Keeping Your Individual Funds Healthy Is Easy
Content by-Eaton Horn
What type of relationship do you have with your money? If you're like most people, you have a love-hate relationship. Your money is never there when you need it, and you probably hate that you depend so much on it. Don't continue to have an abusive relationship with your money and instead, learn what to do to ensure that your money works for you, instead of the other way around!
Look into a better plan for your cell phone. Chances are if you have had your cell phone for at least a couple of years, there is probably something out there that will benefit you more. Call your provider and ask for a better deal, or look around and see what is being offered.
By putting some of your money into a 529-college savings account, you can improve your personal finance. This offers you a tax-free advantage to savings your money. You will be able to accumulate interest rates while it is in there, and since it is tax-free, you gain a huge monetary advantage.
Get a rewards credit card. No-fee reward cards are the best if you need a credit card. Reward cards give you rewards on various things that you typically use such as hotel rooms, airline tickets and store rewards. Be sure you pay the card off every month and pay on time to avoid interest and late fees.
College education can be very expensive, academic scholarships can be a huge help in financing your education. Academic scholarships are awarded for excelling in school. Those who receive academic scholarships had an acceptable GPA, excelled in their studies, and the college would like that individual to continue studying at their school.
One thing that you will need to be very concerned with when analyzing your personal finances is your credit card statement. It is very important to pay down your credit card debt, as this will only rise with the interest that is tacked onto it each month. Pay off your credit card immediately to increase your net worth.
Helping someone move in to a new house or apartment can be a way to get some quick cash for ones personal finances. Even if one doesn't earn any money or only earns a small amount of money they will have at least earned a favor from the person that they helped move.
Consider having a savings account that automatically debits from your paycheck each month. One of the hardest parts of saving is getting into the habit of saving and having it taken out automatically, removes this step. Also, automatically refilling your savings account means that it won't be depleted if you do need to dip into it for any type of emergencies, especially if it's more than once.
Get yourself a credit card that pays rewards. If you pay your credit cards off each month, a rewards credit card is ideal for you. Run all of your monthly expenses, including groceries, gas and your daily Starbucks, through the card. Bankrate.com can help you find the card that pays the highest rewards for the types of spending that fits your lifestyle.
Managing your finances can be especially difficult if you have children. Reduce unnecessary expenditures by setting aside a predetermined amount that is to be spent on each child for the month - you may want to put it in an envelope labeled with the child's name. Fast food, treats, and entertainment are limited to the amount set aside in the envelope; once it's gone, it's gone.
Get yourself a free checking account. Checking accounts these days charge an average of about $13.00 in monthly fees, and usually require a minimum balance to keep the account free. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-25/ubs-hires-team-of-middle-east-private-bankers-from-credit-suisse to a no-fee account that requires no minimum balance and does not charge per transaction. Try smaller banks in your community, online-only banks or credit unions.
If you are lucky enough to have it as an option consider increasing your contributions, or starting an IRA or 401k. Many employers will even match however match you put in at three or four percent, so it's like free money.
If you have not started putting away any money for retirement, no matter how old you are, now is the time to start. If you have already started, try boosting up your contributions. Every year people find that they are having to support themselves more in retirement as social security goes down, and may one day disappear.
Understand that keeping track of your personal finances requires actual effort. It's not enough to simply add up some things in your head. Keep track of your monthly spending by thoroughly checking all statements and receipts. You need to be on top of things if something's not lining up right.
A great way to ensure that you won't suffer in the future is to start a retirement fund now. If you already have one, then use what you can to boost your retirement portfolio. Unfortunately, the cost of living is still increasing and the dollar is continuing to go down. You will need a larger retirement fund.
Always have an emergency fund equal to three to six months of living expenses, in case of unexpected job loss or other emergency. Even though interest rates on savings accounts are currently very low, you should still keep an emergency fund, preferably in a federally insured deposit account, for both protection and peace of mind.
Consider signing up for a flexible spending account (FSA). FSA allows you to pay for dependent care expenses, commuting and medical expenses and prescriptions or health insurance co-payments using pre-tax dollars. This simply means that you don't have to pay taxes from the funds you use to pay these regularly occurring expenditures.
Save your plastic grocery bags and tuck them in your car, your luggage, and your trash cans. What better way to recycle these bags than to use them again and again? You can take them along to the grocery store, use them instead of new garbage bags, put shoes in them when you are packing, and use them a thousand other ways.
After reading this article, you should have a better idea of how you can manage your finances and keep them from getting out of control. Knowing the basics of personal finances will benefit you in many different ways throughout your life. Just apply the advice you have read here, and your money problems will vanish.
