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Fix your Finances in 7 Days- Day 6

Teena — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:23:33 +0000

We have just two days left to complete the money managing rituals. I sincerely hope all of you would have without fail followed the steps. On the sixth day we are going to turn our attention towards emergency fund.

It is quite important to have an emergency fund set up, as you never know what emergency situation might encounter you. When we face such situations, it is not only embarrassing to seek favours from various sources, but it is also quite dangerous not to cat quickly due to lack of money.

Hence by all means once should try and save for those rainy days. Make sure you allot at least 10% of your take home pay towards emergency fund. You cannot compromise on this one. If you could add more to the fund, the better. But if you have more debt piling up, try to clear that off first by paying more debt payments and allotting only a small portion towards emergency fund. Once the debt comes down considerably, you could put more money to the emergency fund.

If you have been doing this much so far without any interruptions, then i assure you that your financial success is guaranteed if you follow the same path throughout.

The Price Being Paid for High Paid Jobs

Teena — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:06:34 +0000

The possibility of acquiring a decently paid job is quite difficult these days, given the scenario of the recession hit world and whats more difficult is being in a high paid job and maintaining it.

But does your high paying job make you pay more price in terms of losing your quality time with family, leading a stressful life, and inability to do something of your choice in a leisure time?

Then why don’t you consider shifting your job? Do i sound Insane? Well i might but i have my own point to be put across. When you reduce the expenses by adopting to a less expensive life style, you wouldn’t be threatened by the fact that you might have to lose your high paid job. This way your options for a decently paid job would be more, you could turn your hobby into income by investing sometime in a side business and spend your weekend with your family.

Get the picture now? Well give it a thought and share with me your experiences and decisions.

Fix your Finances in 7 Days

Teena — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:26:45 +0000

Still haven’t taken a step to manage your money? Well you aren’t alone, there are a million waiting for an auspicious day to begin this sacred ritual. So i thought why not do this together? Yes lets all start to manage our money and fix all our financial troubles in this week. Lets take the first step now.

Day 1:

Today is the first day in our ritual. Lets spend half hour and take the most important step. Calculate our personal net worth. All we have to do today is dig up all old documents or if you have great memory, sit with a diary to write down all your assets, its value and then the value of the liabilities and finally subtract the liability from the assets. Bhoom!!! You have just calculated your net worth.

Yes thats was simple isn’t? Yes thats all we are going to do today. Tomorrow we will take our next step. Till then relax!!! We are surely going to fix your finances in 7 days.

Reduce your Spending without Sacrificing Much

Teena — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:28:59 +0000

Somehow frugality has always been linked with giving up pleasures of life. According to me it is a very wrong notion. You could enjoy all the small and big pleasures of life while still saving money.

Here is a list of things you could do to reduce your spending:

Sell the Items you don’t Use Anymore:

Find out the items that you have not been using for a long time and sell them. It might be your old books, CDs or even a home appliance. Sell them, create some more space at your home and enjoy the free space and money that comes out of selling.

Save on Energy:

Replace light bulbls by CFLs and LEDs .

Unplug aplliances when they are not working.

Switch off lights and fans when you leave the room.

Seal the air leaks in your home.

Do a regular maintenance check on all appliances.

Save on Cell Phone:

Unless you have a valid reason to use cell phone heavily, replace your plan to pay as you go. Try using Skype whenever possible and reduce the frequency of using your cell phone.

Buy the Regular Stuff in Bulk:

Be it oil, soaps or even your body spray, if you are something regularly, buy it in bulk for it comes cheap.

Make use of a Library:

The next time you want to watch a movies or read a book, think of signing up for a library membership.

5 Blogs I recommend you to Read

Teena — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:30:28 +0000

I am a huge fan of finance blogs and never fail to update myself time and again with what experts have to save. So i thought why not share with my readers 5 blogs i think that would be useful for them to save money?

So here we go

My Good Cents

For those who want to be informed of shopping offers, deals, best buys, coupons and give aways, this blog is just perfect and has a lot to offer.

Simple Dollar Truth

This is one of my most favorite Personal Finance blogs and i simply love their content.

Frugal Dad

This is another favorite personal finance blog with a lot of useful information, interesting and humorous articles.

Lower My Energy Bill

If your looking for ways to save money on your utility bills then this is the right place to see.

Hillbilly Housewife

If you are looking for delicious recipes to be made at a cheap cost then there are many mouthwatering frugal recipes here.

This is my list. What about yours?

Bank Accounts and Periodic Reviews

Teena — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:11:32 +0000

You must have already known that asking for a better deal from utility provides regularly could save you a lot of money, but did you know you could apply the same rule to your bank?

Are you still using a brick and mortar bank like i do? Then here are some tips that might help you.

Ask for better interest rates, enquire whether there is an account similar to your existing one, with better interest rate.
Do not forget to ask about free checking because its not advisable to waste money on service charges and other similar fees.
Enquire if the bank has a new website through which you could automate all your payments. This way you would never miss paying any bill.
Keep yourself updated with any new promotion that the bank might be running.

