Budgeting will Build Your Future

The word “budget” can conjure a dreary image of scrimping and sacrificing, so many people avoid the subject altogether. But creating and following a budget can help you to have the money for things you want.

Make a list of all the items, large and small, that you need or would like to have but don’t think you can afford. Many of them may be within reach if you budget well. Think of creating a budget as a financial strategy for your dreams. Doesn’t that sound more appealing—and more manageable?

Your budget is a tool you will enjoy to build your future.

Congratulations on taking the first step. These are the three most important keys to having a successful budget that really works:

1. Make realistic goals you can keep
Don’t put down $0 for entertainment expenses if you know you are going to spend more than that. Be honest with yourself.

2. Learn new ways to manage your money
There are many ways to save money, get better credit, and make your money grow. Here are some tips for how to get started.

3. Maintain your budget
Creating a budget is just the start. The only way it will work is if you remember to update your expenses and make changes during the month to make sure you stay on track.

Getting Started:

The best way to make a budget for the future is to figure out how you spend your money now. First, look at where your money comes from and where it goes. Track all of your income and expenses for a month or two before creating your budget. You'll need to keep track of all of your purchases - from a cup of coffee to movie tickets - by writing them down in a notebook or holding on to receipts.

Write down how much you spend in each category every month. Don't forget to include money that you save each month to help you meet your future goals. Be realistic about your budget, so that it's easy for you to follow.

Create your budget now.

Glen :-)

Work your way out of Debt

Make a budget -- just a list of regular expenses you can work with in the future. And make some form of saving a part of it. Donations are also a good thing to begin right now.

An Emergency Fund is the first step in getting out of debt. It will make your life go easier when those irregular, unexpected emergencies arrive. When your savings gets big enough or a credit card can be reserved for emergencies only -- that will serve as your emergency fund. Keep it there for true emergencies -- not just personal desires. When you must take any money out of your emergency fund -- your top priority becomes replacing that amount back into the fund for later.

Next put some money into savings. Work up to an IRA because you can get increased earnings and extra tax savings. You should be paying taxes by now of course, it's part of a real financial plan. This will help to establish your financial history and will pay off in the future.

But, before doing too much investing -- I recommend investing in a sure thing! Don't believe the news or the financial advisers -- their is only one guaranteed sure thing!

Guess what it is -- and feel how good it will feel to be betting on a SURE THING!

Your one true sure bet is getting out of debt. Here's the best way to do it:

Pay the minimum amount on each of your debts and savings except the one with the biggest interest rate. Pay all you can on that one alone until it's fully paid off!

Tips:

Make a list of all your interest bearing debts.
Include the amounts you owe, the minimum payment and the interest rate.

Change your budget with this plan to get out of debt:

a) Change the Category name for the item with the highest interest rate to "PIG" (Piggiest Interest Grabber).

[note: Not the biggest debt, but the biggest interest rate is the PIG!]

b) Increase that payment amount to the most you can afford by decreasing your other payments and savings to the minimum allowed. Pay off the PIG as fast as you can! (The first one can take years -- but the results will accelerate to the finish!)

c) When that item is paid off -- use those dollars and add in the budgeted amount for the next highest interest rate item. Then work on that new PIG!

d) When you have no more PIGS on the list, put the entire amount into savings.

That's the secret to retirement and savings --
a simple to follow long term plan:

Pay off your biggest interest rate item first
AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!

Then cross it off and do it again.


Glen :-)

7 Surefire Ways To Repair Bad Credit

Here are some sure-fire solutions
to 'repair bad credit.'

Like most 'diseases,' credit repair can take some time, but complete healing is possible. The first thing you need to do is find out what is being reported about you.

This is easy and inexpensive. For under $10, you can get your credit report from one of the three main credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Keep in mind however, that if you have recently been denied credit, you can get a free report from the same credit bureau the lender used to reject you -- as long as you do so within 30 days.

What You Don't Need is a repair clinic.

Why?
->> There is no legal way to 'repair' your credit.

Those that claim to know loopholes and shortcuts are merely out for your money. They may even get you into legal trouble by having you fudge the facts or creating a whole new file for you. Anything legal that a clinic can do, you can do just as easily and without the cost of 'professional' help.

Further Steps to Take:

1. Stop using your credit cards immediately.

Put them somewhere where they will not tempt you. You may consider keeping at least one card for emergency purposes. Additionally, with poor credit, you may find it more difficult to get a credit card in the future. If you keep at least one account open, then you won't have to worry about applying.

2. Be Honest With Yourself.

Taking a good hard look at your financial situation, particularly if it isn't good, can be very difficult. Yet, to get out debt you have to fully understand what the situation is.

