A Short Guide To Improve Your Personal Finances
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Hi Everyone,
Getting your personal finances in order might seem overwhelming, with the variety of products on the market, particularly, if you’ve never had a head for figures or are put off by the idea of having to stick to a budget. However, i’m hoping that this post will show that there’s lots of ways to improve your ‘financial health‘ and give you some interesting suggestions about how to do this.
Triple check your credit card statements the moment you arrive home. Make sure to pay special attention in looking for duplicates of any charges, extra charges you don’t recognize, or simple overcharges. If you spot any unusual charges, contact both your credit card company and the business that charged you immediately. Time and Time again I found little admin mistakes that could have cost me a small fortune. Don’t be shy to question the bank about it.
Avoid thinking that you cannot afford to save up for an ”Emergency Fund” because you barely have enough to meet daily expenses. The truth is that you cannot afford not to have one. An ”Emergency Fund” can save you if you ever lose your current source of income. Even saving a little every month for emergencies can add up to a helpful amount when you need it. Every Month I am building up my “Emergency Fund” so that I can look after my family. I have my own homebased business, my own hours and my own income. If i want more I tell more people. It’s as simple as that. As the people join me, i share how I’m doing it and within just a month or so you can also be in profit.
Americans are notorious for spending more than they earn, but if you want to be in charge of your finances, spend less than what you earn.
Budget your income, as to assure that you don’t overspend. Spending less than what you earn, will help you to be at peace with your finances.
However, that is easier said than done. We all know that life doesn’t wait around for us until we can afford it. I wish… So we need to take the steps to make it happen. Now i’m not saying dump your day job and move online. What i am saying is, start here with me as part time, once you are earning enough monthly to cover your offline needs then look at quitting your offline job. Most people can achieve this in a year to a year and a half. What you don’t want to do is wait a few years then “WISH” you had taken action when you had the chance.
Your personal finance is very important. Make sure that you end up with more money then you started with. It is very common for people to overspend, and before they realize what is happening they end up with a mountain of debt. So make sure you are bringing in more than you are taking out. For me i’m lucky, I have 5 kids and I’m married, and they ALL know how to spend. I started taking myself seriously around about Jun 2013 after spending nearly 10 years online. I still do my old stuff however I’m now part of this system and it gives me the freedom and time to do my other stuff. Oh yeah, i did give up my job, it was scarey and it was exciting.
You and your children should consider public schools for college over private universities. There are many highly prestigious state schools that will cost you a fraction of what you would pay at a private school. Also consider attending community college for your AA degree for a more affordable education. You just have to look at society just now. Kids are going to college and putting themself into a life time of debt and there are NO jobs for them when they get out. I didn’t want that for my kids, i still don’t. I want my kids to have the freedom to do as they please and work when they want. Personally I want them in my business so that i can grow it and expand it more. WOuldn’t you want that.
If you want to save money, then look hard at your current spending patterns. It is easy to theoretically “wish” you could save money, but actually doing it requires some self-discipline and a little detective work. For one month, write down all of your expenses in a notebook. Commit to writing down everything, such as, morning coffee, taxi fare or pizza delivery for the kids. The more accurate and specific you are, then the better understanding you will get for where your money is really going. Knowledge is power! Scrutinize your log at the end of the month to find the areas you can cut back on and bank the savings. Small changes add up to big dollars over time, but you have to make the effort. Admittingly its taken me a few years to sort out our offline finances. I changed over our bank cards so no overdrafts, if we go overdrawn we get charged for it, so we tend NOT to spend what we don’t have. We took the temptation away from it all.
If your finances are such that you can’t afford to put a sizeable down payment on a new car, you can’t afford that car. Cars depreciate extremely quickly, and unless you make a large payment up-front, you will end up upside-down on that loan. Owing more than the worth of your car makes it difficult to sell the car and can put you in a bad position if the car were to be wrecked. WIth having 5 kids we need a big car, we have a 1999 Ford Galaxy, not the newest car but it does what we need it to do. It’s still a nice car, decent stereo and plenty of space for the wife and kids.
This article has shown that improving your personal finances doesn’t have to be difficult, boring, or hard to understand. There are different approaches for different people. Some people might be excited by the idea of investing and others may be encouraged by the idea of saving up for something that they’ve had their eye on for a while. Whatever your attitude, you’ll find there are tricks and tips to suit your needs and help you to make the most of your money.
Learn more about my homebased business @
James