Usually, people purchase property and disaster, or casualty insurance to secure their possessions and life insurance to supply profit for their survivors. Nevertheless, lots of people don’t think of securing their profit with disability insurance. But how fine could you live if you weren’t capable to go to work at all? Disablement is an unforeseen event, and if you once become disabled, your capability to make a living could be limited. Although you might have enough finances in the bank to meet your short-dated necessities, what would occur if you were incapable to work for months, or even for years? The real price of disability insurance is in its capability to secure you over the long distance.
Your car is not that lovable to you when you see a huge bill coming your way. It is all understandable but also very … reasonable. Yes, insurance companies do put something at steak before they set up a deal with you but you have to understand that mainly that is what you pay your bucks for. They promise you safety and safety is precious. Most drivers will try to combine safety and reasonable payment. But of the time they do succeed. It is possible to find a good insurance deal that you won’t regret later on.
Being disciplined when it comes to personal finance budgeting is a key component for anyone seeking financial freedom. Taking control of your finances is the first step to starting down the road to building the life you always wanted and the quickest and easiest way to do this is with a budget. The most critical part of the personal budgeting journey is the emotional and mental side of the equation. Why?
Our behavior with money is the reason most of us get into financial problems in the first place. Our own wants over ride our common sense and before we know it we have a house full of stuff that we end up paying for twice over. Many financial experts say that personal finance is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent math.
This is where the household budget comes into play. In this day and age the great majority of people have no idea how much money they make each month let alone where the money goes once they cash their pay check. Before long this behavior catches up with everyone and they are in perpetual catch up mode when it comes to paying bills and meeting their financial needs. A budget, if done honestly, allows you to see exactly how much money is coming in and not only how much is being spent but also what it is being spent on.
Once you see what you have been spending money on you can come to grips with the bad behavior that has gotten you, and so many others, into a financial mess. Eating out two or three nights a week, going out to lunch everyday, that morning visit to the coffee shop, they all add up and chances are once you look over your written budget you will find many areas where expenditures are a little to high and are breaking the budget.
Here are four personal finance budgeting secrets to help keep a new budget on track.
1. Probably the hardest part of keeping a budget is keeping track of daily expenditures. One way to do this is to keep a small log book or ledger where you can keep track of your daily expenses.
2. Before going grocery shopping it is a good idea to make a list of the things you need. Check the fridge, the cupboards, and the pantry to make sure you aren\’t buying stuff you already have. Stick to the list once at the store and do not buy things not on the list.
3. Going to the store just to do some shopping is one of the easiest ways to suffer from an impulse purchase. Nothing will destroy a well thought out budget quite like an impulse purchase.
4. For large purchases over $300 or more it is a good idea to step back and wait a day or two before committing. Once given the chance to think it over chances are you will realize you don\’t really need it.
Personal finance budgeting is about taking responsibility for your money and hunting down and killing those behaviors that are costing you money. The beauty of the budget is it shows you exactly how your behavior with your money is affecting your financial situation.
A national research company recently completed a survey with 1,005 men and women nationwide to gauge their knowledge of the basics of personal finance, budgeting and principles of credit, and test their knowledge of identity theft and finance responsibilities. Their findings may surprise you.
How Knowledgeable Do Americans Consider Themselves On Personal Finance?
· 65% of Americans think they are very or highly knowledgeable about personal finances.
· Do Americans understand credit scores and the impact they have on their lives?
1. 66.7% didn’t know
2. 31.7% responded incorrectly
3. 35% when asked to define a good credit score replied 700 (it’s actually 740 and above)
4. 54% responded incorrectly that age is a factor in determining credit scores (it’s not – I sold a $40,000 vehicle to a 23 year old kid with a 740 FICO once)
Are Most Americans Doing Everything Possible To Protect Themselves From Credit Fraud? And Do They Know Enough To Protect Themselves?
