If you have ever lost sleep at night over money, you know that getting your finances under control is crucial. Learning to deal with your money in an effective way is not as hard as you might think. Here are some excellent ways to keep an eye on your personal finances.
If you have determined that your budget for a home mortgage is larger than your current rent payment, start putting that difference away each month. This will give you a real-world idea of what that cost does to your living expenses. It also helps you build up savings towards your down payment.
Have a plan for dealing with collection agencies and follow it. Do not engage in a war of words with a collection agent. Simply ask them to send you written information regarding your bill and you will research it and get back to them. Research the statue of limitations in your state for collections. You may be getting pushed to pay something you are no longer liable for.
Learn the signs of financial distress to a lender and avoid them. Suddenly opening multiple accounts or attempting to are huge red flags on your credit report. Using one credit card to pay off another is a sign of distress as well. Actions like these tell a prospective lender that you are not able to survive on your current income.
Even in a world of online bank accounts, you should still be balancing your checkbook. It is so easy for things to get lost, or to not really know how much you have spent in any one month. Use your online checking information as a tool to sit down once a month and add up all your debits and credits the old fashioned way. You can catch errors and mistakes that are in your favor, as well as protect yourself from fraudulent charges and identity theft.
Whether you keep track of your personal finances online or on paper, it is extremely important to review your general situation every month. Look for any unexpected changes in your bills, shortfalls in your credits, or irregularities in the dates that money changes hands. Noting these changes and accounting for them is a big part of staying on top of your financial situation.
Try to avoiding using your credit card unless it is absolutely necessary. For smaller purchases, go the cash route. New legislation allows stores to require a credit card minimum of $10 for transactions. Make sure to carry cash or a debit card if you intend to make under $10 in purchases.
If you are trying to repair your credit score, you have to be patient. Changes to your score will not happen the day after you pay off your credit card bill. It can take up to ten years before old debt is off of your credit history. Continue to pay your bills on time, and you will get there, though.
You can sell old items for a little extra money every week. A working laptop will sell for more than one that doesn’t work. Sometimes, you can get rewards, such as free gas, for selling broken laptops.
Make sure you’re not spending more than you’re earning each month. The easiest way to dig yourself into a hole of debt that’s near impossible to dig yourself out of is to use credit cards to spend more than you’re earning. Make sure you’re being responsible with your money and not overextending yourself.
Rebalance any investments that you may have. Stocks and bonds have had an overall good year, though cash yields are near zero. Look at your portfolio and make sure that you don’t need to move anything around so that you are earning more money. You should be doing this every year to help your portfolio.
Be willing to shop around at banks. One bank might have a better interest rate, another credit union might have free checking that works out better for you. Don’t be afraid to have multiple accounts to take advantage of all the promotional offers that you are eligible for. But look around.
Even if you have just a little money left over after paying your monthly expenses, you should look for ways to invest it. When you invest, the interest that you earn from your investment compounds over time. So if you invest just a small amount, this can add up to a large amount.
A useful personal-finance tip is to investigate different funding sources prior to shopping for a new vehicle. Local banks and credit unions can be terrific sources for advantageous auto finance rates, often beating the manufacturers’ captive finance arms. By arranging your own financing prior to visiting a car dealership, you can be certain of getting the very best rate possible.
Having a system in place for dealing with your money is an essential part of adult life. Use these tips as a foundation for a good personal finance system and you’ll be able to handle your personal finances better than ever. Best of all, you’ll be able to sleep better, too.
