Posts Tagged ‘budgets’

3 Tips for Teen Investing

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Parents like to complain that their teenage children do not listen to them. However, when it comes to matters dealing with money, the opposite is actually often true. Teenagers often welcome the advice that their parents have to give regarding finances, money management and investments. In the past few years, teenagers have been earning billions of dollars through summer jobs and part time after-school work. Many of these teenagers have gone on to spend all of the money that they have made, while only a few have saved it up, only to end up spending on a larger purchase down along the line. Kids these days need to become more aware about their income and investment basics so that they can learn how to better manage their money as they get older. If you want your teenagers to manage their money more effectively in adulthood, then they absolutely have to learn the investment basics now.

Start training your teen about money.

Start training your teen about money.

It is your responsibility as a parent to begin training your teenage children to use their money more wisely now while they are listening. Here are some of the things that you can do to teach your children how to save and invest wisely so that they can have some money left over at the end of the weekend following payday.

1 – Lead by example!

This seems simple but it has an extraordinary impact. Your children are going to look at how you spend money and act accordingly. If you show them how you allot money to different purposes for household needs, bills and budgets, they will learn how to do the same over time.

2 – Help open a bank account for your teen.

Establishing a bank account for your teenager will allow him or her to have instant financial responsibility. Sit down with them and explain how they can manage their own account, and take a moment to talk about the rewards that can be received once they have saved enough money. These savings, for example, could go toward their college tuition or even to purchasing a car. The entire process of saving and earning will give them a significant sense of accomplishment, and they will have something concrete to show for their hard work and dedication to saving and investing wisely.

3 – Construct a spending plan for your teen.

Teens tend not to like the idea of budgeting, but you should not allow them to get by without a budget or a spending plan just because they don’t like the idea. Instead, you and your teenaged son or daughter should sit down and build a spending plan that will help them get excited about the idea of earning, saving and investing their money. Take the time to teach them the differences between what they need and what want, and what things are worth saving for. Once they know what they can do without, it becomes easier for them to save their money for investing.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-11-12 05:57:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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4 Things You May Not Know About Budgeting

Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Budget your finances.

Budget your finances.

While most of us understand the basic concept of having a budget and sticking to it, there are many misconceptions about budgeting that keep people from implementing one. Let’s address the most common things that you may not know about budgeting.

1. It’s not that difficult.

The prospect of frugality frightens many people and we instantly think that we’re going to be deprived and that it will be difficult to keep to our budget. Often, this leads to abandoning the idea all together. However, your budget doesn’t have to be terribly strict, or hard to follow. You can even budget in certain items to ensure that you don’t feel deprived. Here’s a quick tip: Allow yourself a little wiggle room at the end of the month to treat yourself to something special. This is a great incentive that can help you stick to your budget each month.

2. You can’t spend more than you earn.

This is a major problem for thousands of people and many may not even realize that they are doing it. The bottom line is – if you spend more than you earn you’re going to find yourself in deep financial trouble. A budget can help bring you in line and assist you in realizing just how much you make and how much is going out the door every month. Once you get a better idea of how much you really spend, your budget can be very beneficial in keeping you financially solvent.

3. Budgets are not hard to work up.

Although many are under the impression that working up a budget requires special software or templates, in actuality, you can do it with a pen and a piece of paper. The first step towards setting a budget is writing down how much you make every month. Then, catalog how much you want to spend. You may find it helpful to keep a log of all of your expenses for one month to get a better idea of what areas need to be addressed in your budget. Don’t let the prospect of setting up a budget intimidate you. Anyone can do it, and you don’t need special tools.

4. Your budget doesn’t have to be the same every month.

As you get your finances in order, chances are you’re going to be able to free up some extra cash each month. Our bills aren’t always the same and your budget shouldn’t be either. Taking the time to customize your budget every month will help you get a better idea of what you’re looking at and you’ll be able to plan ahead.

Budgeting is not difficult, and really only takes a few minutes of your time every month. For many, it’s the part about sticking to a budget that is the hardest to accomplish. However, you can train yourself and once you do get into the habit of using a budget, chances are you’ll find it easier each month.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-12 05:03:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Great Budgeting Examples

Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Need some budgeting examples?

Need some budgeting examples?

When you are looking at ways to implement a family or individual budget into your household, one of the most proactive steps that you can take is to look at great budgeting examples from other sources. Because everyone has unique financial and budgetary needs, there is no real one size fits all, cookie cutter solution to budgeting. However, by exploring what great budgeting examples are out there, you can source information, techniques, tactics and resources from what other people are doing, and bring them together to create a fully customized, completely unique solution to your own budget planning system.

There are numerous different great budgeting examples out there for different purposes. Who you are and what you hope to achieve in budgeting are both vital considerations to make when creating your own budget based on great budgeting examples that you find elsewhere. The Excel method of budgeting comes highly recommended by a variety of different people, including college students that have a primary staple food of Ramen noodles filling up their cupboards and busy moms that have to track a lot of different variables as seamlessly as possible.

The first consideration that you need to make when looking at great budgeting examples and drawing from them to create your own fluid, seamless budget, is what your main intention is. Are you trying to save up some extra money for a new car, or are you just trying to have enough money to get all of the bills paid at the end of every month? If your intention is simply to “save money” with no real goal in sight, then obviously your budget is going to be a lot more lax than someone who needs to pinch every penny for a new apartment, a better car or a big cross country move. College students, new moms and other certain individuals get hit harder, because every penny really matters and this requires for them to create much stricter budgets, which you can draw resources from if you are looking for something tight.

When exploring great budget examples, keep in mind a basic idea of how strict or how lax you want your budget to be. Some budgets account for every dollar you take in and every dollar that you spend, while others only place basic requirements on you to develop spending habits for better spending. Both of these great budget examples have merit, so it is really up to you to decide which is going to best meet your individual needs, whatever they may be. If you are serious about implementing your own budget system into your life in order to save money, looking at great budgeting examples and drawing from them to create your own custom plan is a really smart idea. This way, you will have a budget that is going to work for you based on your needs, rather than forcing you to struggle with a budgeting plan that doesn’t suit your lifestyle or your individual goals.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-08 05:03:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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