by Guest on January 18, 2012
The New Year is a great time to set a personal budget and to begin looking at ways to better manage your financial resources. Doing so can not only help you to take better control of your money today, but will also help you to prosper in the future.
If you do not already have one, the first step should be to establish a budget. Sit down and take the time to make sure you know exactly how much income you have coming in and how much is going out. After you have done this, carefully review your income and expenses to look for areas where you can possibly scale back. While you may not be able to budget for some fixed expenses such as car loans and rent or your mortgage payment, there are other areas where you can establish a budget and stick to it.
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by Pam on January 2, 2012
Unless you are one of those people lucky enough to have an amazing advisor who keep you accountable and on track, you are probably like most of us who spend a minimal amount of time actually thinking about and planning strategies for personal finance.
I heard the other day that we spend approximately 20 hours a year planning for our vacations and just one or two hours a year on taking care of our personal finances! Does that shock you? It definitely shocked me.
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by Pam on January 10, 2011
One way my husband and I save a lot of money on food each week is by preparing and bringing our own lunches to work rather than paying for cafeteria food. What I usually do is make a big stir-fry, lasagna, pasta, or a big pot of soup or chili on the weekend and then I put portions into containers and freeze them so that they can be used for the week ahead.
In the past I just used leftovers from various meals I made throughout the week. I found, however, that by doing so I often ended up having to cook twice in one evening because I seldom prepared enough to cover both our lunches plus our supper. By preparing a lot of food on the weekend, if I don’t have enough leftovers I don’t have to cook a second time that evening. And if I do end up with some leftovers, all the better, I can still use them for our lunches the next day.
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by Pam on September 10, 2010
There are all sorts of theories out there for people to try to rein in their spending. Some experts recommend using cash to pay for everything as then it makes some people more aware of just how much they are spending. It is somehow psychological, but if people use cash it is more meaningful to them than if they pay with plastic.
Others suggest using cash is easier for budgeting because you only take out so much money per month and once the cash is gone, you know you cannot spend anymore. Using cash is also good if you have trouble paying off your credit card balances every month.
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by Pam on January 18, 2010
If one of your New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 is to create a budget and stick to it, I found a nifty tool that you might find helpful. Kiplinger.com has a budgeting tool that will help you get started. It lists several possible expenditures that your family may incur, and it has the function to do the math for you, so you will know in an instant how successful you were at sticking within your budget.
Don’t be discouraged if at first you find it difficult to determine how much should be allocated to each expense. It will take time to figure out what is practical and reasonable. It will also take some time to get used to having to stick within a set budget, but you can do it. Believe me, it’s worth it if you don’t want to squander all of your money.
I especially like the fact that this tool also accounts for your savings budget, containing fields for an emergency fund, a vacation fund, etc. The tool was created for Americans as one of the fields is labeled Retirement/401(k), nevertheless this tool can be used by anyone, and Canadians can put their RRSP savings into this field.
If you don’t already follow a budget, I want to encourage you to set one up for 2010. This tool will help you to get started. Click this link to check out the budgeting tool.
by Pam on January 6, 2010
Now that 2010 has come upon us, I think it’s important to make a few New Year’s Resolutions. When it comes to finances, it’s always important to set goals and to stick with them. I want to share with you my three main Financial New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 in hopes that they will encourage you to set your own goals for this New Year.
Resolution #1: Stick within our grocery budget. I often tend to overspend on groceries and I have discovered that little extras here and there tend to add up quite quickly. I vow to be more careful in 2010 and am bound and determined to stick within my grocery budget.
Resolution #2: Since my husband and I plan to do some extensive traveling in the near future, we want to save as much money as possible this year in every way possible. I also plan on working some overtime in the hopes of building up our travel fund even quicker. I find it is much easier to save when we have an exciting use for the money. It is quite boring to save otherwise. So, yes, my second resolution is to save, save, and save some more!
Resolution #3: I vow to do more homework on learning how to be more tax efficient with our money. I will do more number crunching to determine how much is worth contributing to our RRSPs and how much should be set aside elsewhere to supplement our retirement income. I also want to do further research on the home renovation tax credit to see if we can take advantage of this program before it’s too late.
For other financial resolutions ideas for 2010, check out globeinvestor.com’s article on the subject at this link.
by Guest on December 21, 2009
Most people, when they are on a budget, believe that pain and suffering is the result of being on a budget. That is so far from the truth. The pain and suffering is due to the fact that you don’t live by your budget and the money problems start coming.
We all know that you can only live so long if you are spending more money each month than your income. You can live on your credit cards or other personal loans for so long until they finally catch up with you. Then you not only not have the extra money you have been spending each month, but now you have to start paying back what you have already spent.
So, living on a budget is a smart thing to do. We should all agree to that by now. But why should you have fun while on a budget? If you don’t build some fun into your budget, you will not live on it very long. Without recreation and excitement in our lives, we will start to crave something to do or something to buy or somewhere to go, and that usually involves spending money we don’t have. Someone will invite you out to dinner, or you really feel you deserve a vacation, or that new entertainment system is just the thing you need right now. You look at yourself and how much work you have been doing and talk yourself into spending that money because you deserve it.
Well, there goes the budget. You fell right back into the same rut that you were trying to get out of when you started your budget. Then the guilt falls on you and you just give up trying.
Don’t let this happen to you. Build some fun money into your budget to take the edge off of your desires. Even if you have to scrape by on another category, you need to have some money for fun. It will do you and your family a great service. And, don’t feel guilty about it either, you do deserve some extra things in your life, just make sure you plan for them in advance.
You will be glad you did when the end of the month comes and you have stayed on your budget. Just remind yourself that things will get better when the old debts are paid off and you can start enjoying the extra money you have worked so hard to get.
About the Author
Greg Walding has gathered lots of information about personal finances at his website at http://www.extremepersonalfinance.com. Come to see what you can learn here.
