General Finance | 9-5

Keeping Your Finances Steady

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Money makes the world go ’round. You never have enough money. Money can’t buy you love. Money, money, money. There’s plenty of statements about cold hard cash, but amidst all the gravely intoned wisdom, bellowed lyrics, age-old adages, it boils down to the most important one in the world: spend less than you make.

That can be a lot harder than it sounds. Think of all the bills you pay in a month. That can add up. Throw in a couple of unexpected things (car accident? baby?) and the IOUs can start piling up. So what can you do about it?

While people never have “enough” money, they can have the money they need. If you’re not at that point, think about where you can cut back to keep things on an even keel. Do you need the $60 jacket? What if you paid your phone bill instead?

A word on credit cards. Sure, you can charge that jacket, but if you don’t have the means to pay it off quick, you’ll be wearing a $120 jacket. Credit card interest can kill you (and your credit rating) faster than you can say “24.99% interest.” Avoid credit card debt. AVOID CREDIT CARD DEBT. More than any other action, charging wisely would save Americans thousands of dollars.

There’s nothing wrong with spending. We all want things, and that’s okay. Just be smart about it. Don’t go into debt (yeah, okay, maybe for a house or something like that) and spend wisely. Avoiding the drive-though for a couple of weeks could leave you with enough for that jacket. Plus, you’ll be healthier. Hey, look at that: saving money makes you look good!

Investing For Dummies

The stock market is a fickle thing because it depends on events in the world around us, and those events are, well, fickle. An earthquake in Japan can shake up the automobile market and suddenly your Honda stock is dropping. Or maybe a company you’ve invested in releases a new product and their stock skyrockets.

Navigating the market and knowing where to put your money can be a tricky path. Honestly, the best thing to do is to consult a professional. Unless you have an intense knowledge of the stock market, you can lose your shirt. Yes, you can make educated guesses. Study companies and see where they’re going. Watch for popular businesses whose stocks are low. Especially with the economy as it is, some big name stocks have dipped and are prime for picking up; as long as you believe they will rise again. They could tank and you’ll be out some cash.

By talking with a broker or financial advisor, you can take your investing to a better level. These experts can offer advice and make suggestions on stocks, savings bonds, or mutual funds to invest in. They can also help you make decisions on what risks you can afford to take. Some of these investing options can pay big dividends, but they are also high-risk.

Patience plays a big part of the industry. It’s tempting to sell the first time your stock rises. It’s also tempting to jump ship if they start dropping. The important thing to remember is that the market is fickle. It’s going to risen and fall. Ride the waves and remember to look at the big picture. You’re in for the long haul, unless you’re day-trading, but that’s a different story and it’s certainly not for investing amateurs.

With sound financial management, a lot of patience, and just a bit of luck, you can put your money to good use and hopefully make a little something for yourself.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Investment, Mutual fund, Stock market

Balancing Your Personal Finance

Money makes the world go round, but sometimes it can seem like your world is revolving around money. Cash can be a tricky thing, and it’s far too easy to get snared by it unsuspectingly. To make sure that you don’t get swallowed up by money troubles, here’s a few ideas to keep your personal finance in good standing.

Credit Cards-Fickle Friends

Credit cards can help a lot. Buying things online is much safer with a credit card; if it is compromised, you can cancel the card without much hassle. Not so with a debit card, and you’ll lose the money on it. Credit cards are also useful when making large purchases–nobody wants to haul $900 around in their wallet. However, credit cards also provide the constant temptation of having lots of “money” on hand. It’s easy to get into the mindset of “I’ll just charge it.” Do you have the cash, the actual hard currency to pay off these expenses? A cup of coffee here, a tank of gas there, eventually add up to a lot of credit card debt. Interest on cards can make it difficult to ever pay off the principal amount.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Credit card, Money management, Personal Finance

Stay in the Green – Strategies for Taking Control of your Finances

Regardless of your income or budget, there is a thin line between being in control and being overwhelmed by your finances. When you factor in your various bills–from your rent to your cell phone–and the many different payment options, it can be enough for anyone to lose track of their money. Taking control of your finances means paying close attention to your spending habits and your bank account. Here are some proven strategies for managing your finances so that you can stay in the black, or rather, the green.

Digitize Your Finances

Losing track of your account balances is the first step to losing control of your finances. By digitizing your finances with online banking, emailed bills and automated payments, you can instantly cover your expenses and know exactly where you stand. This minimizes the chance of late fees or overdrawing from your account. Some banks even send text messages to your cell phone to alert you of a low balance and recent transactions.

Only Use Cash

When making purchases, it’s better to pay with cash rather than credit. That way you only spend the money you’ve set aside for that purpose. So, unless it’s an emergency, credit cards should be kept at home. Buying with cash makes it impossible to splurge with money you don’t have, and eliminates the risk of late fees and other bank charges.

