 |
«A website where you can find the lowest interest rates on home loans with absolutely free quotes from multiple lenders» |
| • Home Equity Loan • Home Refinance Loan • Home Purchase Loan • Second Mortgage Loan • Debt Consolidation Loan | ||
|
 | |
| |
| Home Equity Loan Store :: Personal Finance | |
|
|
|
Organizing Your Finances - Thinking Outside the (Shoe) Box
If you're like most people, your personal financial records are most probably kept in less than "Good Accounting Practices" standards. For example, stashing old ATM receipts and hanging on to a stub showing what you paid for a pack of mints two years ago (cash, of course), might be filed with your paycheck stubs, credit card statements - paid and unpaid alike - as well as a few tax forms, a stray paper clip and a penny. Anything from an old shoebox to a toolbox would do you for this method of personal financial tracking but you can do better than that. Not to worry. Here's how: 1) Plan for a few hours of "alone time" with your financial records. This is a dandy time to pack the kids off to the mall, put up a pot of excellent coffee and a little snack (preferably chocolate), as a treat when you're done. 2) Supply yourself with ample space, such as a large dining room table. Make sure you have enough organizing supplies close at hand: sticky notes, file folders, a tub to hold them with hanging file folders, large envelopes, a check file, ring binder/s and a three-hole punch if you like, an open stacking file, and an organizer/sorter. A trash can by your side is a must. 3) Get everything from everyplace - shoe boxes, check files, file folders, etc. 4) While enjoying your cup of coffee, make a game plan. Decide what you're going to put where: e.g., checks and statements go in a specific file for checks and statements, credit card statements can be unfolded and placed in a file folder, etc. 5) Start sorting on the table. Checks go here, ATM receipts go there, paycheck stubs go over there, paid bills go on the other side, etc. until all the "stuff" is divided into neatly organized piles. Use sticky notes to mark what-goes-where on the table to avoid confusion. 6) Put all the "paid" items away first. Be ruthless - it's perfectly okay to toss the receipt for those mints from two years ago. 7) Put the rest of the inactive items in the envelopes, file folders, check files or other storage devices as are interesting, functional, and readily available from your local office supply store. 8) Have another cup of coffee and tackle the active, or open, items. Decide what you're going to pay and when. If you have an open stacking file, you will find one with four compartments (one for each week of the month), very handy for this purpose. 9) Balance your checkbook. Now. 10) Enjoy your chocolate after putting everything away where it belongs and, oh, by the way, check the calendar for when you'll be doing this again next month. Of course, next month this will all be done much faster. I highly recommend using technology to make this much easier and faster. Programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money will help. Really any spreadsheet program will do. Have a category for each life area you spend money. Once a week or month take your receipts, checkbook records and scribbled notes and record where you spent ALL your money....every penny. One of my students was shocked to find out he was spending $75 per month on orange juice! Legend has it that the Rockefeller boys did this and they turned out alright. This time next year you'll wish you started today. Leo J. Quinn, Jr. owner of http://www.LeoQuinn.com is a financial educator from the Albany, NY area. For over eight years he has been helping thousands of people get control of their finances and get out of debt in a fraction of the normal time. He has a special offer for readers of this newsletter at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=132551
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What is a Traditional IRA? With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes when you take the money out at retirement in the future. Make sure that this account is really worth opening in your situation because what you put in the account today may be fully deductible, partially deductible or non deductible, depending upon your income and other retirement coverage. Honor Those Who Serve with Checking Account Supplies Our global society has had a wake up call in the last five years regarding our safety. But there are those in our communities that fight to keep us safe from day to day. Saving Money - The Magic 20 Percent Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or for a summer holiday. Budgeting Before Buying With interest rates being at an all-time low, I can understand the urgency for people wanting to purchase a home. But I caution the first-time home buyer to learn how to budget their money before buying a new home. If All Things Are Possible, Why Cant I Balance My Checkbook? For me, the most terrible time of each month is the day our bank statement comes. We commonly call it BSS (Bank Statement Syndrome). Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring? I've been sharing the following idea with people for a few years now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:"I cannot predict the future. The Origins of Check Writing People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services. But you know that right? So how did people transfer money from one place to another in times of old?In ancient times the most popular form of money exchange was the trade. Affording a Home Can you really afford a house? If so, how much house can you afford? To determine this answer will take serious financial planning, and the best time to start is at least six months before buying the home.Although buying a new home may seem like an American Dream or romantic venture, the reality is that the house you can afford depends on your current income and debt obligations. Estate Planning Basics You have probably accomplished a great deal with your life. Over the years you have worked, planned and saved. The Magic Of Compound Interest Christians are called to be good stewards of God's resources. A steward can be described as someone who manages the resources of another. Vesting and Your 401(k) Do you have a 401(k) retirement account? Are you vested yet? Before you move on to your next job, it is critical for you to find out if you are fully vested in your retirement account before you make the move. If you are not, you could lose hundreds if not thousands of dollars in employer contributions. Personal Finance - Have Consumers Had a Belly Full of Personal Debt? For months, we were trigger-swipe happy, putting our groceries, clothes, holidays and service charges on our credit cards. We wanted mortgages, we took out loans, we watched Property Ladder and What Not To Wear. Whats The Truth Behind Your Finances? Between 15 - 20% of people in our country (UK) own there own businesses. This statistic is on the rise thanks to the incredible invention of the Internet. How You Feel Affects How You Shop & How Much You Spend Have you ever stopped to think about how your "mood" affects the way you shop, not to mention the amount you spend? Think about it.If you want to save a lot of money, avoid shopping whenever you are in one of these moods:DEPRESSED, UPSET, or ANGRYIt's very dangerous for your pocketbook to shop when you're either depressed, upset or angry. Financial Fitness - Are You Exercising the Right Muscles to become Financially Fit? Are your financial muscles well toned and healthy or flabby and weak? Do you want to change your relationship with money so you can have control over your financial future or do you want to continue to complain that you don't have enough? Exercise these 10 muscles to achieve Financial Fitness.1. How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Identity theft is a serious crime that continues to grow. If you become a victim of identity theft, you may spend months, or years, trying to repair the damage. One Income Source Is Not Enough! My personal opinion is that in today's new economy, it is wise to have multiple income streams. Reliance on one income source poses a risk to individuals, entrepreneurs, and even large corporations. Debt Management - More Ways to Save on Gas Consumption The price of gas continues to climb, and with continued uncertainty in the Middle East, they will probably continue to do so. In California and elsewhere, prices for some grades of gas have now reached the previously unthinkable three dollars a gallon. Chex Systems - Why Every American Needs To Guard His Checking Account With His Life Most Americans have been brought up to be concerned about a good personal credit rating, because of the role a positive rating can play in your long term plans; purchasing a home, buying a car, getting a business loan, etc. They have also been made to understand that the premier organizations that pretty much hold the key to their financial futures are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Budgeting Your Way to Financial Freedom Financial freedom cannot be achieved without budgeting. Budgeting involves tracking your sources of income and more importantly tracking your expenses.
|