3. Find the Errors.

Believe it or not, up to 40% of all credit reports have errors in them. If you find that your credit report shows something that is not true, you need to write to them with all the details. Be sure to use certified mail so that you can keep track of who you wrote to, when you wrote, and who received the mail on the credit bureau's end. Then ask the credit bureau to send a corrected report to anyone who has requested a report on you in the last 6 months.

4. Find the Omissions.

By law, you are allowed to add information to your report that you believe will help your rating. This might be additional information about a repayment of a loan, good credit you have with companies that do not report to the credit bureau, or salary increases.

5. You Must Have a Plan.

Whether you determine to pay your bills down a little at a time, take a second job, go to credit counseling, or file bankruptcy, you need to create a plan. Do the plan. Revise the plan. And Never Stop planning your future through your budget and financial planning.

6. Creating a budget is easy -- plus it can be fun.

But the real benefit is that you can use it to take charge of your future. Start with a simple list of estimates about where your money goes. Be as complete as you can and then add up the total. If the total doesn't match your total income, then add a category called Miscellaneous and put the difference there.

If your budget is more than your income -- you have discovered problem number one (for most people) is your budget. Stop spending money that you don't have. Do it Now. Find ways to increase your income and ways to decrease your budget expense until the totals match. But don't stop there.

Then, if you haven't already, create a category called Savings. Put something into your Savings and keep it forever. This will demonstrate your ability to keep a promise (to your self) and create all the self esteem you need to make the 7th step easy. The fun part is that your Savings can build into an account that earns money for you too. That Savings is another source of income. "My money makes me money."

Before you are out of debt, create An emergency fund. This is a separate savings place where you can borrow from yourself when it is NEEDED. Not just wanted but needed! And when you borrow from your self be sure to pay yourself back ASAP. Make it a big priority! An emergency fund it your security account.

7. Following your budget is the secret to your financial future.

You can always, revise, and adjust your budget while changing your plans. The second biggest problem (for most people) is that they always add more expenses to the budget plan whenever they get a chance. That does not work.

Increase your savings instead, and pay off your interest bearing debts. Interest payments are the "thief in the night" that prevents you from having what you deserve. It gives other people your money simply to allow you to exceed your budget. Dumb? I guess!

Take a lesson from my parents. They both walked to work until they could afford to buy a car. And when they did -- they bought a new car. That way we got the most out of our car with all it's benefits. And no money was wasted paying extra lenders for the privilege.

When your savings gets big enough, put some of it into better investments. I recommend an IRA to begin with because you can get increased earnings and extra tax savings. You should be paying taxes by now of course, it's part of a real financial plan.


Glen :-)

How to Get Control of Your Money

Making a living is fine -- if you do it.
But it is just the first step to
gaining control over your life.

If you want to increase your wealth and have more options, action needs to be taken by you otherwise you could end up like most people at retirement -- further down the track, totally dependent on a pension.

Karen's Story:

Karen is the Marketing Manager for a well-known organization. She's 39 yrs old, single and earns over $80k a year.

She is paying off a mortgage and that's all the debt she has. Karen buys whatever she likes and says she has more than enough money for her lifestyle, or so she thought. And that's a very important point -- Karen 'thought' she had plenty of money to splash around yet she had no real idea of where it went.

She was at the stage where she wanted to achieve more in her life including taking charge of her financial future.

One of the exercises I gave her to do was to sort all her financial statements -- visa card, bank accounts and any cash receipts and list her income and expenditure under specific headings, ie: loans, clothing, utilities, food etc. Karen recorded everything that occurred for the past 6 months.

She nearly fainted when she saw how much money she had wasted and how much she was overspending! She was going backwards fast and only realized it by doing this simple exercise. In the past Karen hadn't put a high priority on her financial well-being as it was just too hard.
Being a marketing manager, her life was busy at work and she had a hectic social life. She didn't want to bother doing something that wasn't exciting like working on her financial future.

After all, she had a well-paid job, didn't she? Karen has now come to her senses and knows her true financial situation. If she lost her job, financially she couldn't afford to be off work for more than a month.

She realizes that she is responsible for her future. The area of wealth creation hadn't been of great interest to Karen in the past. Now that she was undertaking coaching, she was serious to making a change. Prior to writing down where her money was going, Karen was completely closed to any suggestion to read more about how she can accelerate her wealth (or lack of it), so I didn't pursue this with her.

Her attitude had now changed so she was ready and willing to move to the next step.

The next move I referred Karen to an organization who would look at her total financial picture and be able to recommend what she could do. The reason I chose these people is because they take a holistic approach to wealth creation. They look at every aspect of finance and provide an on-going education we could all benefit from.


Glen :-)