Have some more tips to add to the list? let us know.

Love and Money

Teena — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:38:22 +0000

It is believed that money is something not to be mentioned in a polite conversation. But this rule doesn’t apply if you’re in a serious relationship with someone.

Talking about money to your significant other is an important part of your relationship, if you are planning for a future together. Here are some things you must remember while talking about money to your partner.

Take it Slow:

As it is a sensitive issue, take it slow and steady. If you think your partner is spending too much, instead of staying ‘You’re spending a lot’ , its better to ask if she/he has thought about setting up a budget. It might take sometime for your partner to adjust to tracking his/her spendings, but do not give up at the same time do not try to impose your ideas.

Keep money out of your every conversation:

It is not advisable to talk about money all the time and give your partner a feeling that you are obsessed with money.Talk about money when you both are calm and composed to avoid any quarrels arising because of money.

Be a Model:

Stay in control of your money and be an inspiration to your partner. Instead of putting an end to all your enjoyments, you could both save for a fun trip together.

When Nothing Works, Bring in another Friend:

If you think, the situation is out of control you could ask the person close to your significant other to talk to him/her about money. This might help especially if your partner has a great respect for the person you choose to talk to him/her about the finances.

Remember that money can bring in a great development as well as tear down everything, so act wisely. Changes take time, so exercise patience.

How to be a Saver on Campus

Teena — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:33:42 +0000

College is one of the most important phases of everyone’s life as it provides experiences that are most valuable at a later stage. It is important to start being careful about money at this stage as there are greater chances to yield to temptation when you are a freshmen. Having finished four years of Engineering, i am reflecting upon the mistakes i had done and wonder how not making them could have enriched my life. But no regrets!!! Sometimes people have to make mistakes to learn the most important lessons in life.

As i was recounting my experiences in college, i thought why not make a post for freshmen on how to save money while on campus. This especially would be useful for students who stay away from home.

Be Vigilant:

From day one be cautious about money. Its a simple math as i have been repeatedly telling, spend less than what you have or if you want to spend more, earn more than what you spend. The choice is yours. Start preparing a budget. Personally i love the concept of writing down what i want to do with the money i have, gives me a sense of power .

Let your excess money earn for you:

Link your checking account to an high yielding online savings account. Let the money that you do not use, help you earn more. Have the habit of monitoring your account regularly. Using an online money management software to track your income and expenditures is a good option.

Be careful about credit cards:

Your campus would be lined up with offers life freebies for credit cards. Do not fall a victim as the interest rates would be higher. If you are a kind of person who knows the difference between conscious spending and impulsive spending then opt for a credit card and pay your bills on time. This could have a positive effect on your credit report and help you while acquiring a mortgage.

Make use of Benefits:

As a student you would get a lot of discounts. Be it on books, gym, music or food make maximum use of it.

Grab any Opportunity for Work:

If you have free hours , take a jab. You could teach for a few students and make money. Once you start earning a regular income, you could start contributing to your IRA. The earlier you start, the better.

While keeping in mind all the above, make the maximum use of your time to acquire knowledge. Do not forget to have fun but make sure you do enough to completely deserve the fun.

4 Tips to Gradually become Rich

Teena — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:55:07 +0000

There isn’t anyone who would go away from the word ‘Rich’. However not everyone is able to embrace richness, this is because the rich are disciplined about money and follow some rules to make that money stay and multiply.

Here are 4 Tips you could practice to become rich:

Love the process more than the result:

If you keep on thinking abot becoming rich without enjoying the efforts taken, it could be a difficult journey ahead. Hence although the amount you save each month might be less, be happy that you are doing your job.

Treat Yourself:

After you reach a specific goal, you can treat yourself. Not necessarily by buying a luxury car with all your savings. A bottle of wine or a movie with your spouse would do.

Keep an eye on Fee:

When you start a savings account, the interests may be attractive but make sure the fee is attractive too else the earned interest would go waste on the fee.

Use your Power

The more you save , you might be eligible for special discounts and fee waiver at banks. Use these benefits to earn more.

4 Important Money Lessons

Teena — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:39:04 +0000

Hi Everyone! We have come across various tips to save money, to build wealth and start investing. Yet some of us remain hesitant towards taking our first steps. I not going to give up. I will do my job to keep you all as much motivated as possible. Today i am gonna give you all 4 simple lessons about money.

Lesson 1

Never spend more than you earn. It is simple mathematics. Spend as much less as possible than you earn, the more the gap is the more beneficial it is for you.

Lesson 2

Never invest while you are in huge debt. Start paying your monthly installments towards your debt, once it comes down, you can think of investing. However if all that you have is just a home mortgage that is taken care of regularly, then you could think of investment.

Lesson 3

Once you do this the friendship takes a new level and there are fair chances that you don’t see your friend as the person yo used to before. Be careful.

Lesson 4

Prioritize and work towards your goal. You might be having one major goal to achieve which you will have to accomplish a number of smaller goals. Make a list, prioritize andgo ahead. If you fail to get things organized. you are never likely to get there.