· Not surprisingly 52% do not check their credit report regularly
· 23% (almost 1/4) say they have never checked their credit report
· 35% say they check their credit report once a year
· 76% (the majority) are misinformed about liability for purchases if their credit card is lost or stolen
· And finally – look at this – 47% of those polled say they didn’t believe they were responsible for any of the charges (oh, yes they are!)
Is There Any Difference Between The Older Generation And The Younger In Managing Personal Finances?
· Older Americans (70+ years) are not checking their credit reports, which makes them extremely vulnerable to credit fraud and identity theft
· 46% of Americans age 70+ have never received their credit report
· 50% of Americans in their 30’s check their credit report every year
· Young Americans are budgeting more – 80% of the 18-19 year olds use a budget while only 46% of those polled 70+ do
What Percentage Of Americans Report That They Use Budgets To Manage Their Finances?
· 64% of those polled regularly use a budget
· 29% report that they change or modify their budgets sometimes weekly
· Compared to 32% who maintain the same budget to keep track of spending
· More than 36% of Americans polled say they do not use a budget to manage their family expenses
Bottom line – people are all over the map when it comes to understanding the importance of credit scores and credit protection!
For more information on how credit works MyFico.com has a great informational site.
quicken.intuit.com Quicken Online is 100% free online personal finance software. Manage your online banking and personal finances in one place.
Imagine setting out on a cross-country car trip with no itinerary, no maps, no money and no source of help. Jumping in the car, and heading across the country with no direction and no planning may sound like fun (and it might be for awhile), but what happens at the first sign of trouble? Living without a budget is a lot like that car trip.
It may seem easy enough to buy what you want, when you want it, use credit cards to handle those nuisance bills that come along very few months (like car insurance, vehicle tags and registration and even a prescription or two), but what do you do when something big hits? Would you find yourself in serious financial trouble if your income suddenly changed due to layoffs or a career-change; the roof needs to be replaced; or an unexpected baby arrived?
Spending plans, otherwise know as budgets, are just that: a plan for how you handle your money, to better prepare you for all of life’s twists and turns. Most people hate even the thought of budget. Why? Because they have been taught that a budget limits what they can have; what they can do; and what they can spend. Smart financial planners know that the opposite is really true. A good budget can be used to set the stage for financial security, and gives the freedom to spend money on honestly, anything.
Imagine the next time that bi-annual car insurance bill arrives in the mail: you open it, looked at the total and reach for your checkbook, knowing that the entire amount is there, just waiting to be paid. Whew! Sound too easy? It doesn’t have to be. Setting up, and living by, a good budget can free you of the stress and chaos of juggling paychecks and credit cards to meet the bills. It’s a way for consumers to break free from the bondage of debt and have the money for the fun stuff , without the worry of how to pay for it later.
What else can a budget do for you? Here are 5 important benefits of budget-based living:
1: Following A Realistic Budget Helps Free Up Cash For The Fun Stuff.
Budgets aren’t designed to deny the user from doing or having the things that are important to them. Budgets are an excellent tool to help stop wasting funds on little things that you don’t need, but sure can add up! For instance, one smart budgeter realized that if she just bought her favorite soda from the grocery store and took it to work with her instead of buying it from the machine, she could pocket nearly $400.00 a year! She took that soda money and used it for a weekend at her favorite spa! Instead of denying her of her favorite soft drink, her budget simply alerted her to an unnecessary expense, which ultimately allowed her to use that money for something she really wanted, yet didn’t think that she could afford.
2: A Budget Helps You Prepare For Emergencies.
Eventually something big is going to beak and need replaced. It may be a $400 washing machine, or it could be a $20,000 car. Are you ready for the inevitable? Budgets allow the user to see where their money is going, and to help them better equip them to both save for emergencies, and clearly see where changes can be made if an unexpected expense comes up. When Bob was suddenly laid off from his job, he and his wife Nancy had very little saved, but they used their budget figures to immediately see what temporary cuts could be made to get them through a few lean months with very little stress and worry.
