Guide to Msfinancialsavvy Online Financial Calculators
Do you need information about saving money, budgeting, renting, or buying a home? Do your research, and start by using our online financial calculators. We have budgeting calculators, saving calculators, mortgage amortization calculators, debt payoff calculators, mortgage calculators, weight loss calculators, and many more.
Msfinancialsavvy has the following online financial calculators:
Msfinancialsavvy has calculators which will help you calculate to stay financially solvent, in case of a job loss, or other financial tragedy.
The most important calculators to stay financially solvent are savings calculators, budgeting calculators, mortgage calculators, and home rent or own calculators.
The “rent or own” calculator is significant because it tells you if you should keep renting, or if you are ready to buy a home. The foreclosures have been very high in the past 6 years because many of the people who owned, were not ready.
And when the economy went down, their budget went down with it. That included losing their home.
Every homeowner should have payments well below their income level, l along with at least 3 years of payments in the bank, should they lose their primary income, they will not lose their home.
Our online calculators will help you to define permanently viable healthy finances.
It is also important to maintain your retirement savings, so you can retire someday. Ever wonder why elderly people stand on their painful arthritic feet as a greeter in a superstore? I will give you a clue, they kept putting off retirement planning until it is way too late.
Below our savings goal calculator, monthly deposit savings calculators, savings goal calculator, budgeting calculator, and mortgage amortization calculator. These online calculators will guide you to save and make decisions effectively.
Retirement Savings Calculator
Use our retirement savings calculators to guide you into future savings. When the economy dumps as it has in the past several years, it is important to have money on the side to pay bills in case of job loss. The retirement savings calculator will tell you how much you will need to save monthly so you can retire someday. Many have missed this opportunity and work way past retirement age.
Savings Goal Calculator
Use this savings goal financial calculator to figure how much your current savings will grow and how much more you’ll need to save each month in order to achieve a given savings goal within a given number of years. Start with Line 1 and enter your future savings goal. You will be surprised how much you can save when you do it regularly.
Monthly Deposit Savings Calculator
To calculate the future value of a monthly investment, enter the beginning balance, the monthly dollar amount you plan to deposit, the interest rate you expect to earn, and the number of years you expect to continue making monthly deposits, then click the “Compute” button.
Budgeting Calculators
A common question financially dysfunctional people ask is, “what is a budget”? Many people don’t understand what is a budget because
1. Their parents did not teach them budgeting skills
2. They were downright spoiled and therefore were not required to live within a budget of any kind
3. You made a conscious decision that you can live without a budget
4. You haven’t seen the devastation caused by not living on a budget.
No matter what the case, our budgeting calculators can help you. Listed below are our budget percentage calculator and our rent or own calculator.
Budget Percent Calculator
These budget percentages are only recommended percentages and will change dramatically if you have a very high or very low income. For instance, if you have a very low income your necessary percentages will be high.
If you have a high income, your necessities will be a lower percentage of income and hopefully, savings (not debt) will be higher than recommended.
To get out of debt use the debt calculator to find out how much debt you have. Then, go onto the debt payoff calculator to create a debt payoff schedule.
Rent or Own Calculator
It is always great to buy a home and live happily ever after. The problem is, if you purchase a home before you are ready, the likelihood of foreclosure is great.
Buy a home when you can afford to buy; with an affordable down payment, closing cost, and an affordable monthly payment of principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
During the past foreclosure crises of the early 2000’s, there were people who bought a home under the “no docs” system that allowed buyers to “state” their bills and employment.
Many people lied, purchased homes they could not pay for, and were subsequently foreclosed on.
Keep your rent affordable, keep bills low, save money for emergencies, save a down payment, pay your school loans, and buy only when you can afford to.
Use this Home Buying Course With Your Mortgage Calculator
Mortgage Amortization Calculator
You can figure out how much your total payment will be before you buy a
home and get sticker shock. You can find the estimated taxes and insurance at any real estate site, such as Zillow. Use different time slots with your mortgage amortization calculator to see different payment schedules.
The mortgage amortization calculator can also be used to amortize other loans such as student loans. Want to fast-track a student loan payoff? Find out what you will have to pay in order to nix the bill in 5 years or 7 years. Don’t let those pesky student loans go on forever.
Make sure the extra payment is applied to the principal, not interest, check every single time you make that payment. Many lenders will try to sneak it into the interest instead of the principal. Applying payments to interest benefits the lender but does nothing for you.
Debt Payoff Calculator
These debt payoff calculators will get you out of debt. You use the first debt calculator to find your highest debts. Then use the debt payoff calculator to get out of debt efficiently.
Use the MsfinancialSavvy Calculators at liverichcaculators.com in this order, you will find the following online financial calculators
- Budgeting Calculators
- Savings Calculators
- Savings Goal Calculators
- Monthly Deposit Savings Calculator
- Rent or Own a Home Calculator
- Debt Pay Off Calculator
- Mortgage Calculators as well as mortgage amortization calculators
You can calculate a variety of financial assets with Msfinancialsavvy online calculators at liverichcalculators.com
A Step-by-Step Guide to Create Your Personal Finance Statement
To get your personal finances right, you must list goals with a personal finance statement. There are many ways to create your personal finance statement. But first, you should be familiar with, Personal Finance Literacy and Personal Finance Planning.
You can accomplish this by using the following: Personal Finance News, Personal Finance Articles, and Personal Finance Courses from investing to home buying.
Then, include the following tools on a regular basis; A Personal Finance Book, Personal Finance Spreadsheet, Personal Finance Reddit, and of course, understand Personal Finance Management.
If you can master this knowledge; your personal finances will soar. Your personal finance statement will be created after you finish all the following personal finance tips listed below.
Step #1 –
Obtaining Personal Finance Literacy
Personal finance literacy includes learning and understanding various fields of personal finance. You must have personal finance literacy to create great finances in your life. I was attending a woman’s conference once and a surprising thing happened.
A young woman saw my name tag, I was to speak on personal finance to this group of businesswomen, including her. She came up to me and said, “what – is – personal – finance”.
I am not going to lie, I was a little shocked that an educated, intelligent businesswomen would ask me this question. I politely said, “your personal finances”. I am not sure that she understood, but she said, “oh”.
I knew she would understand after I spoke at the conference. But she is not alone, many intelligent people do not understand that their personal finance literacy is at the core of their financial success or failure.
Step #2 –
Your Personal Finance Planning
Nothing great happens like magic, including personal finance planning. You must plan what you do and do what you plan.
That applies to personal finance planning, as well as anything else that brings success.
Personal finance planning does not include you turning your financial decisions over to someone else. You must know what you need and what you want to do with your personal finances first, both short and long term.
Otherwise, you may be steered in the wrong direction by others who do not understand your short-term or long-term needs, as well as most of your financial details.
