Personal Management • economics24.com

December 4, 2008

Managing Personal Finance is Key for Long Term Financial Health

Filed under: Finance — Tags: Adequate Clothing, Banks, Bonus Points, Borrowing Money, Credit Card, Credit Cards, Emergencies, Financial Health, Healthy Environment, Money Back, Overdraft Facility, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Management, Personal Management, Piece Of Mind, Salary, Sleep, Viable Option — admin @ 7:46 am

Adrian Lawrence asked:

The ability to manage your personal finance is key for successful long term financial health and stability. Regardless of how much you earn, being able to make your income work for you is essential. Not everyone requires a large salary and an expensive home and car to be happy, but they do need to be comfortable in terms of being able to eat and sleep in a healthy environment, and provide adequate clothing and shelter for their families as well. This can only be achieved through sensible personal financial management, that is, only spending what you can afford, not borrowing money over and above what you can realistically afford to pay back, and ensuring you and your family will be comfortable and able to maintain the standard of living when you retire.

Banks are often very willing to give credit to customers, which is where you need to be careful – they are not so easy going when it comes to paying the money back. Overdraft interest can be very expensive, and you end up paying back much more than you originally borrowed. On top of that, they charge high prices for going over the agreed amount, whether by accident or not, so customers need to be extra vigilant when approaching their limit. On the other hand, when the need is only short term, an overdraft is a very viable option. If you know in advance one month you will be caught short, then having an overdraft facility can be a big help. Similarly, simply setting up and overdraft but not using it until/unless there is an emergency will give you piece of mind that you will not struggle to suddenly raise any money unexpectedly.

Credit cards can be very useful, especially when using them as opposed to debit cards purely to take advantage of any spending bonus points/offers gained by regular use – which will only happen if the balance is paid off fully at the end of every month. Having a credit card for emergencies is again a sensible idea, especially for larger, unexpected bills such as car repairs. Many credit cards offer a 0% interest on the balance for a set period, often 6 months, and this can be manipulated so that you change company every six months to avoid paying any interest. Of course, this just keeps the interest rate down; it does nothing to shave the amount of what you owe. It is a common mistake to see credit as an extension of your wages – nothing could be further from the truth, it is not your money. You will have to pay it back at some point, and the sooner the better. Therefore, the best advice is again to only borrow what you can afford to pay back.

Finally, to secure your future when you eventually settle down and retire, it is an extremely advisable idea to set up some form of pension scheme, whether that is with your bank, or your employers. Pension schemes can move from company to company in the event of job changing, and your employers simply take a percentage of your wage each month and put it aside, to be given to you in a lump sum as and when you are retired, so you can maintain a good living standard when you are no longer working.

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August 30, 2008

5 Action-Ideas To Manage Your Personal Finance

Filed under: Finance — Tags: Bad Credit, Bad Debts, Coins, Credit Rating, Credit Report, Credit Worthiness, Financial Future, Gas Station, Grocery Store, Habit, Interest Rates, Late Fees, Managing Money, Managing Your Money, Money Savings, One Hundred Dollars, Personal Credit, Personal Finance Management, Personal Management, Personal Savings — admin @ 6:45 am

Joseph Then asked:

It’s unbelievable that schools does not teach us everything that we have to know but left out one important subject, that is Personal Finance Management. No wonder we see rising cases of people with bad debts and bad credit.
Here are 5 ideas to better manage your personal finance.
Build a savings account
Your money is something that you work very hard for. If you want to build a savings account for yourself, and for your family, you can do it – but perhaps a little slower than you might like. You can get started by saving all the change you get from shopping at the grocery store, from the gas station and from anywhere else you might go. Putting all this change into a container, you can then fill the container, day by day. As the container is full, roll the coins and deposit this money into your new savings account. You might be surprised, but in just two weeks it is possible you saved twenty dollars, or even one hundred dollars. Your savings account will grow, and you will be managing your money at the same time!
Paying bills on time
Paying your bills on time is going to be a something you need to make a habit for your entire life. Your credit report, your credit rating and your personal credit worthiness is going to depend on how often you are on time when paying your bills. Paying your bills on time is important for a solid financial future. As you pay bills on time, you are less likely to pay higher interest rates, you are not going to pay late fees, and you will build a good credit rating at the same time. To pay your bills on time, all the time, use a system that will have all your bills put into a pile in the same place. Put the bills that are due first on the top of the pile. Put the bills that are due at the end of the month in the bottom of the pile. Look at the pile every day, or at very least every other day. When you have the money, pay the bill on the top of the pile and work your way through all the bills for the month, and then you can start on the bills for next month!
Building good credit
To build good credit you want to pay your bills on time, and avoid paying those higher interest rates. If you have good credit, you want to keep it. What some people do not realize is that you can hurt your credit if you are moving often. Moving every month, moving every year, and moving more than needed it going to lower your credit score. If you live in the same house, the same apartment for over five years this is going to help your credit. Avoid moving when possible. Get a copy of your credit report; review the addresses that are listed for you. Remove addresses that are not applicable to where you have lived in the past.
Use coupons and save money
If you are not using coupons now, you should be. With the price of everything going up, and up, you need to learn to make your money ‘go further’. To make your money last longer, and to get more for your money seek out coupons for the goods and services that you always purchase. The secret to using coupons is this: don’t use, clip or keep coupons for items that you don’t usually use in your home. Coupons are enticing to get you to try other items, and sometimes can cost you even more money. Clip coupons from the Sunday paper, from the Internet online coupon sites, and look for coupons on the products you already purchase. This is going to give you the best savings possible, stretching out the money you have, and that you want to make last much longer for your household budget.
Money management involves working for a living
Money management is a budgetary thing, meaning you need to know how much money you have, and how much money you can spend. If you are spending more money than you are earning, you are most likely relying on your credit cards just way too much. If you are relying on your credit cards, your payments are going up and you will never pay off those credit cards. Money management involves your earning money, and spending the money you earn, and not more than that. If you need more money in your home budget, you can do a few things: get a new job with better pay, ask for a raise, get a second job, or build a business of your own. Relying on others for handouts, making minimums payments on credit cards you can’t afford, and living beyond your means is only going to come back to cause you trouble later in life.