Using hard money, however, doesn’t mean completely avoiding plastic. Avoid credit card fees with the REACH card, a prepaid credit card that offers you a flexible finance option by letting you set the balance. That way, you can better manage a budget based on the amount you put on the card.

Spend in Moderation

Balancing a checkbook can be a chore, especially when trying to deduct an excessive amount of transactions. It’s enough for some people to avoid it altogether, which can lead to losing track of their bank account balances. You can stay in control by limiting the number of purchases that you have to subtract. Think about buying groceries in one bulk purchase instead of taking daily trips to the store.

Save at all Times

It’s much easier to keep your finances in order when you have a little breathing room. That’s why it’s so important to stash away money, no matter how meager, at all times.� You can use clever tricks, such as rounding up each transaction as you deduct them in your checkbook, to help build savings in case of any unexpected charges.

Pay all Your Bills at Once

Instead of stringing your monthly bills along to each due date, it’s much more efficient to pay them all at one time. By doing so, all of your most important expenses are covered, and you have an exact figure to base your budget on.

These strategies will help you stay in control of your finances and can not only save you a lot of stress, but a whole lot of money as you avoid bank fees and charges. How do you keep yourself financially in control?

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Credit card, Finance, Online banking

Being Your Own Businessman

In a world where the “safe” way seems to be working at a nice corporation with benefits and vacation days, it can be hard to be your own boss. When you’re in business for yourself, you have to pay your own insurance. While it’s true that working for someone else gives a little more safety, some people need a little something else.

Especially in the creative fields, it is pretty much essential that you can be your own boss. Very few places have salaried directors, writers, musicians, or artists. It’s cheaper for them to hire a freelancer, who they can pay right out and not have to worries about those benefits and vacation days. It can be a tough life, always having to hustle the next gig, but it’s very liberating in some ways. You get to decide when you work, for the most part. You’re beholden to yourself. If you don’t want to work for someone, you don’t have to.

A necessary skill working for yourself is how to market yourself. You’ll need to convince a variety of people that they should pay you to do the work you do or want to do. Unless you’re going to start your own business (for which you’ll need a huge amount of entrepreneurial skills…and a lot of dogged perserverance) you’ll need to charisma, good-naturedness, and a high capacity of patience. With all these traits and qualities, you’ll be prepared and able to approach the industry you want to be a part of, smile, and say “Hello. You should hire me because I’m good at what you need.”

If you decide you want to be your own businessman, then good luck! Get out there and market yourself!

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Business, Businessperson, Republican

It’s Business Time

With the recent roller-coaster of an economy the country has been facing, a large section of the population has jumped on the “start your own small business” wagon. Entrepreneurialism is great; that’s what America is all about, going out and doing your own thing, but here’s a few thoughts to consider first:

Every business exists to make money. Whether they focus on feeding orphans in Africa or selling blue-chip stocks to moguls, they have to turn a profit so the venture is worthwhile to its participants and can continue to operate. Accordingly, the business has to center around providing a good or a service (remember that phrase from Econ 101?) to its clients. That means people have to want to give you, as a small business owner, money. Let’s take the African orphans as an example.

If you start a company that ships food to Africa (for free, because you’re a good person), you need money coming in to pay for the food, the shipping, the people who will load it and unload, not to mention your salary and those of your co-workers. Office space? Supplies? Who will be paying you so you can provide the service? Now, let’s look at the blue-chip idea.

(P.S. With the orphan model, donors would be a great bet, or sell a product and tack on this as a humanitarian service which promotes people to spend money with you, so that you can continue to feed orphans. Just be generous and honest.)

Selling blue-chip stocks to captains of industry means a lot of head-work for you. You’ll need to know (or hire someone) who knows the stock market very well. You’ll also have to make your bones showing you know your stuff and that other people should pay you to help them make wise stock decisions. Again, don’t forget start-up costs. With this model, you do have income from clients that can pay you and keep the business afloat.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Africa, Business, Small business

Qualifications to be Personal Banker

Wondering if you have what it takes to be a personal banker? Wondering what your banker has that makes him so good at his job? Here is a quick layout of who makes the cut in the banking business.

Education. To be a personal banker, you must at least have a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or some similar degree. You must have excellent math skills as well, as crunching numbers for other people’s finances is what you do every day.

This is the very core of becoming a banker, as you must have an understanding of how money works, what are the different ways to invest, and what the different theories of economics play out. Additional education is always beneficial, such as a master’s in finance. Some personal bankers must also pass certain difficult exams which will assure that they are well-educated in banking matters.