Step #3 –
Use Personal Finance News
Understanding personal finance news is important because it helps to know what is trending in finance. An example, if home prices are starting to drop and you must move for a new job, it may be time to sell sooner rather than later. This will assure you will get the top value you deserve before prices drop.
Or, if finance news repeatedly talks of a recession and home prices are falling rapidly, it may not be time to buy a home. The best decision may be to wait until the foreclosures stop and the prices settle out.
An example of a local recession is if a large company closes in town and many of the workers cannot make their mortgage payment.
Personal finance news is particularly important because it helps you to stay in the know and not make major and costly financial mistakes.
Because you know the status quo of important current issues, you avoid mistakes.
Step #4 –
Read Personal Finance Articles
Studying Personal finance articles are another way to keep up with personal finance news. There are several personal finance articles that explain various topics about personal finance.
You can search and read articles on home buying, car buying, stocks, mutual funds, saving money, budgeting, and more.
Of course, there are a wide variety of personal finance articles here at MsFinancialSavvy Blog. They are added and updated on a regular basis.
Step #5 –
Take Personal Finance Courses
Taking quality Personal finance courses is a great way to learn the most important facts of personal finance and achieve personal finance literacy. There are many great personal finance courses, that will give you a wide array of knowledge.
I specialize in personal finance courses and encourage you to at least start with a home buying or car buying course to save money and buy value.
You can literally save thousands of dollars when you buy a home or car the right way. Many people complain that they have no money after buying a home or car. The reason: “They over-bought on one or both accounts”.
There is a right way and wrong way to buy a car and a home. No broker is going to tell you the right way, they are ONLY interested in the sell. The faster the better, then they are off to the next person.
This holds true with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, home buying, car buying and other investments as well.
Step #6 –
The Personal Finance Book
I started teaching personal finance with my award-winning personal finance book. I will not discuss the book now, but I will tell you that I have 8 new personal finance books. Those books are important because I do what others fail to do in a lot of personal finance books.
I tell you what most typical personal finance problems are and how to solve the problems successfully. I give you several options for example, to learn mutual funds and stocks or understand home buying and car buying with several details.
The most important detail I give you is how to save money and how to make money over time in each process.
Step #7 – Using a Personal Finance Spreadsheet
A personal finance spreadsheet will enable you to put hundreds of details in one place. The personal finance spreadsheet will allow you to track everything you need to grow your finances, understand your personal finances and be consistent with your finances.
You can track bill payoff, bills you need and do not need, and what to do to create an environment to make your finances soar.
You can increase your credit score, track your home buying and car buying as well as other personal finances. Your personal finance spreadsheet will allow you to see if you are failing or if you are on track for success.
You can use personal finance calculators to create your personal finance spreadsheets also.
Step #8 – Why Personal Finance Reddit?
Let us start with personal finance reddit. There are many ways to expose yourself to various types of personal finance information. One, is the variety of opinions on personal finance reddit.
Some of the users are very fluent in personal finance and some are amateurs, but the exposure will enable you to understand the core of personal finance.
Personal finance reddit is a type of personal finance news, not always accurate, but it does give you an idea of what is trending in personal finance. Before you go there start with our personal finance blog.
Finally, Personal Finance Management
In conclusion, you now see that personal finance management can be done by you and is best done by you. When you engage in personal finance articles, reading personal finance news, and finding your favorite personal finance book.
Personal finance planning is the key, and you can do it yourself when you take courses and obtain keen personal finance literacy. You will learn to track your finances with personal finance spreadsheets.
Personal finance reddit is one of many examples of a type of forum you can use to get additional news about personal finance.
When you finish with this personal finance guide you will be able to create a short-term and long-term personal finance statement that will take you years into the future.
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Knowing Basics of Small Business Taxes Will Protect You and Your Business
Basics of Small Business Taxes
It is imperative that if you have a small business, you should have, at least, the basics of small business taxes so you can check your returns and understand why your accountant has chosen the deductions for you.
Where to Get Tax Forms
All tax forms are available at IRS.gov. Search and print any form you need. Understand small business taxes, staying away from tax fraud and tax schemes by unscrupulous tax preparers. Tax publications are also available on the IRS website.
What is a Tax Publication?
Something every small business should know about is tax publications. You can verify any major tax issue when you read a publication, they hold the IRS facts. There are publications for home selling, home buying, selling a business, running a business, tax deductions for small businesses, and much more.
All the facts are listed in the publications. So, when you are told to check your taxes, the place to verify tax facts is the IRS publications. You will have to search publications and sometimes order the one you need, but most are online at the IRS.
Publication 17 gives you all of the general information you need to file an individual federal tax form. Small Business Publications are here to make sure you get all of your deductions you qualify for and verify your forms.
Download the Federal Tax Bulletin at IRS.gov
Importance of Tax Timing and Honesty
It is better to pay your taxes on time and not risk ruthless penalties than to get an extension and go over your extension or run out of money. If you are a small business, you could miss your social security contribution, and have to pay later.
You can go online to make sure you are getting credited with your social security contribution if you file an extension and the credit is not posted, this can be corrected.
Understand the best of tax and money,Chat with Lois
Small Business Taxes Estimated
Some new (first year) business owners forget that they have to pay taxes on profits at year-end, so they inadvertently spend all of their profits.
At the end of the first year when taxes are calculated you will be put on a quarterly estimated tax schedule and will also be told how much you owe for your first year. This means you must save funds from your first year into a tax savings account on your own.
Most first-year business owners will be safe to put aside at least 30% of their first-year profits. Now, in subsequent years you will have quarterly estimated payments you will make every 3 months, these payments are based on your previous year’s income, so be prepared to pay over your estimated taxes, at year-end, if your income skyrockets the previous year.
Who is Responsible for Your Tax Form Calculations?
It benefits you as a small business to use a qualified enrolled agent or certified public accountant. No matter who does your taxes it is important to understand that you are responsible for what is put on your tax forms.
You will have to pay penalties and interest on understated income if your taxes are done incorrectly. So, create a system where you can verify your tax deductions and the math on your tax forms.
Understand the best of finances,Chat with Lois
Every Business is Based on Profits and Losses
Because every business is based on profits and losses, the internal revenue service wants to know the details of your profits and losses. Those are recorded on Schedule C of 1040.
You should have receipts for everything you have done, and each receipt should be part of a category listed on your Schedule C. From expenses and the income you take in, you can calculate your profits and losses.
Download Schedule C at IRS.gov
1099 Income; Verify that you have all your 1099 statements
When you do business with another business and are paid income and they file a 1099 (income statement) they send you a copy. You must report that income to the IRS and claim it on your taxes.
