If you are married and are responsible for taking care of your entire family, it is extremely important that you carefully manage your personal finances. Financial mistakes you make will affect every single family member. Keep reading for personal finance advice.
If you don’t feel comfortable selling, don’t do it. If you are making a good profit on your stocks, hold on to them for the time being. Instead, look at stocks that are doing worse and determine whether you want to move them around.
Most products come with a guaranteed warranty that covers them for a certain period of time. Businesses make a lot of money off of extended warranties but they are not always useful for the end user.
Credit Score
Married? Have the partner with the highest credit score apply for any loans. If you currently have a bad credit rating, take some time to improve it by using a credit card and paying it off on time. You can share debt more equally with your spouse once you’ve improved your credit score.
When you get paid, the first thing you need to do is put some money into savings. It’s too easy to spend now, and forget to save later. Taking that money out first saves you from the temptation of spending it on something less important.
If you need to buy more product than you need, a grocery store sale may not be so great. Buying in bulk can be great, so long as you actually use everything you bought. Do not go overboard, then you will be able to enjoy a sale.
You may want to consider getting a checking account that has no fees. You can find great options with online banks, credit unions and community banks.
Some choose to gamble by purchasing lottery tickets when they should be putting that money toward savings. This is a better option because it will grow over time versus being wasted on a gamble.
Coupons that are not available in the normal print media may be found online. If you are on a budget it is key to keep up on coupons for products you use. If you are not on a budget, but like to save as much as possible, online coupons are for you.
Your FICO score is determined in large part by your credit card balance. When you maintain a large balance from month to month, your score will be lower than it should. Paying the balance down can make it go back up. Keep your balance below 20% of the total credit you have.
Sometimes, regardless of your careful planning and preparations, financial crises pop up. You should find out now what fees and penalties you will face for late or missed payments, so you can prepare for the worst. You will want to know all of the ins and out when you get into a lease.
Avoid ATM fees by using the ATM of your bank. If you go to a different bank’s ATM, you may be charge an large fee.
A good money saving tip is setting up automatic payments from your main checking account and have that go into a savings account which pays a higher interest. This might make you feel like you are out of your comfort zone, but soon you will think of it as a bill and you will not notice it but it will be growing.
Worth Keeping
Be vigilant for mail from credit card companies that inform you about changes to your account. You have a legal right to be informed of changes 45 days in advance. Make sure that you read the new information carefully. Once you have done this, you can decide if the changes make it worth keeping the account. If you decide it’s not worth keeping, then it’s time to pay the bill and close the account.
The important basis of all your personal finance goals is a budget that is put in a spreadsheet or written on paper. In order to make a budget for yourself, you first need to figure out your expenses for the month. The best time to do this is during the first portion of the month. Include both large and small expenses, because everything adds up. Also, make sure all anticipated expenditures are listed in your budget. Add up your anticipated monthly expenses, and make sure you don’t spend more than what you have left after paying them.
One way to save money and enhance your personal finances is to cook at home, in place of eating in restaurants. You can make a great four person family meal for around $30. Stuffing yourself with a couple pizzas and a bottle of pop will cost more, so why waste money and get fat doing it?
As was previously mentioned at the top of this article, when you have a family, it is especially important that you make intelligent personal financial decisions. Don’t spend needlessly, and don’t fall into debt. Instead, create a budget and prioritize your spending to get the most value for your dollar.