Sales. In order to work as a personal banker, you have to be able to engage your clients and to convincingly explain why a certain method is the best way for them to spend their money. While this may not be thought of as a qualification for being a personal banker, it will help you as you try to get into this position, and can also help you as a client understand where your banker is coming from in terms of supervisor expectations and training.

Personality. A personal banker must also be engaging and down-to-earth so that clients know that they can trust you. Since they are allowing you to handle their finances, it is important that they have know that they can trust you. This means telling them what is the best thing for them to do, even if it doesn’t mean the biggest bill for your bank. Building trust means putting the customer first. Being honest and straightforward is always best when trying to gain the trust and respect of your clients.

When wondering what makes your banker so good at his job or if you would be a good fit for such a position, be sure to consider these characteristics.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Bank, Finance, Master of Finance

Technical Advancements in Money Saving

If there is one thing that is becoming detrimental to businesses across the United States, it’s the prospect that their business may or may not make it through this current recession. Small businesses all over the U.S. are losing loyal customer so foreclosures, loss of income, and relocation to find work. This gives business owners a reason so start keeping track of everything very closely.

Running a business doesn’t just involve making a profit from what you sell. You are your own boss, you manage employee benefits, you run payroll twice a month, and you are your own loss prevention. Small business owners tend to be a little stingier when it comes to employee recognition due to the fact that this business, in most cases, is all they have. Most owners have owned up to the fact that times are changing and technology makes managing every aspect of their business a little easier.

ERP software is a great way to put all your ducks in a row. ERP software stands for enterprise resource planning. This software integrates internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, etc. This software can help a business owner conduct more accurate inventory reports, find bigger tax breaks, and keep all their financing from general store supplies to employee payroll.

A small business is most likely to fail within the first year of operation, the trick to getting past that year is to plan ahead, prep for financial downfalls, like our current recession, and have the proper tools to maintain all aspects of your business quickly and easily.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Business, Employment, Small business

Paying Bills Online Saves a Headache

Online banking is now even easier with programs that allow you to pay all of your bills online. Sending checks and making payments has never been easier, safer, and more efficient. Here are ways you can save time and money by paying your bills online.

Write a Check. Online banking not only allows you to send a check to corporations who are registered with them, but you may now send a check to anyone you would like. All you have to do is enter their name and address, the amount, and a memo (if you want), and your bank may guarantee delivery in five business days. What is even better, your bank may even save your information so that the next time you go to write a check, you already have the name and address stored on your computer. The best thing about your bank sending off your check? This amount is automatically subtracted from your account, so you can’t forget about a check and then have it suddenly taken out of your account when you didn’t expect it. This helps prevent you overdrawing your account.

Make Monthly Payments. With the check you write, you can either have it listed as a one-time payment, or you can have it repeated every month. Once again, this payment does not have to be sent to a company, but can be sent to whoever you want (including a landlord or your college students). This allows you to keep up on your bills and payments so that you never have to worry about forgetting to make a payment.

Track invoices. With some accounts, you can not only record and file for what you pay, but you can organize and record what you owe as well. This allows you to organized your bills effectively so that you never miss a payment. Such timely and responsible payment will greatly increase your credit score, as well as give you higher standing with your utility and other providers. Online payments and invoices are just one of the ways that your bank is looking out for you.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Bank, Online banking, Payment

Is Refinancing Right for You?

If you’ve lived in your home for a few years and haven’t taken a look at refinancing, now’s a good time. Interest rates haven’t been this low in decades and a new mortgage refinance could save you a bundle each month. Surprisingly, there is more than one kind of refinancing package available to homeowners. For those who have a mortgage in place, there are options such as replacing their mortgage with a new first mortgage.Sometimes homeowners may opt to stay with their lender if there is equity in the home. To pull out that equity, you could consider a second mortgage at a low interest rate. These loans may be fixed or adjustable rates to accommodate your financial needs.

Anotherway to liquefy your assets is with an equity line of credit to make repairs or spend on another home. With such low interest rates and homes selling for 50% less than their value, there’s never been a better time to invest. Whatever options you’d like to look into, check with a professional mortgage lender about mortgage refinance. An experienced lender will help you discover if refinancing is prudent or not for your situation. Not every homeowner should refinance, the rates may begin to climb or the timing is poor. If you’re a good candidate, working with an expert can help you choose which type of refinancing is best if you decide to get a new or second mortgage.

Don’t sit on a gold mine and pass up the opportunity to cash in on mountains of equity. With the current low interest rates, this is a great time to get advice. You may be able to take money out of your home’s equity and still pay a lower mortgage payment. You won’t know until you speak with a mortgage lender.

Filed Under: General Finance Tagged With: Interest rate, Loan, Mortgage loan, Refinancing