Understand Tax Publications and Their Valuable Information
Something every small business should know about is tax publications. You can verify any major tax issue when you read a publication, they hold the IRS facts.
There are publications for home selling, home buying, selling a business, running a business, tax deductions for small businesses, and much more.
All of the facts are listed in the publications. So, when you are told to check your taxes, the place to verify tax facts is the IRS publications. You will have to search publications and sometimes order the one you need, but most are online at the IRS.
Importance of Tax Timing and Honesty
It is better to pay your taxes on time and not risk ruthless penalties than to get an extension and go over your extension or run out of money. If you are a small business, you could miss your social security contribution and must pay later.
You can go online to make sure you are getting credited with your social security contribution if you file an extension and the credit is not posted, this can be corrected.
Estimated Taxes for Business
Some new (first year) business owners forget that they must pay taxes on profits at year-end, so they inadvertently spend all their profits.
At the end of the first year when taxes are calculated you will be put on a quarterly estimated tax schedule and will also be told how much you owe for your first year. This means you must save funds from your first year into a tax savings account on your own.
Most first-year business owners will be safe to put aside at least 30% of their first-year profits. Now, in subsequent years you will have quarterly estimated payments you will make every 3 months, these payments are based on your previous years’ income, so be prepared to pay over your estimated taxes, at year-end, if your income skyrockets the previous year.
Who is Responsible for Your tax Form Calculations?
It benefits you as a small business to use a qualified enrolled agent or certified public accountant. No matter who does your taxes it is important to understand that you are responsible for what is put on your tax forms.
You will have to pay penalties and interest on understated income if your taxes are done incorrectly. You could get arrested if the IRS suspects tax fraud or a tax scheme.
So, create a system where you can verify your tax deductions and the math on your tax forms. So, knowing the basics of small business taxes will protect you and your business. You can protect yourself against tax fraud and tax schemes, which are huge..
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When It Is Right To Use Credit Cards
There are times when it is right to use credit cards, but if you use credit cards, it must be done correctly. Credit cards serve several purposes. These include credit cards to rent a car, a credit card to reserve a hotel room, your credit card to dispute a poor product, or using a credit card to break up a large purchase.
Others use credit cards religiously to get frequent flyer miles or rewards points to purchase goods or services.
I am a firm believer in limited or no credit card use. You should only keep 2-3 credit cards at the most, and those should be major credit cards. Also, making the minimum payment could prove to be disastrous. You should have a plan in place to pay off your credit card in a few months if you have to use it for major items.
Some balances paid with the minimum payment due would take as long as 20-50 years to complete. Because of that, when it comes to credit cards, I feel you should only buy what you can pay for in 30 to 90 days, 120 at the most. In other words, don’t run credit card balances long term to help stay out of debt.
Many major credit cards offer a small interest rate when you first sign-on, and then increase the interest payment later. The increased interest rate is sometimes as much as two and a half times the original rate. These are just some of the nuances of credit cards you must learn upfront by reading the fine print.
So, when is it appropriate to use a credit card?
1. A Credit Card With Car Rental
Some travelers don’t know you need a credit card with car rental pickup. Car rental agencies require a credit card on file to rent a car. I witnessed a young couple at a rental agency in line before me on one of my business trips. They won a trip for two to a popular vacation spot, which happened to be my town, including a rental car, from a radio station.
When they displayed their winning information, showing they won the right to the rental car and vacation, the agent said this is fine, we will honor it. The only problem is, you still have to leave a credit card on file. They did not have a credit card. I am not sure what happened, I rented my car and was on my way.
2. Credit Cards To Get Frequent Flyer Miles or Rewards Points
Some people insist on getting frequent flyer miles or reward points with credit cards. This is generally not a good idea since the cards with frequent flyer miles tend to have higher interest rates. For some, using credit cards to get frequent flyer miles or rewards points works because they understand the process.
In the process, if you can work to pay off the balance by the due date, the interest rate is not an issue. You will actually get free rewards or frequent flyer miles in that case.
3. Credit Cards and Product Disputes
In the rare instance, a store or company will not respond to your complaints of a poor or defective product, you can use your credit card company to dispute a poor product. The credit card company will investigate and determine if the company has wronged you in some way. You usually have at least a few days to return a product. If the product is defective it could be longer.
In most cases, they will run interference for you and solve the problem.
4. Hotel Room Reservation and Credit Card
You need a credit card to reserve a hotel room. When you call to reserve a hotel room they will ask you for a credit card to put on file. If you skip out on your room, the hotel can charge your credit card.
In most cases, the hotel uses your credit card to auto-charge your room when your stay is over. There is an exception when it comes to small, inexpensive hotels by the day or week, they sometimes take cash upfront. This is convenient for you and them.
5. Credit Cards and Large Purchases
Occasionally you will need to make a large purchase, but will not have the cash upfront. In this instance, you can charge the payment and pay the balance in 2-4 months. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, the credit cards and large purchases, or any purchases mandate, can be put into effect. Therefore, your credit card can be used to make a large purchase possible.
Try not to go over 4 months. In the case, you feel you need to go over three months you may question if you really need the item or save your money to purchase the item cash.
Credit card interest is expensive and debt snowballs. Use credit cards or other debt only when you have to.
When you run up a balance, pay off your credit card balance with actual cash. Do not take out another loan to pay off a credit card balance, which is a loan itself.
If you can’t make your monthly credit card balance at any time, contact your credit card company immediately, they want to work with you.
If you are addicted to using credit cards or have a tendency to think credit is cash, don’t use credit cards at all, for obvious reasons of course. Create
a budget that works without credit cards.
Use my Minimum Payment Credit Card Calculator to see how much you need to pay in order to nix your bill in record time.
In Summary of It’s Right to Use Credit Cards
Use credit cards, not only to make large necessary purchases, but credit cards can be used to acquire frequent flyer miles or rewards points if done right.
You will find that credit cards and product disputes go hand in hand. You now know that hotel reservation and credit card are necessary in major hotel chains.
And, of course, you must have a credit card with car rental permission. There are small exceptions to these rules, for instance, if you put a very large deposit down you can “sometimes” rent a room in a marginal hotel or rent a used car.
How Minimum Wage Effects All Lives
Corporate CEOs Can Do Without Their Third Yacht and Mansion and Pay A Livable Minimum Wage
Not a day goes by that I hear something about minimum wage laws. Some lawmakers think it would be a good idea for low-income employees to have a livable wage. Some think increasing the minimum wage is not a good idea for the companies that have to pay. I feel differently.
Because of the constant arguing around the topic, I think many Americans are confused. They can’t understand why politicians would not want employees to make a livable wage with a higher minimum wage.
I will try to explain here why it is important for all of us to engage in the conversation around getting all Americans to enjoy a livable wage. By implementing a fair minimum wage this can happen, and how it affects personal finances and the economy.
