Easy Ways to Build Up Your Savings
by: John Mussi
Building and maintaining a savings cushion is vital for your financial health. Most financial experts recommend having a minimum of three months' worth of living expenses set aside in case of an emergency, but many people may find it difficult to build up that much money in savings. If you think that you might have difficulty in building up the savings that you need, you might want to consider some of the following ideas.
Focus your spending
Create a budget and track your spending. After seeing where your money goes, it's much easier to decide where you can cut. Then live by it.
Treat saving like a bill
Consider your monthly savings amount a bill that has to be paid. Pay your account every month or every two weeks.
Think small
Many people don't think their budget allows room to save, but even a small amount adds up over time. Depending on the size of your family, skipping a meal out each week could result in a $160 per month savings deposit. Take a good look at your spending habits, and you probably can find $150 or so each month in extras that you could do without to build up savings.
Save your raise
The next time you get a raise at work or a tax refund, consider directing half to savings. If you're not used to the money, you won't miss it.
Continue paying
When you pay off a car or other loan, consider making half of the payment to yourself and put it into your emergency savings account. You will not miss the money if it is in savings, but you will find a way to spend it if it remains in your checking account.
Turn off the TV
Don't listen to the advertisements, Ignore sale flyers or mail-order catalogs. The latest sale tempts you to spend money unnecessarily.
Think before you charge
Unless you're in the habit of paying your credit card bill in full each month, don't use the cards for anything you can eat or wear.
Consider a refinance
Shop for loan quotes and see if interest rates are lower than they were when you took out some of your major loans. Consider refinancing your mortgage and your car loan.
Alternate your commute
If you live in an area that has good public transportation, see if you can get around without the car. Maybe you can get by on one car instead of two.
Conserve energy
Do an energy check on the house. Replace cracked storm windows and renew the weather stripping.
Java-jolt savings
If you're a coffee drinker, don't stop at the coffee shop each morning. Make your coffee at home.
Participate in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan
If your employer doesn't offer these plans, then you could start saving in a tax-advantaged IRA or Roth IRA account.
Involve the whole family
Even the youngest child can contribute change to the savings goal. It is easier for children to get involved if they understand why they must give up pizza night (or at least cut down the number of toppings!). Also, you are setting a good financial example for your children.
Savings rewards
Plan a treat for you, your family or both when you reach your emergency savings goal. Make it something everyone will look forward to, but not something very expensive, like a day at the zoo or at the beach. The important thing is to mark the occasion and congratulate yourself and all those who helped!
You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:
About The Author
John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.
|
No Money Down Real Estate - Fund All Your Deals With Private Lending!!
No Money Down Real Estate - Fund All Your Deals With Private Lending!!
by: Lou Castillo
If you invest in real estate, you need cash to buy houses. Even if you have a full bank account and great credit, you?ll eventually run short on funds - or short on time to obtain a loan - for the next deal. Private lending is the answer. It is a bottomless pool of readily accessible funds: whether you have great credit or poor; whether you have cash reserves or not.
?Private Lending? refers to the process of borrowing real estate investment funds from private individuals at rates higher than these lenders can normally achieve in the marketplace. The attraction of private lending is the speed and ease of funding a deal.
Here?s how it works?first you find or do marketing to find individuals interested in earning 10-12% interest (or whatever you deem affordable for you and attractive to others) on investments secured with real estate. You?ll find these...
No Money Down Real Estate - Fund All Your Deals With Private Lending!!
Ira > No Money Down Real Estate - Fund All Your Deals With Private Lending!!
The SIMPLE Way to Save For Retirement
The SIMPLE Way to Save For Retirement
by: Ken Morris
A relative newcomer to the retirement plan market, the SIMPLE IRA can be a cost-effective retirement planning alternative for small employers and their employees.
A SIMPLE IRA plan consists of a deferral program for eligible employees, along with mandatory contributions by employers. An eligible employer is defined as an employer who has no more than 100 employees that received at least $5,000 in compensation from the employer in the preceding calendar year. An employer maintaining a SIMPLE plan may not maintain any other qualified retirement plan in which employees currently receive benefits.
What makes the SIMPLE IRA so attractive to business owners is their ability to defer the maximum ($10,000 for 2006) without regard to employee participation.
There is no ADP test, which limits how much an employer may defer based on average deferrals of non-highly compensated...
Ira > The SIMPLE Way to Save For Retirement
When to use Quicken for Mutual Fund Recordkeeping
When to use Quicken for Mutual Fund Recordkeeping
by: Stephen L. Nelson, CPA
While you might assume any mutual fund investor should use Quicken?s mutual fund record-keeping tools, that isn?t the case. Because investment record keeping, including mutual fund record keeping, requires significant work and involves complexity, you need to make sure the effort is worth it.
In general, you keep investment records for any of the following reasons:
Reason 1: You want to track interest and dividend income.
Reason 2: You want to track realized and unrealized capital gains and losses.
Reason 3: You want to measure or grade the profitability of an investment by calculating its annual return or yield.
Obviously, all three of the tasks in the preceding list sound worthwhile, but many investors won?t need to use Quicken?s record-keeping tools to get this sort of information.
Tracking Investment Income
If your investing is...
When to use Quicken for Mutual Fund Recordkeeping
Ira > When to use Quicken for Mutual Fund Recordkeeping
Taking Full Advantage Of Your 401(k) ? How Well Do You Know Your Plan.
Taking Full Advantage Of Your 401(k) ? How Well Do You Know Your Plan.
by: Simon Fox
Taking full advantage of your 401(k) plan today can help you achieve financial goals sooner, and provide enough income for a comfortable retirement. For most working people, Social Security checks alone will not be enough to maintain the standard of living they are used to, once they are no longer working. If you are lucky, your employer offers a 401(k) plan which, if used wisely and to the fullest advantage, can provide you with additional income for your golden years.
401(k) plans differ greatly depending on the employer who sets the rules. The only way to get the most out of the plan is to get to know it and make educated choices.
Things you should know:
- What is the maximum percentage of your salary you are able to contribute (see also 401(k)contribution limits set by IRS)?
- Is your employer matching the contributions? If yes, what is...
Taking Full Advantage Of Your 401(k) ? How Well Do You Know Your Plan.
Ira > Taking Full Advantage Of Your 401(k) ? How Well Do You Know Your Plan.