, or for only material gain? This must be determined before you send out your first application. If the motive is only for material gain, DON’T DO IT!
Step 8: Look at all your past experiences. Learn from them.
Step 9: Believe you can accomplish what you start out to do.
Step 10: Do first things first. Do not dwell on what you need to do. Just do it! Follow through with your plan of action.
Remember, your goals will change throughout your life. As you accomplish financial goals, set new ones. Careful planning will not only help you accomplish your goals, it will also give you the boost toward building a successful credit and financial portfolio.
About the Author
Deborah McNaughton is an author and credit expert. She is founder of Financial Victory Institute, which specializes in financial education. Deborah has programs to train individuals to become credit consultants and teach financial seminars.
Many times when we experience a drop in income, it is difficult to know what bills to pay first. You must know which bills are essential to your survival and which are not. There are basically three categories of bills: essential, nonessential and borderline. The biggest mistake you can make when going through financial difficulties is to pay the creditor who is yelling the loudest first. It is important to prioritize your bills when allocating how much money you have to work with. Whether you are having problems paying your bills or not this will help you take control.
The first step in prioritizing your bills is to know exactly how much income you have and how much you are spending per month. Keep a journal of all your expenditures. This includes the trip to the ATM machines, your gourmet coffee drinks, and the trips to the fast food restaurant. Write down every penny you spend for thirty days. You will be surprised at how much you can cut back and apply to your debt. Once you see where your excess spending is going, begin adding the extra money to your bills.
Essential bills are defined as survival and should be paid first. Mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, and food are included in the essential category. The next would be mandatory insurance such as car insurance. Medical needs could also be put into this category. Child support and any loans such as automobiles, furniture, and so forth that are secured or used as collateral to obtain the loans should be included with the essential bills.
Nonessential bills are debts in which no immediate consequences could occur if paid late. They are unsecured and include credit and charge cards, attorney, medical and accounting bills, and newspaper and magazine subscriptions. These should be paid after all the essential bills are paid.
Borderline bills can fall into either essential or nonessential categories. You are the only one who can determine which one. Borderline bills may include such things as life insurance, private schools, child daycare, health clubs, gyms, country clubs, clothing or court judgments. When reviewing your borderline bills you must move them over to either the essential or nonessential category.
By prioritizing your bills in the order of what should be paid first, you will begin to get in the habit of making sure your essentials are always paid first before running into a money shortage.
About the Author
Deborah McNaughton is an author and credit expert. She is founder of Financial Victory Institute, which specializes in financial education. Deborah has programs to train individuals to become credit consultants and teach financial seminars.
Although you may have failed at managing your money wisely in the past, it’s never too late to start to develop good habits. Whenever you begin to feel it’s a losing battle or that there is just no way you can make ends meet let alone save for your retirement, think of WD-40.
For those of you who have never heard of it, WD-40 is a spray designed to repel water and prevent corrosion. It’s creator, Norm Larsen, invented WD-40 in 1953 after 40 attempts! That means he failed 39 times before finally getting it right! He was persistent. If he had given up, the world would never have been able to benefit from such a product. In the same way, you cannot afford to give up on developing good money management skills. Giving up is not the answer.
There are many ways you can improve your money habits. You can meet with a financial planner at your local financial institution and they can crunch some numbers and help you to create feasible goals for yourself. You can create a budget and stick to it, and you can also read books and Internet articles that will give you ideas on how to save money and invest it wisely.
Although it will take discipline now and mean that you will be making some sacrifices in the present, you will reap the benefits in the future. The sooner you start getting your finances in order, the better off you will be.