Why Most States Minimum Wage is Not a Livable Wage
I personally do not feel that most minimum wage salaries are a livable wage, regardless of the area of the country you live in, and therefore it should be increased. My argument is outlined here.
The conversation around getting all Americans to enjoy a livable wage starts here
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the minimum wage is normally controlled by laws of the individual states. There is also a federal minimum wage law. In states where the federal minimum is higher than the state minimum, the federal wage is used.
If the state wage is higher than the federal, the state minimum is used. There are several states that base their minimum wage on the consumer price index. Those states are, AZ, CO, FL, MO, MT, NV, OH, OR, VT, and WA.
They usually adjust their minimums every January. There are some states that don’t have a minimum, those are AL, LA, MS, SC, and TN.
Washington D.C. has the highest minimum at $15.00 an hour as of July 5, 2020. California is next with $14.00 an hour. The lowest are Alabama ($7.25 federal, no state minimum), Alaska ($10.00), Arizona ($12.00), and Arkansas ($10.00).
The average appears to be around $9.50 per hour in the U.S. If the minimum wage kept up with 1963 rates, the wage would be $23 per hour. Employees are only asking for between $9 to $15 an hour.
A recent highly publicized report stated that just eight men in the United States own more wealth than half the population. This was not the case or even close forty years ago.
At Least One State in The United States Has No Minimum Wage, and That is Sad
But, as corporations figure out how to keep more of the company earnings, employees are getting paid less and less over the years. Investors are getting paid more.
THE OBVIOUS DISADVANTAGES
There are the obvious disadvantages to earning the minimum wage or below, the first being; you will not have enough to rent a decent apartment or home. Some states make up for this with apartments they call “the projects” in the cities, or subsidized affordable rental apartments in the suburbs.
In “the projects’ apartment rent is based on income, so if your wages are low, your rent is low. The problem with this is the quality of tenant that good people are forced to surround themselves with is low. and repairs often go undone.
One example of complexes that are considered “the projects” are in my city.
I have had the opportunity to speak to a few people who lived in one of these apartment complexes and they told me it is miserable.
Even with low rent, these low wage earners are usually not left with enough money to purchase or run a car or save for emergencies. Life becomes one painful emergency after another.
The next disadvantage five minimum wage workers I spoke to in my city told me is that, in order to have a semblance of a normal life they have to work two jobs.
This means their kids are left alone frequently, they are usually over-tired driving home from their second job — a road hazard, and they have little or no time to take care of their personal affairs or that of their children.
Reporter Shaila Dewan, wrote in the New York Times, “Rent is Rising Out of Reach For The Middle Class”. My question is if rent is too high for the middle class, where does that leave the lower middle class or the low-wage worker?
What type of future does this group of workers have, if rent continues to climb, and low-income apartments continue to be torn down for high rise, high-income buildings; like we see in most cities around the United States?
Many of the major cities are so expensive that in order to live there you have to find a dwelling similar to a third world country. With lots of people living with you, and the building is usually in disrepair. A few years ago, a city near me had several articles in our local newspaper about a gentrification issue.
They wanted to tear down low-income “projects” near a fancy new shopping center — problem was, there were 1200 people living there and they could not figure out where to put them.
Lucky for them, the economy collapsed, and discussion was halted, at least for a few years.
Now, the economy has improved, so I suspect the discussion is quietly taking place somewhere behind closed doors to tear down the low-income apartments and replace them with high-income dwellings.
There has been a huge apartment building boom in our 7 sister cities area. A small percentage of the apartments are set aside for low-income dwellers, so this may be a partial answer to their relocation problem. These are called “affordable income subsidies”.
The drawback to depending on low-income apartment rent is that they are limited compared to the number of renters who need them. You usually have to get on a waiting list for an available apartment – as long as a few years.
According to Zillow, the rents for middle-income wage earners are running from 35% of income in (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) to 47% of income in Los Angeles, California.
A major disadvantage of a minimum wage job is that you can’t afford an apartment in most areas of the country. Since low-income apartments are very limited (as mentioned before), and can take a few years to land at the top of a rental list.
Even when the average low wage earner does get a low-income apartment — then the issue becomes food, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and emergencies.
If the average low wage income is $15,000 per year (an average usually quoted by media sources), and you have a family of 3, your monthly take-home could be a little as $900.
Most rents are at least $1000 per month for a 2 bedroom home in an average priced city. That means you are behind before you pay rent. It will take some work to find affordable housing, and pay all other living costs.
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Find Out Now! Avoid Student Loan Disasters, Understand Student Loans
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THE MOST EGREGIOUS DISADVANTAGES OF LOW WAGE JOBS
Low-income communities have a lower tax base for their school system, mostly because the school system’s funding is based on local tax dollars.
So, lower-income communities suffer low taxes and low funding for schools. This means they have fewer resources than middle income or rich school districts.
The end result is that students often get a poor quality of education. This may be one of the reasons they have a higher high school dropout rate. In some communities, there is an increased crime rate since high school dropouts find it difficult to get jobs.
Another disadvantage, which seems to go unnoticed by professionals, is an ongoing depression in poor communities. It is the result of trying to live within the confines of a miserably low wage job while working long hard hours.
Many in poor communities are forced to work two jobs in order to live within their miserable low wages, this also adds significantly to depression.
Some major cities have affordable mass transit, others don’t. So, minimum wage workers are forced to purchase and maintain a car which makes life even more difficult than it would be with mass transit.
THE MINIMUM WAGE SOLUTIONS
What are the solutions? Some politicians are in favor of new laws that would increase the minimums, others are not.
I encourage you to Google, your congressman, and senator — encourage them to vote to increase the minimum wage.
People who make a fair livable minimum wage can afford to pay rent on an apartment or small home. They can shop for necessities and food, and spend more time with their kids by avoiding the 3 job day.
Schools will have more taxable money for better schools, and higher-performing students.
Because people have more money to take care of their needs, crime will be reduced in their immediate community and those around them.
So, as you can see a livable minimum wage benefits communities the employees live in, adjacent communities, and the economy.
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Lois Center-Shabazz | Course Delta Agency
Personal Finance: Author, Blogger, Course Creator, Money Strategist
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3 Ways to Save Money When You Own a Small Business
Save Money When You Own a Small Business
Owning a brick and mortar business or an online business can both be expensive, I have done both, but there are many ways to save money when you own a small business.
So, you must know what to spend money on and how to limit and analyze your spending. If you don’t Spend on the right items, you will not have movement with your business.
After deciding the business structure, the importance of knowledge of the product, and your target market, then you have to find out how to get customers.