3: A Budget Can Both Get You Out of Debt; and Keep You Out Of Debt.
The average American household owes more than $9,000 in credit card debt. That doesn’t even begin to account for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we each carry in additional mortgages, car, and student loans debt. Owing money is an American epidemic. It has even been cited as the #1 reason for divorce in the United States. Creating a budget the whole family can live with, will ease the burden of debt on the American household by teaching everyone in the household how to curb their overspending habits and live a more sensible, and stress-freeing financial life.
4: Budgets Teach Responsibility.
We see in every magazine, on every billboard, and in every commercial: you want it, you deserve it, go get it – no matter what the cost. The instant gratification of American credit has taken a severe toll on our sense of responsibility. After all, we can buy now, and pay later, much later, so who needs to think responsibly? Unfortunately, those bills eventually come due, and many people aren’t ready for them. Budgets help reign in over spenders, and teach them real financial responsibility.
5: A Budget Eases Stress.
Money concerns are a top stress inducer in today’s over indulgent society. It has been reported however, that those who live by a budget experience less stress in their daily lives. Surprisingly, that was true for both minimum wage workers, as well as high-income workers. It didn’t seem to matter how much (or how little), income a household reported, the fact that they knew how to best spend their money seemed to play a significant role in the stress they reported in their overall life.
Creating a budget may seem like an exercise in futility to some, but the statistics are clear: budgets are good for you! What do you have to lose except for a little worry? Try one and see what unexpected benefits you find yourself reaping.
CPA / personal financial specialists are experienced professionals who are in the best position to help their clients to stay on track with their financial plans regardless of the economic condition. The clips youre about to watch, provides advice to help you manage your financial situation.
Any suggestions (other than Quicken) for budgeting and personal finance software for a Mac?
Student credit cards can help kids build their credit history. A student credit card is available to kids in college and offers a number of benefits to customers. Kids can build their credit history and improve their credit score with help from a student credit card.
Teach Kids About Responsible Credit Card Use
Parents need to work with kids to teach them how to use credit cards responsibly. Experian and USA TODAY surveyed college students in 2006 and found that more than 25% of college graduates surveyed delayed buying a home, 14% waited to have kids and 11% delayed marriage because of credit card and loan debt. Ordering children’s free credit reports are a great way to get the conversation started. Parents should share their credit histories with their kids and have open discussions about the responsible use of credit cards and debt.
Warn Kids About the Risk of Identity Theft
Kids need to be warned about the risk of identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission, people between the ages of 18 and 29 represent the largest group victimized by identity theft. College students can order their free credit report annually and review it for mistakes. Suspicious items found in credit reports should be immediately reported to the credit bureaus. Kids also need to use caution when throwing away mail to avoid the risk of identity theft . And students should keep all personal and financial information hidden when they are in class.
Build Credit History With a Student Credit Card
Kids can start to build a solid credit history with a student credit card. Kids benefit from student credit cards, designed for the unique needs of college students. Student credit cards include rewards cards, low interest cards and balance transfer cards. Student rewards credit cards give customers cash back or rewards points for purchases. Low interest credit cards and balance transfer credit cards can be used to pay off or reduce high interest credit card debt.
Encourage kids to talk about the credit card offers they receive, and take the time to help them review before they apply.
Lisa Nichols is a freelance writer, website content strategist and marketing and PR strategy consultant. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Lisa is currently based in Covington, Kentucky (also known as greater Cincinnati, Ohio).
It’s getting tougher and tougher to control your personal spending according to a new study from Standard & Poor’s. The finding of the study showed that when it comes to money and credit, things are not going so well for most Americans.
As things cost more and we are making less, many are turning to their best credit cards as a way to bail them out of a financial tough time. Almost 10 percent of people are starting to use their credit cards as a way to pay the bills, by getting cash advances on their credit limit to pay the monthly debts.