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August 29, 2008

Proper Personal Finance Management

A Bohart asked:

Rising consumerism and easy access to credit has given rise to overspending, even by an average income earner. The result has been an increasing number of people caught in a growing debt burden. The problem is worsened simply because most people care very little about managing their finances, or about proper personal finance management. The fact is, you’d get more benefits if you take your personal financial management seriously. Here are some ideas which could help you

Wisely Use Credit Cards

Credit cards are the most popular method of getting credit. They are easier to secure, and easier to make use of – just select an item, carry it to the cashier and swipe your card. Not needing to carry cash around encourages many people to simply swipe their cards on the ever-present credit card terminals, not realizing or not caring that everything ultimately goes on their tab. Please remember that the more you swipe your card, the more debt you are building up.

Proper financial management means taking precautions so one can minimize credit card debts. For one, use your credit card only when there is no other alternative. Two, spend on your credit card only the amount of money you have to spend. Bear in mind, the credit card company will start charging penalties if you are not able to settle your dues on time – which will only add to your debts and will worsen your problem.

When applying for a credit card, shop around first. Look for the company that charges the most favorable interest rate. Keep in mind that paying a low interest rate means saving some money for other expenses.

Consider Debit Cards

Another approach is to avail of debit – not credit – cards. The advantage here is that your spending is limited by the amount you have in your account. As such, debit cards have inbuilt protection against overspending and the ensuing loss of financial control.

Go with Secured Personal Loans

Personal loans are another source of finance. Personal loans will make you financially stronger and more secure – if you use the loan constructively, that is. If you are taking out a personal loan just so you can spend some more money you don’t have, taking out a personal loan is just going to speed up your financial decline.

If you decide on this approach, your priority should be minimizing loan costs as much as possible. As such, you should avail of personal loans that charge the most favorable rates of interest so you can save up on interest charges that will only add to your indebtedness.

When taking out a personal loan, opt for the secured personal loan – that which puts up any of your properties as collateral. With a secured or collateralized loan, lenders will be more willing to lower their interest rates and offer you a more favorable payment schedule.

Save First

To have more financial control, you need to exchange your habit of expenditure for a habit of saving. If you save enough money, you won’t need to take out a loan or a credit card for sudden and unexpected expenses. You can just use your own savings and as such, you’re not going to have to pay interest.

Wise financial management encompasses spending only on what’s necessary and what’s within budget. Never borrow money so you can spend more. This will never work and you will be just digging your financial grave when you do this.

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July 5, 2008

Get control of Your Personal Finance with a Budget

Filed under: Finance — Tags: Car Payment, Common Knowledge, Control, Gasoline, Household Budget, Matter Of Choice, Money Matters, Money Spent On, Monthly Budget, Morning Coffee, One Time, Personal Budget, Personal Choice, Personal Finance Management, Personal Management, Spending Habits, Taxes, Time Purchases — admin @ 11:47 pm

Joseph Then asked:

It is fairly common knowledge that money matters can be simplified and controlled with a budget. One of the keys to personal finance management is creating and using a household budget. It is not a really hard task, but one that many people avoid. The reason is that it can often be hard to avoid overspending and having a budget really puts spending problems out there.

A budget is basically a list of expenses and income. It should include all expenses, even the seemingly little expenses like a morning coffee purchase. The budget can be made out weekly or monthly, whatever way is best for the household. For someone who gets paid once a week, a weekly budget may be best. For someone who gets paid once a month, a monthly budget would work nicely. Although, it is really a matter of personal choice as to how the budget is made out.

The income section of a budget is usually fairly simple. Most people can easily track their income. Some people choose to list their income after taxes, while others list the income before taxes and include taxes as a expense. That is strictly a matter of choice.

The expenses section is where most people have trouble. It can be hard to see our spending habits in black and white. It is really important, though, to be honest and list everything. You may find it is helpful to keep a spending log for a week. Your spending log is where you will write down every purchase you make. This can be a good way of tracking all the little expenses you incur throughout a week.

Your expenses section of your budget should also include utilities and housing expenses. If you have a car payment, include here as well. You need to include money spent on gasoline, bathroom items, food and any other thing you spend money on. You do not have to include large, one time purchases, though, as they are not a routine part of your expenses.

Once you have your income and expenses listed you need to add each up. The total of your expenses should not exceed the total of your income. If it does then you need to cut back on your expenses. You may have to stop some spending or try to find creative ways of reducing your spending.

The whole idea of a budget is to ensure that you are not spending more then you are earning. Your budget is a blueprint for how you should be spending your money. Once you have your budget made out and it is balanced you need to stick to it. Only spend as much as you have allotted in your expenses and you should find your personal finance situation becomes much easier to deal with.

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