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Create a Marketing Budget
Most of the small business people I know spend a lot of time and energy on creating content or products but forget about marketing them. One of the most effective ways to get noticed is effective marketing.
The more you market, the more you are loved. Don’t fail to market because you don’t have a marketing budget, create one.
You can save money when you have a small business by doing your own marketing until you get established.
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Create a Monthly Advertising Budget
Advertising is trickier than marketing. The graphics and the text need to be ultra-attractive, otherwise, you will not attract any attention.
No attention means wasted advertisement. The best way to get effective ads, is to use an ad specialist.
Ad specialist study and know advertising better than you know because it is their constant study and analyses.
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Create an Outsourcing Budget
You can’t grow alone. The best way to grow if you are online is outsourcing. There are people who specialize in the most minute areas from social media marketing to copy-writing.
There are many web businesses that specialize in providing an independent contractor who will work for you.
You save money when you own a small business by outsourcing due to the fact you don’t have to pay employee taxes and salaries.
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Personal Finance: Author, Blogger, Course Creator, Money Strategist
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5 Ways to Become Rich Using These Good Habits
Become Rich With Good, Honest, Hard Work to Start
Become rich, seems impossible. But when you consider the real definition, it is possible. Become Rich is defined as the process of having all that you need and much of what you don’t. The needs include all bills paid monthly, money in the bank, investments, 401k, low-debt, and understanding finance. All of these will put you on the road to become rich.
A surprising number of people don’t have most of what they need, and many who do, have very little excess after bills are paid. To Become Rich understand it begins with hard work and ends with saving money.
Most folks will swear they work hard, including young folks. But, when questioned about tactics common to successful people they fail.
They don’t research the best jobs or work enough hours to get promoted. They are not constantly improving themselves with training and education, they admit to being negligent.
The earlier you start working hard, the more likely you are to achieve financial success and end up with a job you like.
Also, you will have more time to save and accomplish your long-term goals when it comes to paying bills, general savings, and retirement savings.
Work hard when you are young since you have better health and more energy, and time to accomplish life-long goals.
Don’t Over Invest in Education
In today’s educational climate, you can spend $10,000 on college living at home with no student loan debt, or $200,000 going away to college. Going away could leave you with huge student loan balances. You can get the same degree and job with a $200,000 student loan debt as a $10,000 student loan debt.
If you have rich parents who don’t mind paying the larger bill that is fine. But, to take out student loans on the larger college cost makes no financial sense at all.
When you add the emotional toll it will take when you try to pay down huge student loan debt for the next 25 years.
Student Loan Debt
Those large student loan payments are amortized like a mortgage, which makes it even harder since the loan is paid over such a long period of time.
Do your research, know the total cost of all colleges you are considering. List several colleges you or your child is interested in and include the cost of tuition, books, room, and board, and then add 5% for hidden cost.
The more expensive the college is, the more student loan debt you will have to take out. Choose from affordable colleges. Financial aid only covers about 80% of costs for the poorest students, concentrates on scholarships, and family support.
How Many Degrees Are Necessary At Once
So no matter what your financial level, you will always need to come up with some out of pocket money. The exception is if you are covered by a full guaranteed scholarship, but these are rare.
Once you get a marketable degree, concentrate on getting a job after your training, instead of more degrees. Some people get multiple degrees, and therefore, deep in student loan debt.
Later you find out the first college degree was perfectly adequate. Many who make the mistake of choosing a college with too much student loan debt find they spend most of their time figuring out how to get student loan debt under control.
Research Everything, Before You Take Personal Finance Tips
We were taught to do research in college, remember all of those late-night college research papers, but now many of you do what I call the anti-research. The anti-research is when you approach salespeople and ask them what you should buy. Don’t blindly take personal finance tips either.
Salespeople mysteriously suggest the most overstocked item on the shelf since they need to make room for new stock. The most overstocked item may be such, due to high returns or bad reviews also. This is the same with personal finance tips from online, unknown brokers, or friends. Get the facts before you do anything.
Personal Finance Research is Important
Do your research about everything, especially big-ticket items such as cars, homes, home building, mortgages, colleges, and investment companies. Use these personal finance tips to start your finance journey.
I mention investment companies because of Bernie Madoff of Madoff Investments. Madoff was not a registered Investment Advisor most of the time he was in business, but none of his victims checked his credentials at finra.org.
You can start your checking by calling the company you are interested in and asking a lot of questions. Try to get a list of 10 questions, then search government websites to find information on the industry or company in question.
Where to Find Information
Check independent consumer sites for reviews, and lastly, ask those who have used the company or services you are considering.
It is hard to get the truth about some companies because there is so much false information in circulation. But if you do your research you can reasonably be sure you will get most of the truth.
Some buyers make purchases based on a “free-gift seminar”, buying anything based on a free gift is what I call high-risk buying. I call it high-risk because it is usually something you don’t need and the gift is charged back to you with your purchase.
Some buyers even sign long term loan commitments based on a seminar gift and presentation, only to regret it later.
Live Below Your Means
This sounds like it is good old fashion common sense. But one of the biggest reasons for home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies is because many people believe it is ok to live above their means.
Living below your means you will have a much greater chance of keeping your home or car if you get laid off your job or pay decrease. It also means you will have money freed up to save for important things, such as home maintenance, car repairs, and vacations. Keep home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies at a distance before you have trouble with your job.
Make Savings A Bill
You know what happens when you get a bill, you do everything you can to pay that bill, no matter what. Some bills are on automatic deduct, which makes them really easy to pay since you don’t even have to write a check.
Do the same with savings, it is easy when you make “savings a bill”, making it an auto deduct bill. Savings should include; emergency savings, extra to retirement savings, college savings, and vacation savings.
A habit that makes us poor is, every time we need money for emergencies, we borrow the money by charging them on high-interest credit cards. The lowest credit card payment is amortized over a 20 year period. Making “savings a bill” makes saving money easy.
Sometimes it is necessary to use a credit card, like securing a hotel room, renting a car, or getting credit card points. Just keep it within an affordable range, and use them sparingly. Make more than the minimum payment to get the balance paid off quickly. Making savings a bill will increase your savings balance instead of a credit balance.
When you have substantial savings based on monthly additions to a few accounts, emergency, basic needs, vacation, and retirement; you will see yourself on the road to become rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Summary
It is time to become uber conscious about your personal finance using the above personal tips. Understanding what it means to become rich, will enable you to grow your money the right way. You will put your savings on autopilot by making your savings a bill. Home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies will never become a threat. You will know how to keep student loan debt low, and you will have financial peace of mind.
Easy Ways to Save Money When You Are a College Student
Easy Ways to Save Money In College
Many college students, stifled with the sudden high cost of college, upon entering, have probably stopped to ask themselves, “what are some easy ways to save money as a college student”? At different times during their college years. College is all about acquiring quality education. But focusing on a degree, and the side advantages, including making new friends and enjoying the educational and social processes.
