Do-It-Yourself Financial Planning.

The fight for financial freedom isn’t fair. No matter what kind of spin you try to put on it, the path to comfortable living seems either impossible or too long to attempt. Many people these days are spending copious amounts of money going to see professional financial planners for advice on how to get their money situation under control. But let’s be honest, while a financial planner can show you how to prioritize your spending and how to go about consolidating your debt, surely there must be a way to plan your finances that doesn’t cost you visits to a professional? This article has been written to open some people’s eyes to the fact that it is possible to properly plan your finances from the comfort of your own home.

The main aim when planning your finances is to make everything as simple as possible. There is nothing worse than sinking so far into depression that you can’t see a way out. Whether you are in debt and looking to get out of it of if you are simply looking for a way to keep a little more spending money aside each month, the simpler you make your planning the better the result you will get. From the beginning, you need to be realistic. I’ll start with the example of a single income situation, firstly you need to calculate what your net pay is per month. If you’re self employed or not on a regular pay, always calculate the worst-case-scenario, what is the lowest you might get paid. Then go through your monthly bills and write down the ones that are a fixed amount. Do the same for all other bills but use the worst-case-scenario again, what is your estimation of the most that those bills might be. Add everything up and subtract it from your net income total.

Next onto the incidental expenses you might run into on a monthly basis. These might include petrol, car upkeep, public transport fares, food etc. make a list of all the little expenses you might need money for in a month. Even things that you’re not sure you might need to buy. Don’t add general spending money to the list, be specific. Always add more to the totals if you’re not sure as you can fine tune it later. Again, subtract your total from the money left over from your bills. Don’t worry if you’ve gone into the negative figures here, we can fix it.

Once you’ve got your expenses total in front of you, obviously any money that is left over is your profit for the month. In the event that you have nothing left or have gone into the minus figures, the next step is to minimize your expenses. Pretty straight forward, huh? Any incidental expenses that you might not need, remove them. And any expenses you know you will have, like food and petrol for example, really get down to the lowest spend on them. How much do you really need to spend on them? Your aim should be to save at least $50 per month after spending money. All that extra builds up and gives you a nice petty cash at the end of a few months!

If you are in a multiple-income situation, the same process applies. You need to start building up that petty cash tin. There will always be unexpected expenses, everyone knows that. In truth, the basis of comfortable living is really the knowledge that you can afford to pay for something unexpected.

To finish, all of this can be done on a piece of paper if you want to invest a little time, or you can lay it all out on an Excel spreadsheet. The way that saves the most time is to use a Financial Planning software program, you enter the numbers and the program gives you an automatic monthly planner. Whatever way you choose to go, always remember to keep it as simple as possible. When you’re following a plan, the pressure on you will decrease. What more could there be to comfortable living?

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Save money basics

‘MONEY’, in this era I think can well be stated as the ‘Most Outstanding Necessity Enveloping You’. Life is impossible without money. Funds are essential in every walk of life. So, such a crucial indispensable aspect of our lives needs extra care and protection. This article, therefore, is a guideline to many effective money saving strategies.

Money Management might not be imperative for everyone. But many of us nowadays need to be vigilant while spending. This is because of the soaring market prices and limited income. But ‘where there is a will, there is a way’. If you desire to save your hard earned cash, you ought be judicious while spending it.

The foremost technique to be economic is to prepare your monthly budget. This will help you in administering your expenditure throughout the month. But mere planning a budget is insufficient. What basically matters is, how much you adhere to it. So, try to stick to your budget. Any deviation from it should be in case of an emergency.

Shopping from coupons is deemed to be a very cost effective nowadays. These coupons are gift vouchers can be grabbed from your daily newspaper, magazines, in shops and on Internet. They provide you with varying lucrative offers such as 40% off on your eating in a restaurant at a particular date and time etc. Coupons thus are a wonderful way to enjoy a variety of things in life while saving many of your dollars.

Be frugal in using your credit card. Though credit card acts as bank in your pocket, it comes with huge rate of interests. This is the most significant drawback of using a credit card that perhaps supersedes all its merits.

Try shopping during the sale season. It is the best time when you can get an item worth $100 in just $80 or even $50. So, don’t miss an opportunity to avail the sale season benefits.

Avoid repeated shopping. It is not prudent to shop time and again because each time you make it to the market, you will be spending money on travel (oil, taxi fare etc.). Moreover, the market rates keep on fluctuating. The thing prized worth $45 today may be for $50 by the end of the month. Therefore, once you are on for shopping, especially some items such as foodstuff etc are concerned shop as much required and make no compromise. Take these a little more than needed. This saves you from landing into troublesome exigency situations.

Don’t be habitual of junk food and eating out. This will not just be emptying your pocket soon but can even be hazardous to your health.

Get a medical insurance. It will facilitate you with requisite amount during unfortunate health perils.

Planning a garage sale at the end of the year is not a bad idea to make some money out of the undesired items in your house.

Another good way to save money for your own self and your successors is to make investments. These can be in the form of property, land, stocks, trusts and the like.

Save on electricity and phone bills. Do not assist your children with separate TV and phone connection in their rooms. Keep just one television set and phone connection in your living room. This will enable you to keep a check on the amount of usage of these things. It is definitely a money spinning way for those fraught with hefty electricity and phone bills.

Apart from these there might many other ways to manage your outlay that may appeal to you. All you need to do is to be a little cautious, far-sighted and love your well-deserved money.

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You Can Not Stop Identity Theft

The unfortunate truth is that you can not prevent identity theft. If there is someone out determined to steal your identity there is nothing you can do to stop them. Fortunately though, most identity thieves are not that determined.

Yes, they are determined to steal the identity of someone. But they would much prefer to go after those people who are easy targets. Take yourself off the easy hit list.

The first thing you should do is to get a free credit report. The report will show your existing creditors. Get the article entitled “Get A Truly Free Credit Report Every Four Months” or go to the annualcreditreport.com website and order your free report. If you do not recognize a creditor, do something immediately. Contact the credit bureaus fraud department and your local police.

If you feel the need to monitor your credit report you can find resources to do so at the http://credit-reporting-agencies-bureaus-agency-credit-reports.com/ website.

The next thing you should do is to lock up your personal papers. Secure all of your financial and personal information papers like bank statements, checks, credit card statements, pension reports, tax returns, birth certificates and related documents. Keep them out of sight.

When you dispose of personal papers you should use a shredder. Until you can get one, rip up the stuff and dispose of the remnants securely.

Secure your passwords. Everyone has a password of some kind. Write them down but do not keep them out in the open. Lock them up. When choosing passwords you should not use obvious things like birth dates or names of your spouse, children or maiden names.
Passwords should contain both letters and numbers and at least one capital letter.

One of my pet annoyances is receiving credit card offers in the mail. Much worse is getting blank checks for credit cards. Stop that nonsense by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT to get your name of their list.

Do not use automatic logins to computer networks. Imagine how much easier it would be for identity thieves to do damage with access to your email account. Online business is a great way time saver, but it is far too reliant upon email notifications as a safety feature.

When someone calls or emails you, do not give out your information. If you are buying something over the phone or internet you should be going to them. Be certain the number you are calling and the website you go to is the correct one.

When you leave home carry only what documents you need. A driver’s license, one credit card and some cash is all you usually need. Remember what you take with you in case it is taken from you or lost.

Be aware that you should keep your credit card in your possession or view at all times. When you hand your credit over to a cashier, keep it in sight and be sure it is swiped only once. You may be at risk if you give your credit card to a restaurant waiter. Either pay cash or accept the risk.

You will rest easier if you take these basic precautions.

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