Reed Financial Group

Saving more than a couple of thousand dollars is not as difficult as it sounds. I am not going to harangue you on “you can do it”, or “importance of saving”, or “why not saving can kill you before the world ends in 2012.” No. Nothing like this. Here are few suggestions on how you can actually save few dollars, if not couple of thousands, next year.

1. Calculate the amount of money you spend buying kitchen paper. It may not be quite substantial, but why waste money on these papers when you can replace them with cloth napkins. Spending even a dollar on disposable papers seems to be a waste. Buy a cloth that can be washed and reused. You can save approximately $85 a year.

2. If your family comprises of you and your spouse, both working, why spend so much on cable. Unplug it and save anywhere round $600 per year.

3. Digital camera is perhaps the only device where we use batteries. If you use it a lot, switch to rechargeable batteries. Doing this will save not much, maybe $24. But every penny saved in this kind of economy is 3 pennies earned.

4. Why do we need a landline when all the family members own a mobile phone? I have disconnected it and I sometimes use Skype instead of landline, and mobile most of the times.

5. If you are still left with any gold after, after the “sell gold” advertisements, sell it off. Even if it is small gold scraps, sell it. But do not mail it across. It is better to sell it at the neighboring jewelry shop. You can earn some amount here.

6. Chopped and shredded vegetables, cheese, and fruits cost much more than the un-chopped, fresh ones. Instead of spending more, you can get the fresh ones and slice it at home. Doing this for a year can help you to save $250. Isn’t it worth a try?

7. Stop going to the gym and find a way to exercise free of cost. If the only reason you go to gym is losing weight, there are numerous ways to do it without a gym. By doing this you can save as much as $420 in a year. Till now, this is the biggest contributor to your saving.

8. Get rid of your printer. Okay, may be that’s not possible, you can at least promise yourself not to print unless necessary. Ink cartridges, color or black & white, can burn a hole in your pocket. I have to replace the cartridge once a year. However, it still costs me around $80 to $100.

Remember these points while preparing a budget for 2010. These are just 8 examples of saving money. We, together, can come up with probably hundreds of them, and imagine the amount we could save. If you have any such suggestion, please comment and suggest, for me, for all the readers. Let’s derive the most comprehensive and precise personal finance money management guide for 2010.

By: Carl M Thomson

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Suze Orman was on Oprah this week, giving emergency financial advice to people facing foreclosure, unemployment, or bankruptcy. Her 9 Steps To Financial Freedom will help anyone to avoid those disasters.

Step 1 – Seeing How Your Past Holds The Key To Your Financial Future

“Messages about money are passed down from generation to generation, worn and chipped like family dishes.” Suze Orman

It is important to spend time understanding your family’s stories about money – and the ones you created yourself, as you were growing up. Financial freedom begins with freeing ourselves from the burden of the past.

Step 2 – Facing Your Fears And Creating New Truths

“The trouble with fears is that when we keep them inside and refuse to deal with them, they grow, like weeds left alone in a garden. Take the fear of not having enough to cover the bills this month and let it wander around by itself, unchecked. Where will it go? It will become the fear of not having enough in general.” Suze Orman

New financial realities can only grow once you have faced your fears and replaced them with new, more empowering beliefs.

Step 3 – Being Honest With Yourself

“Most of us believe, or deceive ourselves into believing, that we need about $1,000 to $1,500 a month less than we actually do need to go on living the exact same way we live right now.” Suze Orman

It is very important to go back through your records and establish exactly how much you have really spent. Guessing won’t get you free!

Step 4 – Being Responsible To Those You Love

“It’s not OK when you get sick, or when you die, to leave financial chaos behind you for everyone else to clean up.” Suze Orman

Make sure you have a will, including a testamentary trust, adequate life insurance, income protection insurance, and health insurance. If you are not sure what any of these are, or how to get them, consult a financial planner.

Step 5 – Being Respectful Of Yourself And Your Money

“If you’re respectful of your money, and do what needs to be done with it, you will become like a magnet, attracting more and more money to yourself.” Suze Orman

The most powerful and respectful way to make money is to invest wisely. Plan for your future, take advantage of the superannuation plans that are available to you, face your debt, and stand guard over your money, ensuring that every penny you spend is a penny that must be spent.

Step 6 – Trusting Yourself More Than You Trust Others

“When it comes to every financial decision you will make for the rest of your life, you will choose correctly if you go with the answer that reflects your instinctual response.” Suze Orman

Your financial freedom is your responsibility, and it can only be planned and brought about by you. There is no “expert” or “insider” who knows better than you what you should do.

Step 7 – Being Open To Receive All That You Are Meant To Have

“Money is a living entity, and responds to energy, including yours, and to how you feel about yourself.” Suze Orman

Thoughts of poverty are the chains which bind – to release them, give money to a charity you feel stongly about.

Step 8 – Understanding The Ebb And Flow Of The Money Cycle

“How often have you heard, for example, of someone who is devastated by being fired, only to land a much better job and end up happier?”