This money then gets tacked on to the rest of their credit debt at the end of the month and they are not able to pay it off, causing them to take another cash advance. It’s a continuing spiral.
If you are one of these people, or if you worry you are getting close to being one, there are some things you can do to try and keep yourself from going down this dangerous road.
Control Spending
The main problem when it comes to credit debt is not paying off what you already have, but keeping it from getting worse. If for every step you take forward, there is a step back because more debt has been added on, you’re not getting anywhere. You need to stop doing any unnecessary spending so you can begin to get ahead in paying the debt off.
Drop the Debt
Once you have stopped the spending, it’s time to get that debt down. This means not only not spending on your credit card, but also not spending on anything you don’t need. Instead you should use every extra dollar you have to pay down your debts until they are under better control.
Monitor Interest
One of the things that many people don’t watch when it comes to their debt is the interest they are paying on those debts and loans. You need to take a close look at the interest rate you are paying and see if you can lower it.
If you’re paying high interest you may want to look into getting a low interest credit card. Some of the best low interest credit cards have 0% interest for the first year or more of usage. These can be a great way to put your necessary expenses on a card that doesn’t charge interest.
The other option is to look at moving your current debts to a card that has less interest. The best balance transfer credit cards will allow you to move old debts over to the new card and pay no interest for a year or more.
Either of these types of cards will allow you to pay down a portion of your debt more quickly as you are not forced to pay interest as well.
Build Emergency Funds
Once you understand how to control your debt, take steps to keep from getting back into debt. One of the steps you can take is to stash some money away so you will have it down the road when you need it.
If you owed money on a credit card in the past, I’m talking about 15 or even 20 years ago, the best thing to do would be to pay off all the debt as soon as possible. Now there are great things like the Balance Transfer Offers – where credit card companies provide a lower or zero percent rate on any balances you transfer from other credit cards.
The balance transfer credit card is certainly a recent evolvement in the credit card market; initially credit card companies only offered a lower rate of interest to customers transferring a new balance. These initial offers were around 4 to 6 per cent APR on new balances transferred from other credit cards. Now there are a host of 0 per cent offers to choose from ranging from 3 months right up to 14 months. Many of the 0 per cent balance transfer credit cards also offer zero per cent on purchases for a small amount of time, usually around 3 months.
However, before you leap straight into signing up for a zero per cent credit card, as with anything else, you should always read up on the full terms and conditions of the product. For example always find out about any fees or charges like late or missing payments, what happens when you’re 2 or 3 days late sending your payment? Some credit card companies charge upto £20 every time a payment is missed!
Most, if not all, balance transfer credit cards charge what is called a balance transfer fee. This is something that has only recently been implemented by the card companies. For the last 5 or so years customers have simply switched from credit card to credit card every time their balance transfer period came to an end, at no cost. In the last year card companies have introduced a fee on any balances transferred. Typically the fees charged range from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the balance transferred. In the short term this may seem rather expensive, 3 per cent on say a £6000 balance is £180. However over the course of a year it works out much more competitive than paying the average credit card APR of 16 per cent, in interest!
Finally, make sure you make a note of the exact date your balance transfer period ends. Then, give yourself at least 1 months notice in order to search the market for a new credit card and have time to apply and transfer your balance once again. Whatever you do, don’t let the balance transfer period end while you still have the debt on that card, otherwise your 0 per cent could turn into 16 per cent APR overnight!
Simon Duffy writes for the Financial Blog a UK Finance Blog talking about all aspects of personal finance.