But a lack of financial “awareness” on a student’s part, can create a period of constant financial turmoil and emotional strife.
Most students entering college arrives with a dream of collegiate success. But many don’t complete their course of study due to financial hardships.
The reason for this disparity is not because few students are financially superior. But because they possess the ability to budget and save while in college.
College Can Be Both Fun and Educationally Rewarding When Done The Right Way
Earning money during college is one thing, but students can increase rainy day savings by starting a habit of focusing on easy ways to save money. Having money in your pocket feels good. And the habit of saving money gives you peace of mind and a bit of financial security.
The challenge is, of course, how to achieve the goal of saving money while in college. Well, to help college students, I’ve come up with some amazing practical ways of saving money listed below.
Start With Budget Preparation For Easy Ways to Save Money
Most college students shun the idea of preparing a budget but believe me this is the best way of initiating your saving process. A budget is nothing but a statement showing your estimated expenditures coupled with income.
You have the freedom to go in for minute details or prepare a superficial budget based on your needs. But I advise you to prepare a detailed budget, so that leaking cash can be easily spotted.
After preparing a full-fledged budget, let us find out the ways in which cash leaking can be avoided. The main question when preparing a budget should be, “easy ways to save money on just about everything you do and delete things you don’t need to do”.
Apply For Scholarships and Financial Aid
The first step to saving before and after entering your college life begins with applying for scholarships or financial aid. This kind of aid is generally given to two kinds of students- 1. meritorious and/or 2. needy, so if you belong to either of these categories, do apply for scholarships as it would help you save a lot of money which would otherwise come out of your personal budget.
Understand FAFSA (also known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is crucial. You can download it from the government website used for getting private and government aid for college or fill it out online.
You can file your FAFSA application online as soon as it comes out, the sooner you apply, the better your financial aid. List every single college you may apply to, and the award will later be sent to the college of your choice.
Do everything you can to keep student loans to a minimum. The number one consideration when choosing a college is staying out of debt as much as possible, your college must be affordable to start.
Buying Old Books or Clothes
We live in a time where many college students are actively participating in various environmental savings activities. They believe in the concept of ‘renew, reuse and recycle’. You will be surprised to know that for college students, this can be a process for saving a lot of money.
Yes, buying old books and clothes not only allows you to save a lot of money which eventually adds up to a lot in savings. But also allows students to contribute to the environment, by saving resources and energy. Look for stores where used books and clothes are sold, and purchase those in good and usable condition.
Roommates in College May be a Good Bet
Saving money is not an easy task, it takes a lot of effort on the part of a student. But for a college student, there are plenty of answers to the question ‘how to save money’. Living in college dorms or apartments is costly, but if you find yourself a few roommates, you can avoid a lot of extra expense, and thus save money.
Do a careful analysis of the people you choose as roommates, make sure they are in college for the right reasons, and they pay their bills on time.
Affordable Transportation Options
College campuses are scattered over large areas. Because of this, having a vehicle becomes a necessity when you must move from one place to another on campus. Some campuses are huge with several acres. But who said that only a motorcycle or a car can solve your problem if saving money is your target then go for a bicycle or bus.
A used bicycle is easily available from any shop near a college. So take advantage of this healthy transportation option and save on your fuel and repair expenses. Create ride share teams with other students when you must take a car, and use public transportation to get to and from school when it is available.
A Part-Time Job
The task of saving money can be eased by taking up a part-time job on your college campus or any store nearby college where you shop. By taking a part-time job on your college premises or nearby, you can pay minor expenses such as gas or food.
If you don’t want to get a job at your college, then look for a job opening at a retail shop nearby college where you shop regularly. This would help you get things you need at a discount, which can be considerable.
Student Discounts and Freebies
Many e-commerce websites and retail shops offer a variety of student discounts such as hair products, grooming accessories, clothes, and food items. Receiving discounts will help you save a lot of money and reduce your expenses, considerably.
But not everything is available with discounts and this is the reason why I recommend you stay on the alert to look out for freebies and giveaways, don’t be afraid to use coupons when you are in college.
I hope you’ve got some useful and exciting answers to the question ‘how to save money in college’ that would help you make your college life more affordable.
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Money Saving Tips For Single Moms
Money-Saving Tips
Creating a List of Money-Saving Tips is Essential for Single Moms
The list will vary considerably from one person to another. The money-saving tips working for a single Mom would be different than for a student, and a working professional and entirely unique saving methods would apply for a couple.
Being a single parent is not an easy job and this job becomes even more difficult when a single mother is pressed to save money. Life is not easy for mothers especially in today’s financial climate when single Moms must play the dual role of breadwinner and homemaker, therefore a lot of introspection is in order.
Single Moms Savings Creates Peace of Mind
Personal Financial Details
A single mother needs to take care of all types of personal financial details that exist, this is the main reason why financial success is possible.
If you are a single mom and looking for techniques to save money, then you’ve come to the right place. I will present you with some of the most successful money-saving tips available for single moms.
As a single Mom, you will understand there are many money-saving tips such as getting out of the debt trap, saving money for emergencies, and decreasing household bills.
Save Money on Groceries
Groceries are expensive, but it is not impossible to save money on groceries. A mother is responsible for providing her children with a balanced diet and nutritious food. But a single mom is responsible for doing all this in an affordable way.
A single mom can save a lot of money by planning family meals in advance. You can also receive bulk and coupon discounts from most grocery and retail stores.
You Can cook meals in bulk that can be used over a period of 1-2 weeks when you freeze the excess. When you do this, you save on grocery expenses and save a lot of time and energy.
Try to purchase seasoned vegetables and fruit, and avoid expensive cuts of meat and off-season vegetables. As this will weigh heavy on your supermarket bills.
The Second-Hand Option!
Children are always full of demands. And in fact, I won’t be exaggerating if I say that their demands are never-ending. As a single Mom, you need to handle these demands without jeopardizing your monthly budget and savings.
You can save a lot of money by buying used toys and clothes for your kids and, and even for yourself. No one will ever know they are used after a good washing and ironing.
Recycle for Savings
If second-hand clothes are not something you like, go in for recycling your clothes and save a lot of money on buying new ones.
There are several shops that offer second-hand products used and in good condition, and available at 70-80% of the original price. You can also sell your old clothes to consignment stores.
Your discounts will include consignment shops, thrift shops, or Salvation Army type shops. You can see that there are many options for saving money on clothes, you can think of others.
Look out for discounts and coupons
The life of a single mother is full of struggles and difficulties but one should never feel hesitant or be shy about asking for discounts from some stores and shopping only for the lowest prices.