To be at peace with the ebb and flow of money, remember two things. Always take the long view of your financial future, and believe that everything that happens is positive, if you are willing to let it be.

Step 9 – Recognising True Wealth

“True financial freedom lies in defining ourselves by who and what we are, not by what we do or do not have.”

You cannot put a price tag on your life. No matter what financial ups and downs happen in your life, you will be truly wealthy when you understand that none of that stuff matters. Not really.

“Money itself cannot make you financially free. Only you can make yourself financially free, and you can do it – and so much more. You have that power.”

By: Mark Bennett

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I think I’ve heard it all when it comes to money. When people state that they are unhappy with their financial situation, I know that their problems likely fall into one or all three of the following categories.

SPENDING TOO MUCH – When I grew up we touched money – real money. If we didn’t have coins in our pocket we just didn’t spend. We didn’t have Lines of Credit, credit cards or Overdraft Protection. Cash was all we knew.

Often people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t even like. They renovate – not based on need but on want. After purchasing a house that is at the top of their credit limit, they add the toys (boats, quads, campers, vehicles) and then they book trips to “get away from it all”. All of this compounds the problem.

The “secret” to financial health is to spend less than you earn. This might mean not adding to your wardrobe until you absolutely need to do so. You may need to eat at home more and pack a lunch. Shopping is a trap you will need to avoid as it just tempts you to buy more. And remember, you don’t have to try to keep up with the Jones’. Living on less will give you a freedom that the Jones family likely doesn’t possess.

NOT KEEPING TRACK OF FINANCIAL MATTERS – When you do not know how much debt you have or when your bills are due, you are at risk of overspending, losing a good credit score, and paying excessive penalties and interest. Even being one day late on a credit card payment can result in a large late payment charge and increase your interest rate by several points. Delinquency is reported to the Credit Bureau and this can affect all future attempts at borrowing.

In order to improve your situation and gain control of your financial life you will need to begin by getting honest with yourself. Start with four blank sheets of paper.

On one write “Assets” and list all of the items that you own or are buying through payments (house, vehicles, savings accounts, investments). Beside each put the value of the asset and then put the total of all at the bottom of the page.

On the second sheet write “Liabilities/Debts” and list all of the amounts that you owe to others. Also record the interest rate, due date and amount of the payments you are responsible for making for each item. At the bottom of the page write the total amount owed and the total amount for the payments required each month.

On the third page write “Income” and list all sources that make up your total household income each month (include rental properties, interest earned, part-time work).

On the fourth page write “Expenses” and list all the things that you pay each month (utilities, food, clothing). Don’t forget to add the total monthly payments that you listed as “Liabilities/Debts”.

Now that you have everything listed you will be able to do a proper assessment of your situation.

NOT HAVING A PLAN – There’s an old expression that says “People who fail to plan, plan to fail”. You may have to sell some assets to lower your debt or find a part-time job to increase your income. Perhaps your credit card company will reduce your interest rate if you call them and make a commitment to pay a specific amount towards your balance on a regular basis.

One of the first things you will need to do in order to get back on track is cut back on your expenses. There are many creative ways to do this. For example, instead of buying a $5.00 coffee every morning, make a pot at home and carry it in a travel mug. This will save $100 per month which can be used towards debt. The result is that your balance is reduced and the interest charged the following month will be reduced.

You will likely be able to turn things around rather quickly once you have a good plan in place.

When it comes to finances, a few small changes can make a huge difference and, over time, you can go from feeling overwhelmed to being in a strong position where you will be in control of your situation. If you need help with this, do not hesitate to contact a psychologist who is trained in problem-solving. The sooner you book an appointment, the sooner you will be headed towards achieving financial well-being.

By: Linda Hancock

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Many people are struggling under the burden of debt and are having problems bringing order to their finances. Arguments between spouses increase, as do stress levels. Often, they may feel they are on a treadmill, barely maintaining their current positions but making no progress at all.

If this sounds familiar to you, you might find it interesting that there is a way to apply common sense to your situation and bring both your debt and your personal finances under control. It isn’t an instantaneous fix and it will not be totally pain free, but it will work where other personal finance plans fail. It also isn’t some new idea (although many may find the concept somewhat novel) but a return to how things were done for centuries. Simply put, it is the idea of not spending more than you earn.

You may not like the idea of living within your means, but that may be because you do not truly understand how it relates to personal finance. It is not eschewing all debt, nor does it mean giving up everything you love. It does not mean you must wear rags, make soup out of catsup, or never taste cappuccino again. What it does mean is that you take control of your personal finances and debt.

The first thing you need to do to take control of your personal finances is to establish a workable budget. List all of your normal expenses and how much you spend monthly on them. If you are like most people when they first tackle their personal finances, there are going to be some things you do not know. It is not uncommon for many people to have no clue how much groceries cost each month, for example, or how much is spent on clothing. It may be necessary for you to track your expenses for a few weeks to get a good handle on your personal finances. In the meantime, start with fixed costs, such as your mortgage or car payments, and include your best estimate for flexible expenses. You can always adjust these next month.

