8 Ideas To Improve Your Personal Finances

Most people work on improving their personal finances many times a year and are somewhat successful.  However, if you wait for your New Year's resolution time, do not fear.  These tips will help you get you started on the right track to improving your finances.

Set Up A Budget

Setting a budget and sticking to it is a very important part of gaining control of your personal finances.  Budgeting helps you to know where your money is going and how much you are spending.

Pay Down Your Credit Cards

One of key factors in improving your personal finances is to start paying down your credit cards.  If you have any extra money in your budget that you prepared you should put part of this money into paying down your credit card debt.  As the credit card balances decrease so will the amount of interest that you are charged per month.  This can be quite a bit if you have high interest credit cards.

Make Contributions To Your Retirement Accounts

Making contributions to retirement plans such as IRA'S etc. will improve your retirement future as well as lessen your tax burdens to the  IRS as these deductions can be taken off your income.

Always Put Money Aside In Savings

Putting money in a savings Account is as important as paying your bills. Money that is regularly put into a savings plan or account will continue to grow for your retirement as well as provide an emergency cash source in dire circumstances.

Use Your Employee Fringe Benefits

Some employers offer fringe benefits that would be useful to you.  Some have 401K's, pension and profit sharing plans as well as some savings plans.  These all will help you plan for our future as well as save some money now.  These plans are often invested and can earn you a good amount of additional income and thus increasing your balances considerably.

Keep Your Insurance Policies Up To Date

It is also a good idea that your insurance policies should be kept up to date.  If something should happen to you, you do not want loved ones to have to pay unnecessary bills.  Your insurance policies should cover funeral costs, as well as enough to pay your outstanding debts.  You will need to revise these at frequent intervals to make sure that they are accurate

Update Your Will

Another good idea is to keep your will up to date.  This way there would be no questions as to how your assets should be divided.  Lots of the time the will leaves everything to the spouse, with a clause that if the spouse is dead or dies at the same time that it be distributed to other people named in the will.

Keep Detailed Records

Lastly, but most importantly, you must keep very detailed records of your income, expenses, and of all your assets such as savings, IRA's, Insurance policies, etc.  These will help the executor of your estate to understand and to process your estate in a timely manner.

In conclusion, you can start your new year right when you implement these tips.  With these guidelines you will be on your way to improving your personal financial situation.  A good financial situation is important to our personal well being.

Five Easy Ways to Save Your Hard Earned Cash!

Whether you are an expert saver or a penny pincher newbie, you can always use more ideas to save your cash.  Here are some money-saving ideas to make your paycheck extend further and allow more money for entertainment, bills and other necessary items or just splurge.

What is your bank costing you?

Do you have to pay fees just for writing checks?  Most banks charge for putting images in with your statement. Mine does, so I went with online banking and saved $3.00 a month. They also charge for any balance below a minimum amount.  This could be up to $15.00 a month.  Due they also charge you ATM fees for going outside of your bank.  A lot of times, you pay an ATM fee for the bank you get your money out of (this could be up to $4.00 per transaction), as well as the fee for your bank (up to $2.50).  This is total saving of up to $6.50 per transaction.  If you can, find a bank that has free checking and you could eliminate most of these fees. I Love anything free!!

Learn to do more things yourself rather than asking someone else to do it.

Doing things yourself can save a lot of money, and often is great exercise depending on the task.  Having someone else do the things for you can cause you to be lazy and put on weight.  Putting on weight can cause health problems and will cost you more money.

Now you can save money on books and magazines!

Borrowing books at the library is a great cost-cutter.  You can try an author that you have not heard of before, without spending a lot of money to do it.  You can learn to do things on your computer by reading the computer books in the library, therefore not having to buy the book for one lesson that you need to know. Oftentimes the library will have the book that you need and can save you much money.  You can rent movies at the library for about $1.00 instead of $4.00+ at the video store.  You can look at magazines at the library instead of buying them.

Always take a shopping list to the grocery store!

Taking a shopping list to the store will help you to save money by not buying unnecessary items.  It will help you to streamline your purchases and help you not to buy so many things on impulse.  Impulsive buying can make you buy things that you do not need and probably not use.  You buy items just because there on sale of buy one get one free.

Drive Slower Please!

When you drive slower you actually can save gas.  You can prevent accidents.  You can ultimately lower your cost of auto insurance. The faster you drive you risk the danger of getting in a car accident, and injuring other people. It may take you a little longer to get there but you will be happier and less stressed when you get there

In conclusion, regular deposits to your savings accounts can save you money, but these easy steps can make your paycheck go much further than you thought.  Saving money is easy if you use these principles.

Five Techniques For Repairing Your Credit Yourself

In this economy, it is very common for everybody to need to repair their credit.  Whether it needs a little fixing or very extensive work, you can follow these guidelines to get it where it needs to be and get going again.

Check Your Credit Report

First you need to check your credit report.  This will enable you to view your credit score.  Your credit score determines what interest rates you are charged on loans and credit cards.  The better your score the lower these rates will be.  It can take some time to improve this score, but don't get discouraged it will happen over time. Check your credit report regularly for changes.

What Accounts Can Be Paid Late

As you look over your budget, look for accounts that can be paid late without affecting your credit report.  These may include utility bills such as gas, electric, and cable bills.  Although it is okay to pay these late do not make a habit of it as it could cause a suspension of service or cancellation   Other bills could include health and life insurance.  These, however, would have to be paid before the grace period ends.   Use this method only when you need to postpone bills because of low income or hardship circumstances.

Screen Your Credit Report For Negative Items

Look carefully at your credit report for any negative information that would impact your credit score.  This could include many things.  Unpaid medical bills, too many accounts, closed accounts or too many inquiries.  These items would decrease your credit score and effect your rating for many things such as jobs, apartments and loans.  Find these negative items and inquire about them or have them deleted if at all possible.

Research The Collection Laws Concerning Your Credit Cards

Many states have different laws concerning the collection of your credit cards.  Familiarize yourself with your states laws and abide with them.  Some states have laws as to when they can call you to collect money.  These include that they cannot call you at work or during the day.  The credit cards also have to abide by many federal laws as well.  Make sure you are familiar with both the state and federal laws regarding your credit cards.

Keep Your Credit Card Balances Low

One of the best ways to keep your credit score up, is to keep your credit card balances low.  The rule of thumb in this is to keep them below thirty percent.  This show that you use your credit wisely and you are not a risk for people are loaning to you for cars, homes and other loans. It also makes it easier for you to pay your bills on time and quicker.

In conclusion, if you use these tips you will be a winner in the credit game.  These tips are easy to follow and you do not need someone to help you to do them.  Your success is guaranteed if you follow these tips carefully. So let's begin are road to better credit.