Take advantage of different types of shopping coupons, store loyalty, and reward cards. Make the most of your shopping experience by paying the lowest price as a rule and not an exception. Looking for discounts and coupons should be a part of your daily life.
You can go in for kid’s clothes shopping during sales at regular stores and at deep discount retail shops when looking for money-saving tips.
Team up with other moms
There is one famous quote saying ‘Divided we fall, United we stand’, this is an inspirational quote for all single Moms.
Befriend single Moms in your area and form a group where you can all trade babysitting when any of the group members are in need.
Trading services has multiple benefits, not just saving money. But also don’t forget the value of fostering friendships within the group.
Organize group activities such as cooking demonstrations, excursion trips, picnics to nearby places with kids, and carpooling.
Save on household bills
Household bills will always be with us, but unnecessary bills can be cut out. The process of saving money on household bills begins with cutting back on cell phones, cable, electricity, and water bills. Understanding how to decrease household bills is essential.
Single moms can take advantage of the internet to compare various cellular plans and should consider discount friendly options only.
Always ask your electricity, water, or gas companies for a subsidy or discount.
Because many companies give subsidized electricity and other amenities at lower rates to people belonging to certain income groups. Take advantage of government offers for moderate-income people.
Single Mom's Helping Single Moms - ‘Divided we fall, United we stand'
The Tip Jar
For those of you who complain that you can’t save any money in an account. Start with a tip jar. Choose any large jar in your home. Place it somewhere safe. This jar is for immediate money for emergencies.
Whenever you have an excess of change in your wallet or purse, place most of the change in your jar. In anywhere from 4-12 months, you will notice the jar filling up, depending of course on the size.
The larger the better, 1 to 1/2 feet high is good. With your tip jar, your immediate money for savings will grow in no time.
Money For Emergencies Only
When you have an emergency you can turn in your coins to a local store coin deposit machine and get cash for something pressing. Remember to
keep adding to your jar.
I suggest you open a bank account at a bank, a regular passbook savings account. At this point you are not concerned about interest, your goal is to accumulate money for a rainy day.
It doesn’t matter if it is $20 a month or $200 a month. Make this a bill, pay into the savings account every single month when you pay your bills, it’s even better if it is auto-deducted from your checking account or payroll check, that makes it easier. So, now your immediate money for emergencies can be taken from your tip jar or your savings account.
Get Out of The Debt Trap
Debt is an integral part of the lives of a single parent, the trick is to keep it low. Many people know that debt is the enemy of savings, and to increase savings, one needs to get out of the debt trap as soon as possible.
I suggest you replace your big car with a small one or a big house with an apartment or a small manageable home. This is the start to get out of the debt trap.
Big assets acquired in the form of a loan only adds to your liabilities and increases the outflow of your cash by the way of down payments, loan installments, and big repair bills.
Get rid of bigger loans with huge installment payments, and high-interest rates; and save up your monthly income for a healthy budget and securing your children’s future. You must get out of the debt trap to get finances under control.
Summary for Money-Saving Tips For Single Moms
We know as a single mom, you know the importance of money and savings. This is the reason why you can see plenty of single moms working terribly hard from morning to evening to earn an income for their children.
There are many ways single-moms can save money and have peace of mind with finances. From ways to get out of the debt trap, creating money for emergencies, decrease household bills, to saving money on groceries and clothes.
This is the reason why we’ve given you the best workable tips for achieving the task. Take advantage of the money-saving tips here and see your budget consistently improve over time.
Money Before Marriage-Until Credit Do Us Part, Part 2
Money before Marriage
Money before marriage is an essential conversation everyone should have prior to marriage when you consider the divorce statistics associated with money before marriage.
Financial surprises after marriage run the gamut from, “I assumed he owned his home”, and, “I did not know he was deep in debt to his x-wife”. These are just two of hundreds of surprises newly married couples encounter.
The problems go both ways, there are men who are surprised that their new wife got married only to quit her well-paying job shortly after marrying. And there are women who are surprised to learn their new husband has been laid off his job and didn’t tell her.
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These are very serious issues, and they signal the fact that too many couples are taking money for granted before they marry. Before getting married, couples should have more in common, than not.
Besides respect and understanding for each other, having good financial habits in common are important. If not, after the honeymoon period is over, fights may ensue over the smallest money issues.
Marriage partners bring their bad money problems or good money habits to the marriage, so understanding what your partner’s money habits are before you marry is crucial.
Psychologists say the glue that holds marriages together is the number of things you have in common. The more you have in common the more likely you will stay in a happy long-term marriage. At the top of that list, is finances.
The more you have in common with great finances, the better your marriage will fare, financially. I have listed some of the financial habits you should have in common, that will foster a healthy marriage relationship, below.
The Financial Aspects You Should Have in Common Before Marriage,
Both of You Should:
- Believe in living within a budget
- Live within your means
- Purchase products you can afford
- Have supplemental savings accounts before you marry
- Have good credit reports before you marry
- Invest in a pension or other retirement account at work or personally
- Be interested in buying an affordable home after marrying
- Identify and alleviate poor money habits before you marry
Most couples are still in the admiration phase of their relationship before they marry, so they assume that all is to be admired on the financial front also.
But, unfortunately, just as the experts will tell you, people don’t change for marriage. It may take some time to understand that your spouse has poor money management skills, and in most cases, those habits were there before marriage.
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How Do You Determine if Money Before Marriage is a Problem?
There are many ways to spot financially dysfunctional behavior in a potential spouse. You have to be willing to understand what a wasteful person does and be willing to look honestly at money with your fiance.
Some people don’t understand what financial problems look like and some are hidden. Your best bet is to look for signs of financial mismanagement. Here are many to consider:
1. Does he or she live in an apartment with no furniture? – sounds funny, but this could mean your partner is super frugal-paying off bills, unreasonably cheap, or can’t afford furniture because of financial mismanagement.
Even if it is second-hand furniture. The functional sign would be that he/or she is super frugal and waiting to buy furniture after some crucial bills are paid off.
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2. If he/or she makes a modest income, but owns an expensive car. The problem with an expensive car is that not only is the monthly payment painful, but the upkeep could consume most of a monthly paycheck. This is a very bad sign of financial dysfunction.
3. If he/or she lives in and owns a home that is too expensive for their income and assets.
4. That he/or she takes expensive vacations and their salary is modest.
5. That he/or she carries a large number of credit cards and pulls out a different one each time you go out.
6. The absolute must is to share your bill/credit history with each other. Excessive bills for his/or her income is a huge sign.
7. Your partner should be willing to pay down excessive bills before marriage.
8. If your partner can’t make a pack with you to keep debt low during your marriage, you may need to reconsider your choice and alleviate a lifetime of financial pain.