Include a line item in your budget for savings, something that is often neglected in money plans. Set some target percentage to save, since even 3% of your income is better than nothing. Over a period of time, gradually increase the percent going into savings until it reaches at least 10%. Savings accounts, when reserved for true emergencies, are an important part of personal finance security. They mean you do not need to pull out a charge card if the hot water heater breaks or your car needs a repair. This in turn means that you are not increasing your debt load.

To examine how you regard personal finance and debt, consider the following scenario. Your net monthly income is $3,000. Your total payments are $2,500. If you make a credit card purchase of $4,000 that requires a monthly minimum payment of $400, you still have $100 before you exceed your income. A lot of people will say that is a true statement. It is not, because you actually went $1,000 over your income and $1,500 over what you had available to spend that month. There will be times when you have no choice but to charge something. Just keep in mind that in personal finance, it is the debt, not the payment that determines the health of your financial situation.

Enlist the support of all family members if you need to bring your personal finances or debt load under control. Each individual needs to consider what is most important-a college education or designer jeans? Keeping your home after retirement or going out for a steak dinner every week? With just a little cooperation, you can make drastic improvements to your personal finances and reduce your debts substantially.

By: Jason Rodriguez

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“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.” Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) The Social Contract, French political philosopher.

There is no true freedom without financial freedom. There is no financial freedom without financial literacy, financial understanding. We need to be financial literate to be able to gain and keep wealth. Mike Murdock, author, minister, public speaker says, “People who have what you don’t have, they know what you don’t know.”

Little do we understand that we are a slave to the one we are indebted to, be it mortgage, car loan or personal loan…and as long as our main source of income is active income, we are in essence bound (enslaved) to the one we serve (where we exchange our time (and skills) for income).

Financial illiteracy has led many to ruin their business, company and or personal life. Many financial decisions are taken based on assumptions on one’s understanding on what income (active and passive income) and expenditure, asset and liability, good and bad debts, opportunity cost and cost of opportunity are and the impact they have in one’s personal finance.

Financial illiteracy is the number one reason why most people would skip paying their loan and not be too concerned about it. We lack the understanding of how taking a loan, using credit card, moving too frequently, electoral roll affects the rate that we are charged when we take loan, credit card, mortgage. Financial illiterate person would skip a loan payment of £5, not knowing that eventually this will cost him dearly on other future financial deals.

What we need to understand is we live in a highly organized world, every person has a record (held somewhere electronically) of who he or she is, the financial decisions that one (including those that one is financially tied to) has taken in the past and the consequences thereof. This is what is known as credit record, credit score or credit worthiness.

Unfortunately, most of us do not know how we contribute either positively or negatively towards our credit record and how it affects us daily. This is due to lack of financial understanding otherwise known as financial literacy. We certainly know how to count numbers, but do we really know what counts?

By: Timothy Kyara

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To a young college student fresh out of school the world may seem rosy, but sooner or later they have to understand that many things are regulated by the finances we have. Till now their needs were fulfilled by their parents and it is time for them to understand they need to regulate and manage their finances so they do not fall into any sort of financial problems. Most of the college students today, opt for jobs at the entry level of their field of study. This article provides some valuable information about personal finance management for graduates.

Although entry level jobs do not pay much, it should not be a pretext for saving less. Plan a budget and stringently follow it, so that you can track your expenses and income. Plan wisely and invest in schemes that will give you good returns later.

You may love to splurge on expensive restaurants and alcohol, but keep in mind that even small amounts of saving that may seem negligible to you can do wonders later in life. So, skip the outing your with friends just one week a month and see for yourself how much you can save.

Using credit cards can seem like easy money coming your way, but do not avoid the payments and be lethargic in repaying your credit card bills. Mounting them will only lead to more troubles in the form of accumulated interest and even cause bad credit ratings for you.

Early in your job you can opt for car or home loans. Although it is a good option to invest in property while you are still young, remember that a huge loan can lead to personal bankruptcy. In case you feel that your loan amount has exceeded your limits or due to problems you have skipped on few payments. It will be a wise decision to negotiate with the credit organizations to deal for lower repayment process.

By: Joseph Then

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Not everyone is always financially well. Also, a cold fact is that not everyone has a home. Those who have nothing to place find hard arranging fund from any outside sources. In a move to kick-start, lending authority has come up with the concept of unsecured personal finance.

Innumerable loan shops are working in this prospect. You can find them online and, offline across the money market. Locating them online however is gaining precedence. You can not stop hearing various commercial advertisements on the radio or television, or the newspaper. But availability of such finance option on internet has taken a new shape altogether. You can collate information on the finance from various companies and their functioning. In today’s world of information technology, internet has proved itself the best applying tool. Your information gathering gets very easy. Everything is just couple of clicks away. You can start your search for these companies online.

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