Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Are Personal Finances A Concern? Get Help Here!

By James Harris


A collection of tips on how to begin improving your personal finances makes the perfect starting point for a beginner to hopefully begin improving their own financial situation. Below is that very collection that can hopefully assist the eager novice into eventually becoming smarter when it comes to personal finances.

Car maintenance is essential in keeping your costs low during the year. Make sure that you keep your tires inflated at all times to maintain the proper control. Running a car on flat tires can increase your chance for an accident, putting you at high risk for losing a lot of money.

If you are trying to cut back on how much money you spend each month, limit the amount of meats in your diet. Meats are generally going to be more expensive than vegetables, which can run up your budget over time. Instead, purchase salads or vegetables to maximize your health and size of your wallet.

If you are having difficulties paying off a credit card, you should stop charging it. Reduce your expenses as much as possible and find another method of payment so that you do not max out your credit card. Pay off your monthly balance before you start using your credit card again.

If you are an investor, make sure that you diversify your investments. The worst thing that you can do is have all of your money tied up in one stock when it plummets. Diversifying your investments will put you in the most secure position possible so you can maximize your profit.

One of the tips to maximizing your personal finances is to buy or make a coin jar in your house. Put this jar in your kitchen so that you can empty all of the loose change into the jar each day. Over time, this will add up as you should bank hundreds of dollars.

A great personal finance tip that can help you save money is to be mindful of how much water you're using in your household. Water can add up, especially if you're using it carelessly. Make sure you fix any leaky faucets so that you aren't wasting any water.

Follow your list closely in the store and check out and leave when you have gotten each item you need. This method will save you money, time and gas.

Mutual Funds

Diversify your investments using mutual funds. It's difficult and expensive for a small investor to create a diversified portfolio using individual securities, but a no-load mutual fund can provide instant diversification at low cost. You can invest as little as $1000 in a fund that holds anywhere from 20 to several hundred securities, for an annual fee as low as 1%. Diversification helps to lower investment risk by reducing dependence on any one security to provide a favorable return.

Don't invest in long-term bond mutual funds. If you need the steady income from bonds, it's better to buy the actual bond or find a substitute like bank CD's. Mutual funds can be an excellent way to invest in stocks, but because all mutual funds are priced daily, funds that invest mostly in longer-term bonds can lose money quickly if interest rates rise.

Working on your personal finances can help relax you and give you a better picture of where your finances stand. Getting your finances together can be a great way to get rid of stress and to start to focus on other parts of your life that you may have been neglecting.




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