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7 Ways To Save Money To Buy A House
Start Saving to Buy a House Now
There are literally thousands of ways to save money to buy a house. With many ways to buy a house, purchasing a home is not as difficult as you may think.
First of all, you must understand that you “can’t have it all,” so discontinue that form of thinking. You must make sacrifices to buy a house and think of it as an investment for life. This should help to motivate you
You must make some sacrifices if you want to save money to buy a house. There are many ways to purchase a home with a number of home buying programs.
You must curtail your spending in other areas. Home prices are up all over the country. But you can still find affordable housing in the way of a cosmetic fixer (that is a fixer with no major repair problems), or a home with an anxious seller.
It takes skill to buy a house, but you can find that in these tips.
To buy a house understand the monthly payment of P+I+T+I, translated, this is the principle, plus interest, plus taxes, plus insurance, which, added together, equal the total monthly payment.
In order to buy a house, you must put down a down payment and pay additional escrow costs. Learn more here.
Understanding the P+I+T+I for different loan amounts will enable you to better prepare for homeownership. For example, if you could afford $1400, the total for a P+I+T+I monthly payment.
Determine what home cost would fall into this price range. Your mortgage broker will assist you.
Search the Internet or anonymously call mortgage companies for quotes. To purchase a home there are home loans that require 0%, 3%, 5%, and 10% down, plus the closing cost. There are many different home buying programs available.
The lower the down payment, the better your credit should be, to get a reasonable interest rate. The standard down payment is about 10% plus escrow and closing costs. It is a good idea to calculate escrow or closing costs upfront.
You will either pay a down payment or points (toward interest rates). The lower the down payment the higher your points to buy a home or vice versa, depending on your home buying program.
Ideas for saving for your new home could include:
1. Selling a car or furniture for the new home buyer
Many of us have an extra car or a car with excessive monthly payments, insurance, and gas. Sell the car you are not using, or in the case of the overly expensive car, sell it to purchase an affordable model.
2. Get a part-time job and save the money as your new home buying check
You can create income for your home purchase. Even if the job is every other weekend, it will help. The money adds up fast, adding an additional $400 a month will end up adding $4800 to your home buying fund.
That amount of money is substantial for a new home buyer in many of today’s markets.
3. Temporarily discontinue a whole host of unnecessary things for serious homebuyers:
Saving money for home buying is a serious endeavor. If you are serious, you will not miss any of the things that bring you immediate joy. You will instead think of the long-term joy you will get as a new homebuyer.
Here is a list of things to discontinue if you are a serious homebuyer. Movies, parties, vacations, clothes, cable TV, voice mail, newspaper, and excess clothes shopping. You can think of more.
4. Use your tax return:
Put your tax return in the bank toward a down payment on your new home. After purchasing your new home, speak with an accountant. Find out how many more exemptions you can take during the year with your new home.
The accountant will tell you how to adjust your exemptions in order to get the money during the year to help with your new home payment if you are over-paying your taxes during the year.
You can use your future excess taxes (or home deduction) toward your current monthly payments.
5. Use a windfall, such as an inheritance or large bonus:
Take this money and place as much as you can afford toward your down payment. There are many unexpected windfalls, everyone has them at various times. Be ready to save your windfall toward buying a house, just in case.
6. A few of you can live with your parents or in-laws while saving money for your homebuying fund:
There are a few parents or in-laws who will be willing to work with you. If you are willing to give your family a low monthly rent, this helps them and you.
That is, if you are not willing to live with them for free it takes a burden off of both of you, and you don’t feel like you are freeloading.
For example, if regular rent is $1200 dollars a month, offer your relative $600 a month and save the additional $600 a month. In a year you would have $7200 to contribute to your homebuying fund.
7. Ask for cash as gifts to add to your homebuying fund:
When you have a birthday, graduation, wedding, or any other celebration, explain to family members in advance that you are saving for a home. Request that you prefer cash gifts.
You can do this over and over and in no time you will have a substantial amount of money to add to your homebuying fund.
Summary
Purchase a home when you understand financing options and costs to buy a house. Your down payment and escrow costs can vary depending on many factors.
There are many ways to save money to buy a house, so don’t be dismayed. There are many home buying programs to assist you in buying a house the right way. Use this information too.
Who Manages Your Personal Finances
Who manages your personal finances? Seems like a silly question, but if you ask many people they will tell you, “no one, my money doesn’t need managing”. “I just pay my bills and spend what I can”. I hear this quite often with those who make a lot of money and those who make a little money.
They are clueless about the fine tuning of their budget and creating finances that will create money that lasts. It is imperative that you
understand budgeting tips and investing tips that create financial
growth.
When I give meeting attendees just a few of my suggestions they are surprised at the information that will change their lives. They were surprised to find how hard it is to get the right information.
The following are three things you can do to improve your personal finances. This is part 2 in a four-part series I am writing this month on personal finance.
MANAGE YOUR OWN FINANCES
Managing your own personal finances is crucial. Why does that sound strange – most would say, of course, I manage my own finances? But, for many, that is not true. Wives let husbands manage all the family finances, and there are husbands that let wives handle all the family finances.
Then, there are elderly people who allow adult children to manage their finances. There are even people who allow complete and total strangers to manage their finances since they are convinced they are not capable.
You can and you should manage your own finances – get personal with your finances and stay that way. Married couples should manage their finances together, and everyone else I mention should stay close and manage their own finances – this is the core of personal finance.
If you don’t feel competent enough to manage your own finances, you should think seriously about finding the time or finding help learning how.
YOU CAN GET YOURSELF OUT OF DEBT
I have heard of folks turning their money over to a small business that manages their money to get them out of debt. You can get yourself out of debt if you got yourself into debt. With budgeting tips from MsFinancialSavvy and understanding investing tips, you can monitor your own finances. You know far more about your finances than strangers will ever know.
It is ok to use someone to help you get out of debt but work with that person hands on. Don’t turn your money over to someone else to do it for you.
Not only should you not turn it over, but it is important that you stay close to the process so you can understand how to get out of debt and how to stay out of debt.
Once you have an awareness that you are at a level of debt you should not be in, start to think of what got you there and create ways to stay clear of returning to debt.
UNDERSTAND YOUR FINANCIAL HABITS
Managing your finances and getting out of debt begins with an understanding of your personal finance habits. Some habits are so automatic, it is as if some are spending money with their eyes closed.
They fail to understand the seriousness of their blind spending and the future implications.
You know you are engaged in blind spending when you ask yourself at the end of the month, where did my money go? Create your own budgeting tips, investing tips and create your own ability to save money. You will never be blind to your own finances.
Get Your Finances Right With This Detailed Money Management System, Get honest with your finances, get honest with your spending, and start your journey now.
Make sure you watch my latest video here.
