If you are single, your money management skills may not affect anyone other than yourself. However, if you are the head of your household, you have an added incentive to do the right thing. This article is packed with practical guidelines for making more responsible decisions regarding your money.
Don’t fall for moneymaking scams that sound too good to be true. Too many Internet marketers let their desire for instant gratification cloud their judgment. Expanding your knowledge is important, but it is more important to actually pursue relevant and valuable experiences.
The key to total happiness and success is money management. Find things to invest your profits in and save what you need. Of course, you need to spend some of your profit on investment, but you also need to keep an eye on that investment. You should always invest the same percentage of your profit.
Credit Repair
A credit repair company may guarantee they can improve your credit report, don’t believe them. Most companies make blanket statements regarding their ability to fix your history. This is a ploy to get you to sign up for their service. You can handle most debt consolidation and credit repair on your own. It is impossible to forecast the success of trying to repair someone’s credit, and any claims to the contrary are nothing short of deceitful.
Most products come with either 90-day or one-year limited warranties, and if a failure is likely to occur, it will probably do so within that time. Extended warranties might not be the best thing for you, but they are lucrative for companies.
Typically owning two to four credit cards that you regularly use and pay off will help keep your credit score high. Having too many credit cards makes it seem that you are not in control of your finances, whereas, too few will not allow for a speedy credit build up. Use two cards to start, then add new cards as needed to build your credit.
If you tend to use lots of money buying Christmas gifts, try making your presents instead. This can save you thousands of dollars throughout the holiday season. You can also reduce costs and boost your net worth by being creative.
You can sell an old laptop if you’re trying to earn a little extra money this month. A broken laptop is worth a little something, and one that is working or fixable is worth even more. Selling nonfunctional laptops can be a great way to generate quick funds.
Your FICO score is determined in large part by your credit card balance. The higher your balances are, the worse they they are for you. Your score will improve as you pay off debt. Try to keep the balance at 20% or less than the maximum credit allowed.
Credit Cards
Set up monthly bill payments via your bank to make sure your pay your credit cards on time. Even if you cannot pay credit cards off completely, paying them on time establishes a positive payment history. If you have an automatic debit set up, you do need not be concerned about the payment being late and if you have extra money you can always add that to the payment.
Notate each upcoming monthly payment on a wall calendar. This makes it easy to keep track of due dates, billing periods and other expense information. This way, you’ll be able to make timely payments, even if you don’t get paper bills in the mail. Budgeting is a lot easier this way, and you spare yourself late fees.
Savings Account
Arrange for an automatic withdrawal to take money out of your account and put it in a savings account with high interest rates. At first it may seem uncomfortable, but soon it will become another monthly bill and the savings account will grow.
The fastest track to wealth is the one where you spend less money than you earn. People who spend everything they make, or consistently spend more than they make and borrow to make up for it, will never accumulate wealth, because they always spend it as soon as they have it. Calculate your total earnings, then spend below that mark.
Believe it or not, some debt is not bad. Some debt, like taking out a loan on a home, can be an excellent investment. Real estate is good because, for the most part, they increase in value over time and the loan interest is tax deductible. Student loans from college can be looked at as a good debt as well. Many student loans have minimal interest rates, and the repayment period does not start until the student graduates.
As we said before, personal finances are very important for people with families. Instead of plunging yourself straight into debt or buying items you do not need, you must come up with a budget so you can make your money last.
