Posts Tagged ‘enough money’

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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Is Leasing an Auto a Good Option Right Now?

Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Should you lease a car?

Should you lease a car?

With the current state of the economy and rising interest rates, many are considering leasing an auto instead of making an outright purchase or financing one. While there are a few benefits that can come through a leased vehicle, this is a decision that will require some careful thought and weighing of the pros and cons before leaping. This is particularly true if you have never leased a vehicle before. Let’s take a look at whether or not leasing is a good option right now.

First and foremost, the most important thing to consider about a lease is the fact that you will have a buyout price at the end of the lease period. Many people forget about this extra fee and at the end of a few years find out that they really aren’t in any position to purchase their car. Unless you have more than enough money saved up to pay that extra fee at the end of a lease term, this may not be a wise option.

Another common problem facing those that lease is the fact that once the lease is complete, you won’t have a vehicle to trade in unless you do decide to purchase the leased vehicle. While leasing is convenient, it is often very difficult to get another car, especially if your funds are limited. Unless you plan on leasing for many years to come, this is something that must be considered. Essentially you’ll be paying for two to three years on a car, but at the end of the term, you’ll have little to show for your efforts.

While the interest rates for leases are usually a bit lower, there are some extra fees that may be included that can reduce any potential savings dramatically. It is vital to read through a lease document completely before you sign it to ensure you understand how much you will be paying now, during the term of the lease and when it is over. You may be told that your lease payment will be a certain amount when you are shopping for the car, but in actuality, you’ll have to add in other fees on top of that initial quote and your payment can be affected. Dealers that are above board usually do not tack on extra fees, but it does pay to be cautious.

We’ve gone over quite a few negatives about the leasing process, but there are a few positives to consider as well. First and foremost, the monthly payments are usually quite a bit lower. Considering the state of the interest rate market at this time, this is usually a very attractive selling point for many car buyers. The warranties are usually a bit better on leased vehicles and you may even be able to take advantage of some tax benefits if you do decide to go this route. Leasing is not for everyone, but with careful management and a complete understanding of the terms, they may also be very beneficial.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-10-24 04:55:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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4 Ways To Get Out of Debt

Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Earn some extra money - hold a yard sale.

Earn some extra money - hold a yard sale.

For thousands of people, the specter of debt is an all too real problem that affects not only their financial life, but the rest of their lives as well. However, there are steps that can be taken to get yourself out of debt, reasonably quickly, despite how much you owe. While the length of time needed to pay off those debts may vary, taking action as quickly as possible can help prevent debt from mounting up further. Let’s take a look at four easy ways that you can get out of debt, starting today.

1. Negotiate with Creditors and Consolidate.

Many creditors are willing to negotiate with you, especially if you have had a good payment history with them. The worst thing they can tell you is no, so it definitely pays to take the time to see if you can’t work out a better arrangement. Credit card companies, for example, will often reduce the interest, or they may be willing to take a partial lump sum on the balance.

If you are unsuccessful in negotiating your debts down yourself, you may want to consider consolidation by working with a reputable debt consolidation or debt relief organization. There are some questionable ones out there, so do your homework and be careful.

Finally, and arguably the best approach, is to get a lower interest rate loan (see #4) that will allow you to zero out your other debt and leave you with one simple monthly payment.

Consolidating your monthly payments and lowering the overall amount of interest you owe can have a dramatic effect on your finances.

2. Get a second job.

If you truly want to get out of debt quickly, one of the best ways is simply to get a second job until the debt has been paid off. You can funnel everything you make from your second job into paying off your debts and get them taken care of in short order. A second job doesn’t have to mean slaving away at McDonalds however.

You may be able to find ways of earning extra income from other avenues, such as leveraging your abilities to find work in your community, or by starting your own business to help you make enough money to pay off your debts in less time.

3. Reduce your junk.

Holding a yard sale may be a slower way of paying down your debt, but there are many ways that you can turn your household items into cash that can in turn be used to pay off your debts. You can sell items on Ebay, put ads in the paper and find people that are interested in buying your possessions. Depending on what you own, you may be able to quickly sell off everything to take care of your debts.

You may also want to consider cutting back on extraneous expenses, getting a cheaper car, and finding other ways to save money. With what you have left over, you can start using it to pay off your debts until you are completely caught up. Don’t let your debt control your life. You can find ways to get it paid off – and quickly.

4. Debt Consolidation via Loanio

Loanio is now open for for business! You could post a loan request there asking for a lower rate and then pay off your higher interest debts.

Loanio is an auction based, peer lending platform where individuals can borrow or lend money to each other. By cutting out “traditional lenders,” and adding an auction based element, borrowers can get lower rates and lenders can get higher returns than other banking options. Give it a try!Borrow money with Loanio.

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Originally posted 2008-10-03 16:40:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Setting Goals for Good Personal Finance

Sunday, January 10th, 2010
What are your goals?

What are your goals?

Setting goals is an important part of your personal finance plan. Goals can be divided into four unique categories that are relatively general in nature. These categories are short term goals, intermediate term goals, long term goals and life goals.

Short Term Personal Finance Goals –

These short term goals are most commonly the things that you want to have accomplished within a single year. These things may include taking a family vacation, beginning to invest money into your retirement plan, donating money to a charity, putting savings into your emergency fund, moving from a smaller apartment into a larger one, purchasing a sought after piece of jewelry o a new wardrobe, joining a local sports club, paring down your debt, or a number of other small, short term goals that relate in one way or another to your personal financial future.

Intermediate Term Personal Finance Goals –

The intermediate term goals in your life are the things that will take between one and five years for you to accomplish. These goals may include saving enough money to allow you to buy a brand new car, beginning a family, or paying all of your debt off completely.

Long Term Personal Finance Goals –

Long term personal finance goals are the goals that you will be accomplishing at least five years or more down the road. Some of the goals that fall into this category may include saving for your child’s education, starting up your own business, purchasing a home, purchasing a boat, or going into retirement, though there are a number of other goals that fit into this category as well.

Life Goals –

Life goals are personal finance focused goals that do not have a timeframe, primarily because you will probably never completely or fully achieve them. These are not always specifically money driven goals, but they are certainly life altering goals and relate to striving for something better. Some money driven life goals may include “Make more money” Or “grow my savings”, since these goals have no specific end or time frame.

As you begin to think about your own personal finance goals, you should try to put consideration into which of these categories each of the goals fits into. Fit all of your goals into the short term, intermediate term and long term categories, and then look at how your goals are categorized. You want to have an even number of goals in each category, rather than focusing too heavily on the now, or too heavily on the future. You should also make sure to have goals that do not require money, because not everything has to be material. But when it comes to planning for the future, having clear cut goals for your personal finances is a smart move and can help to ensure that you have your needs met financially throughout your life, no matter what obstacles are thrown at you, or how your needs change over time.

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Originally posted 2009-01-12 05:17:16. 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.

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

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