my travel holidays 2010: Tips For Managing Your Personal Finance

Monday, August 27, 2012

Tips For Managing Your Personal Finance | Personal Financial Times

Managing your finances, especially if you are on a limited income, isn?t always easy. However, it is vital if you are going to avoid going into debt or worse. The advice in this article can help you control your spending and help you avoid becoming a credit card debt statistic.

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.

For those individuals that have credit card debt, the best return on your money would be to minimize or pay off those credit card balances. Generally, credit card debt is the most expensive debt for any household, with some interest rates that exceed 20%. Start with the credit card that charges the most in interest, pay it off first, and set a goal to pay off all credit card debt.

To save money on your energy bill, clean te dust off your refrigerator coils. Simple maintenance like this can go a long way in reducing your overall expenses around the house. This easy task will mean that your fridge can function at normal capacity with a lot less energy.

To improve your personal finance habits, maintain a target amount that you put each week or month towards your goal. Be sure that your target amount is a quantity you can afford to save on a regular basis. Disciplined saving is what will allow you to save the money for your dream vacation or retirement.

Go over all your policies and get rid of the features you don?t need. This includes your insurance policies, credit cards, bank accounts, phone, internet and cable plan. You should pay only for the services you really need and get rid of everything else. Do not hesitate to ask for a personalized policy from your insurance agent.

As a person acting responsibly and trying to get a hold on his or her personal finances, you can look to many areas in order to trim the fat. Try knocking out that subscription to Time Magazine and watch the news instead. Ditch that Netflix monthly premium and wait for your movies to come on cable. There are many areas to trim.

Make sure you always pay your rent on time. Landlords are more likely to help tenants who are in good standing with them. If you make them wait extra time to get there rent then you can guarantee that when you have a problem they will not be in a rush to help you.

When you need to borrow money, ensure your personal finance stays safe by never going over 30% of your income. When people borrow more than 30% of their income it can drastically reduce your credit score. So as long as you stay within these safe parameters you can enjoy having good credit.

Keeping a good handle on your finances is an essential part of your adult life. Having read these tips, you should now be more prepared to move forward on this journey with some new techniques to try. Managing your finances isn?t going to be easy, but it can be done.