Thursday 27 September 2012

A Stress Free Life Begins With Stress Free Finances

By Ian Jones


Personal finance is one of those words that often cause people to become nervous or even break out in sweat. If you are ignoring your finances and hoping for the problems to go away, you are doing it wrong. Read the tips in this article to learn how to take control of your own financial life.

Always balance your checkbook so you can make sure that there are no mistakes on your bank statements. You need to become personally responsible for your own finances, instead of hoping that someone at your bank will notice any discrepancies. Creating a budget will make it easier to see any mistakes, as well.

Think about setting up a car pool with people that you work with. If several of you live in the same area, this is a great way to save money on gas. It has the added benefit of possibly improving your relationships with the people that you work with, as well.

Repairing your credit can lead to paying less money in interest. A lower credit score means higher interest rate on your credit cards and other loans, which means you end up paying more in finance charges and interest. Repair your score and drop these rates in order to save more money.

If feasible in your area, try getting around without a car. Between car payments, gas, insurance, and parking, the dollars spent on owning a car can really add up. It isn't possible for everyone, but if you can try using public transportation or your own two feet to get around.

Get a flexible spending account. This kind of account allows you to take care of certain eligible expenses with pre-tax money. You can get a discount on the interest of this pre-tax money that corresponds to your tax bracket. Instead of getting a tax return on these expenses, you benefit from an immediate discount.

If you are looking to save money, a good way to do so is by paying your auto insurance yearly, rather than every six months. Most auto insurance companies offer a substantial discount to customers who pay every year instead of every six months. Speak with your company to see if this is an option.

Prioritize your spending. Identify essential spending and the optional things that you want. If you plan your purchases ahead of time, the things you want, won't cut into the things you really need. Before buying something nonessential, take time to consider it carefully and ask yourself if you want it more than something else you're saving for.

Spending as entertainment is a bad idea. If you charge stuff that you can't afford, like a supercharger, body kit and coil-overs for your boring 10-year-old Honda or a top-of-the-line PC with studio-grade surround speakers and three 24 inch monitors just to spice up your video games, you are crashing straight into unmanageable debt.

In order to keep track of your personal finances, use a smart phone based app or a calendar warning, on your computer or phone, to tell you when bills are due. You should set goals for how much you want to have spent by a particular date in the month. This works because it's an easy reminder and you don't even need to think about it, once you've set it up.

Sell some of your belongings. This accomplishes two things. First, you are forced to take a look at what you have spent on items that you don't really use. Hopefully, it will prevent you from buying frivolous items. Secondly, you can make some money on those items at a yard sale or through an online auction site.

By tracking how your money is spent and carefully making the correct choices for your income, you can make sure that your account is always in the black. Don't let loan sharks or credit card companies with high interest rates take advantage of you, or you will truly regret it!




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