3
Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan Many people find their personal finances to be one of the most confusing and stressful elements of their lives. If you are one of these people, don't despair. This article will give you the knowledge and advice you need to deal with almost any financial situation that you may encounter. If you are planning a major trip, consider opening a new credit card to finance it that offers rewards. Many travel cards are even affiliated with a hotel chain or airline, meaning that you get extra bonuses for using those companies. The rewards you rack up can cover a hotel stay or even an entire domestic flight. If you live near a group of employees that you work with, form a carpool. This will allow you to save money on gas, reducing one of your expenses dramatically over the year. Carpooling is not only fun, but a great way to implement as a money management tool for the year's expenses. Check and see if you are getting the best cell phone plan for your needs. If you've been on the same plan for the past few years, you probably could be saving some money. Most companies will do a free review of your plan and let you know if something else would work better for you, based on your usage patterns. One needs to keep their life organized and this includes personal finances. Having all account information as well as password information and other sensitive,important, and other useful paperwork in a secure location can help one greatly. Not only will it be safe but it will be easy to access when one needs it for a personal finance related matter. Find out what your credit score is. It will cost you money to get your credit score from the big three agencies but the knowledge is invaluable. Knowing your credit score will save you money in buying a car, refinancing your home, even buying life insurance. Make sure to get a new one on a yearly basis to stay up to date. If you are trying to repair your credit score, be sure Read Home to check your credit report for mistakes. You may be suffering from a credit card company's computer error. If you notice a mistake, be sure to have it corrected as soon as possible by writing to all of the major credit bureaus. You should set up your debit card to be able to automatically pay your credit card bill when the month is ending. This way, even if you forget, you will not be late. Before one is about to buy a car, house, or any high cost item that one will have to make payments on. By looking at the payments one will have to make on their purchase before purchasing they can

Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan

Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan

Many people find their personal finances to be one of the most confusing and stressful elements oftheir lives. If you are one of these people, don't despair. This article will give you the knowledge andadvice you need to deal with almost any financial situation that you may encounter.

If you are planning a major trip, consider opening a new credit card to finance it that offers rewards.Many travel cards are even affiliated with a hotel chain or airline, meaning that you get extrabonuses for using those companies. The rewards you rack up can cover a hotel stay or even an entiredomestic flight.

If you live near a group of employees that you work with, form a carpool. This will allow you to savemoney on gas, reducing one of your expenses dramatically over the year. Carpooling is not only fun,but a great way to implement as a money management tool for the year's expenses.

Check and see if you are getting the best cell phone plan for your needs. If you've been on the sameplan for the past few years, you probably could be saving some money. Most companies will do afree review of your plan and let you know if something else would work better for you, based on yourusage patterns.

One needs to keep their life organized and this includes personal finances. Having all accountinformation as well as password information and other sensitive,important, and other usefulpaperwork in a secure location can help one greatly. Not only will it be safe but it will be easy toaccess when one needs it for a personal finance related matter.

Find out what your credit score is. It will costyou money to get your credit score from thebig three agencies but the knowledge isinvaluable. Knowing your credit score willsave you money in buying a car, refinancingyour home, even buying life insurance. Makesure to get a new one on a yearly basis to stayup to date.

If you are trying to repair your credit score, besure Read Home to check your credit reportfor mistakes. You may be suffering from a

credit card company's computer error. If you notice a mistake, be sure to have it corrected as soonas possible by writing to all of the major credit bureaus.

You should set up your debit card to be able to automatically pay your credit card bill when themonth is ending. This way, even if you forget, you will not be late.

Before one is about to buy a car, house, or any high cost item that one will have to make paymentson. By looking at the payments one will have to make on their purchase before purchasing they can

Page 2: Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan

make an educated decision on if they can afford it reasonably. This will ensure credit stays optimal.

Get a free checking account. If you have a checking account you have to pay monthly fees on, youcould be wasting money. Instead, look for a checking account that doesn't have monthly fees or pertransaction fees. You may have to set up direct deposit with some banks to get a free checkingaccount.

By being conscious of your utilities usage such as electricity, gas or even water, you can reduce theamount on your bills. This savings can add to valuable extra money to your personal finances. Savingmoney from utilities fees can often help more than you thinks.

If you use a payday loan or cash advance option, remember to deduct the amount of the loan oradvance, plus charges, from your check ledger balance immediately. Even though, this may throwyour written balance into negative numbers, it will stand as a constant reminder to you that youmust be sure that amount is accounted for when your next direct deposit comes through.

Have you ever considered using a credit card with a rewards plan? You are a great candidate forsuch a card if you fully pay your balance regularly. Credit card rewards take several forms, includingproducts, airline miles, and of course, cold hard cash. Find which kind of reward most appeals to youand compare offers based on what percentage of your purchases are given in rewards.

If you are thinking about getting a mortgage, compare interest rates as well as other expenses. Forinstance, you can pay discount points for your mortgage payments to become cheaper over time.Take in consideration how long you will live in your house to find the best type of mortgage.

If you have multiple credit cards for different retailers, place them in a zippered sandwich bag filledwith water, then freeze the bag in your freezer. This helps you to resist temptation by creating anumber of obstacles to an otherwise impulsive spending spree. Not only will you have to wait for theice to thaw, but you might also end up making a mess - an excellent deterrent.

Sell everything you can to generate more money to work your way out of debt. Do you have a non-essential vehicle that could be sold to eliminate the monthly payment on it or, if you own it free andclear, to generate money to pay other debts? How about jewelry or pricey electronics? Get debt free!

If you are facing high levels of personal debt, you must resist thehttp://www.paycheckmanager.com/FreeCal/free_payroll_calculator.aspx temptation to go toconsolidation companies or enlist the help of a loan provider. These options require you to take oneven MORE credit; instead, face the collection agencies and find out what payment options areavailable to you as you pay your debts.

A great way to improve your personal financial situation is to create a budget. If you have a strictbudget to follow, in order to reach your goals, you will be far more likely to accomplish them, than ifyou had not. A budget will also make it easier to save money, as you will see exactly where yourmoney is going.

Consider renting a home instead of buying, if you want to cut your monthly costs. Financial analystshave been debating over renting versus buying for a long time. Do a cost comparison to see howmuch owning really costs you, after you factor in property taxes, maintenance, insurance and otherexpenses. If you rent, you can take the money you save and invest it to earn a return. This can takethe place of the appreciation that you would earn on a home that you own.

Page 3: Pointer For Success With Your Individual Finance Plan

Now you are familiar with some basic elements in regards to personal finance. You now have an ideaof how to avoid the potential pitfalls and how to work your way through the difficult times. You nowneed to take the bull by the horns and take action to get your financial life back on track. Once youhave done the work necessary, you will begin reaping the benefits. Use the information in this articleto achieve success with your finances.