In this post, I would like to present personal budget guidelines, and hopefully, point out some potential holes or problems in your budget. The goal here is of course, to help you find ways to increase your disposable income, or the amount of money left over after all bills are paid. After reviewing this post, I hope to ignite some ideas in your mind about ways to cut expenses, and the things that are really eating holes in your budget. The following chart is a mixture of what other personal budget experts think, and my personal opinion of how to allocate your money:
Percentage of Income
Expense Description
10% God / Church
25% Housing
10% Utilities
18% Transportation
10% Food
2% Clothing / Attire
5% Misc. (eg Phone, Internet)
5% Medical Expenses
5% Other Debt
6% Savings
4% Entertainment
In the above table, I have listed the expenses in order of importance (to me, anyway). There are a couple of key things I want you to notice in reference to the above table:
Taking God Out of the Equation
The absolute worst budget mistake you can make. Without God and his blessings on your life, you are doomed. Do not cut your budget here!
Housing
This is where many people make a huge mistake. Many lenders will allow you to borrow up to 50% of your monthly income towards a house. This is ludicrous! Buy something within your means, or wait, and offer on several different houses at a discounted price to fit into your budget.
Transportation
Most people will not be able to fit into the 18% allocation for transportation, because they have a car payment that is 10-20% of their monthly income already. By the time you add the cost of gasoline and general maintenance, you are well above the 18% mark.
Miscellaneous
Cable TV, Long Distance Service, House Alarm System Service, Incredibly High-Speed Internet Service, etc. are budget killers. Stick to the basics in every service, and do without as many of them as possible!
Food and Entertainment
Do you need fillet mignon, caviar and two nights and the Weston 2-3 times a month? Do you have to have name brand cereal, Netflix, and StarBucks? Count up the cost of these and you will be shocked. Stay with off brands in the grocery store, and limit or cut back the high dollar, high frequency entertainment, I guarantee it will come back to haunt you. On a personal note, buying movies at Walmart in the $5.50 bin is a much better bargain than paying $3.99 at the rental store for only 5 nights of viewing.
I think you will find it remarkable how implementing just one or more of these personal budget guidelines and suggestions can make a difference in your family budget. The main thing is to group and count the cost of all the various expenses in your budget, and start trimming the fat. I track all expenses in my budget (except for entertainment) to make sure I do not overextend myself. If you are wondering why I do not track my entertainment expenses, it is because I hate wasting money, thus I have no budget for entertainment. This forces me to think twice about any entertainment expense, because I know it will put me over my total personal budget!
Get more great finance and investing tips at Jeffry Evans’ personal finance blog. Personal Budget Guidelines is just one of many great articles you will find at Personal Finance Resources.
how many times you ask yourself where all my money gone? you know no matter how much money you earn you might find yourself in debts. and this due to spending without control. some people have a filling that they have unlimited supply of money in the bank just passing the credit card and you can buy everything you like. but one day you came to a point where you understand that something has to be done with your budget planning.
i have seen all kind of personal budget planners. i thought maybe the budget planner will somehow give me more money in the pocket. well i guess not. The bottom line is, a paper personal budget planner will work as well as a fancy computerized one. It isn’t about how the personal budget planner looks, its about using it. And for most people, it is something we don’t really like to do either with personal budget planner or without it.
so it seems like i must live according to my budget. and if i know my budget, i can tell what i need to change in my money spending. a personal budget planner can track my immediate monetary sources and can help me achieve my financial goals.
For me, the problem wasn’t the personal budget planner that I used. it has no problems with it. i thought that my problem used to be that I simply did not use the personal budget planner enough. years ago I was making a lot of money working full time job I was living above my means. But my means were so great that, use of my personal budget planner was not really necessary. but as now i retired and receive only pension allowance. i know that my problem was not that I wasn’t making good use of my personal budget planner.
I felt like I was broke, and always some bill or other payments hanging over me and disturbing my sleep, and I was in some kind of deep trouble. It took me a while to realize that my problems had nothing to do with the personal budget planner. My problems had a lot to do with me making very little money, however. It was then that I knew that I needed to take a second job to really balance my budget. After a lot of looking, I found a job that pays the bills. i found a part time job with less salary, Now, even when I do neglect my personal budget planner for a week or so, it is okay. You see, I still have some money in my budget to plan!
Alladin is a developer and publisher of Personal Finance Budget where he provides more information on
