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Financial News and Information

Get to the bottom of overspending

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For years I have heard the phrase the more money you make the more money you will spend. Sadly enough a large portion of people believe this myth and follow down the path of brokenness. If you ever plan to be financially successful you have to stop spending every penny you earn each month. It’s an easy concept to tell people, but a very hard concept to follow. Let’s get to the bottom of why we overspend and what we can do to solve the problem.

For most people the problem starts with the easy access to credit. Everyday I check the mail there is at least one and sometimes up to 5 new credit card offer from a different bank or financial institutions. Most of them offering 0% balance transfers for 12 months or a very low fixed rate for the life of the loan. They also offer no interest on purchases for up to one year, this is the worst. You can buy anything you want (up to your credit limit) and not pay any interest on the borrowed money. Sound like a great until the one year is up and you have racked up thousands of dollars in credit card charges that you no longer have to money to pay for. What do you do, open up one of the 0% interest balance transfers for one year credit cards and start the process over.

The next problem for overspending is temptations from friends, family and coworkers. Brother Jim just got a new HD television to hang on the wall over the fireplace. You start thinking about how hard you work everyday and don’t have a new HD television set, so what do you do? You get in your head that you can afford to go buy yourself a new tv, but you need a bigger one than Jim because you work harder. You do need to enjoy your life, but enjoy your life as much as you can afford, debt is not fun!

Finally, overspending is very similar to overeating. Some people buy a new pair of shoes just to feel better about themselves. If you’ve had a bad at work or had a fight with your spouse what can make you feel better than spending some money? We sometimes spend money and buy something that will please us to take our minds off something that is bothering us.

Don’t get caught up in these financial traps. Be sensible about spending your money. Think before you jump into any financial transaction. Ask yourself is this really what I need to do or am I doing this for a dumb reason? Stop overspending your hard earned money and get to the bottom of overspending!

Household bills and Finance in Marriage

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Who takes care of the bill payment center at your house? Does it really matter who the financial guru is at home? With the continued development and improvement of Internet security paying the bills is a much easier process than it was a few years ago. With services such as online auto or automatic bill payment, electronic bill payment, and online payment reminders. paying a bill online is a breeze.

The question remains of who takes care of the household finances, the husband or the wife? The obvious answer to the question is whoever is more organized and better with money, but it goes beyond this simple answer. The household finances should be a shared responsibility between both husband and wife. It’s ok to have one person, usually the more organized person, take care of paying bills and budgeting but both should be involved with the overall process.

Since 50% of all marriages end in divorce and the number one cause of divorce is money this should be an important job in the family. If the husband takes care of the majority of the finances the wife should always be well informed of how much money they have to spend on what debt the family currently possesses. A husband can’t expect a wife to control her spending if she doesn’t know they are broke. The same goes for the wife, if she takes care of the majority of the finances, she should update the husband on the current financial situation often. Men tend to enjoy “toys” which usually carry a big price tag, if you can’t afford to purchase big ticket items they need to know.

Taking care of the household bills and personal finances is a big burden and responsibility. The workload should be shared by the couple. Keep each other well informed of your current financial situation and always talk before making any major purchases. Maybe you can be one of the 50% that stays together!

Importance of keeping good financial records

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A very important, often overlooked step of financial success is keeping good financial records. Keeping good records will help you manage your cash flow each month in turn saving you hundreds of dollars per year. Good financial record keeping consists of budgeting, tracking your spending, and good record keeping and filing.

Creating a budget and sticking to it is the first step to good financial record keeping. Creating a budget can be as simple as one page or as complex as an entire budgeting software package. A budget is a record of planned expenses and incomes over a certain period of time. You should spend every penny of your income before you actually get it. Most personal budgets are for a period of one month.

Tracking your spending is the second part of good record keeping and it follows very closely to keeping a good budget. After you have planned out your budget you need to track your income and expenses. Record every single financial transaction for one month, even vending machine purchases. You will probably be surprised at how much money you waste in a month.

Finally, keeping track of all your receipts, bills, credit card statements, invoices, mileage logs, check images or copies, donations, pay check stubs, bank records and any other financial record if very important. All of these records should be filed in neat organized folders and secured somewhere safe. They should be easily accessible so you can continually keep them updated. This will make tax time quick and easy. It will also help you make accurate tax filings and could save you hundreds of dollars ever year.

Keeping good financial records will save you time and money throughout the year. Start taking control of your personal finances today.

Dave Ramsey, the real deal?

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Dave Ramsey, the real deal?

Dave Ramsey is the famous voice of radio, TV, and stage who talks about financial matters and teaches us the steps to a debt free life, creating a budget, building wealth, planning for retirement, and finally giving to others. He is a great motivational speaker and all of his principals are built around Biblical teachings. The Dave Ramsey plan sounds great but is he the real deal? Does he really care so much about his loyal listeners or has he just formulated a creative plan for his own financial gain?

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Fun Budget Vacation Ideas

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Fun Budget Vacation Ideas

When most people think of a fun vacation the following words don’t usually come to mind: cheap, economical, inexpensive, low cost, budget, practical. However, I’m here to tell you that you can have a great time on vacation and still not empty the emergency fund or have to finance a vacation.

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