10 New Years’ Financial Resolutions

Losing weight and stopping smoking are the two most common New Years’ resolutions Americans make. But harder than either of these may be the determination to get your finances into shape. In fact, if you’re in shape and your finances are not, life can be miserable.

Here are 10 New Years’ Resolutions that will help you get your finances back on track.

1. Know What You Want

Write down what you want this year. Knowing what you want will give you goals to shoot for and reasons to save for those goals. Keep a list of the things you want the most and target them by not overspending on things you think you have to have but don’t really need.

2. Kill Your Debt

Take a good look at what kinds of debt you are carrying. Evaluate whether you are able to do anything about them this year that you weren’t doing last year. Are there numerous credit cards that still have outstanding balances? Can you consolidate any of them to the lowest interest credit card. Can you make a long term plan to get rid of this type of debt? How long will it take you? Be sure to work on paying them off, not making minimum payments. The credit card companies love it when you do that because they make more money from you.

3. Pay Bills On Time

Nothing can hurt your credit more than paying bills too late. Not only do you loose money when this happens, you lose in your credit scores. That will hurt you when you try to get a loan for a home purchase or a business loan.

4. Plan Ahead

Planning helps in most areas of life, but with finances planning is key to your long term security. Talk to a financial planner to help you with estate planning. Forecasting what you will need as you age is critical to do while you are young. The longer you stick to your plan, the better returns you will get.

5. Monitor Your Credit Report

Keep an eye on your credit report. You may think that everything is alright, but you really need to make sure. Unexpected reporting errors do happen all the time. Make sure it isn’t happening to you.

6. Track Spending

You have probably heard this a million times. Some people do this with ease, while others struggle. If you have a hard time writing things down as you spend cash, make it a habit to use your debit cards for spending. You will be able to categorize your spending much more easily this way. You can also use your personal checks to act as a record of spending. Just make sure you can evaluate what is going out from your hard earned dollars.

7. Reduce Expenditures

This seems obvious, but are there areas that you don’t really need to be spending money on? Are you dining out too frequently? Take a cooking class to make your home cooking taste better so you won’t want to go out as much. Just look at things you can live without and do it. Live without it.

8. Make Money Doing What You Love

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you are going to do what you love to do so why not figure out a way to get paid for doing that. When you love what you do it hardly feels like you are working. Time goes by quickly and you tend to improve your skills along the way.

9. Use Financial Software

There really is no excuse for being in the dark about where your money is going. Free websites like Mint.com will help you set a monthly budget, set financial goals and help you to save money by alerting you when you are getting charged fees through your bank. Many people use Quicken software or Quickbooks to help them get organized. The price of the software is worth it to gain some peace of mind and financial plans.

10. Read A Book About Finance Every Month

Although this is the last of the resolutions, it is probably the most important. There are hundreds of books out there that can help you at any stage of your financial planning. The more you know, the better you can plan for financial security.

Presents Call for Presence of Mind

In this era of rampant gift-giving, it is the ghosts of Christmas presents past that often put the ho-ho-ho into holiday.

Consider the woman, then 16 years old and skinny, who received a size 40-D bra from her Granny. If she had followed that glib notion that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” she could have hung it on the wall by its straps and used it to store oranges and apples for treating Christmas guests. Granny had been through the Great Depression. Well, truthfully, she hadn’t ever quite fully gotten through it and she was an inveterate bargain shopper who couldn’t pass up the scaled-down price tag on the super-sized undie.

In her philosophy, it was the thought that counted, not the size, as she spread joy and cheer for the holidays. The girl could grow into it. (She never did.) Granny’s family members were used to receiving unusual items from the thrift shops and bargain bins. It became a game to see what came next and no one was surprised when, one year, what came next was what had been gifted to Granny the year before. In the end, 364 days of loving interactions couldn’t be swamped by one day of off-the-wall Yule gifts. Besides, the insanity of Granny’s unusual gift-giving was cancelled out when the frenzy of opening presents was over and Grandpa whipped out the envelopes with crisp new $50 bills inside. Life tends to balance out somehow.

Actually, the idea of re-gifting makes some sense. If you have items you’ve received that have no use but to gather dust on a shelf, why not? The trick is to remember from whence the gift came and avoid shuffling it back to the original purchaser. Like the friend who sent a special card to her father one Christmas only to receive it back with his signature the next year. That can cause consternation. And if the gift you got was really so horrible that you don’t want it in your house, what makes you think anyone you know would like it in theirs? Reminds me of the sisters who for years passed a fruitcake (long since hardened to concrete status) back and forth. Disguising the disgusting bit of undigestible comestible so it would come as a surprise on Christmas morning became a challenge. If the thing had not finally disintegrated, it probably would still be making the round trip every other year dressed in every imaginable disguise.

Speaking of lingerie, it seems to be a favorite inappropriate choice with some gents who are gift-giving impaired. A faux zebra-skin teddy for a body that has more wrinkles than the Grand Canyon? Or the hot pink number with a juvenile print that sports matching pink slippers for the wife who is expecting in January? Help! On the other hand, such dainties would look pretty good to my daughter who once received a crankshaft for her ailing car on Christmas day. Or the woman who got a new barbecue because her husband wanted a barbecue. It’s one of the fatal mistakes of giving presents—buying something you are sure the recipient will like because it’s just what YOU always wanted. It can seem so right.

Some men, unfortunately, don’t get the picture when it comes to gifting. What’s a woman to do when she plants her list in big letters on the refrigerator, repeated on the car dash and in the bathroom and the message never penetrates? No wonder there are those like the one I once served when I was working in a large store wrapping packages for Yule shoppers. She had a large pile of things waiting for dressing in cheery holiday paper and—she requested—lots of bows. Making what I hoped was genial conversation, I asked if she had a big family to shop for at Christmas. “Oh, no,” she assured me. “These are all for me. Now I know I’ll get what I want.” Served her purpose, I guess, but felt a little lacking in the expected joyful spirit of giving—and receiving— that the season ideally generates.

Kids are great gift-givers. When mine were small, they never had much money to spread among those on their lists and that led to some strange packages on Christmas morning. Such as the empty thread spools—individually wrapped, of course—that showed up under the tree one year. Or the toilet brush. Now that was a gift with feeling. Using it all year round brought warm memories of that Christmas Past. Of course, there was the year I got little pieces of Christmas wrap wrapped in Christmas wrap. Really tight budget that year. Then there was the year I got a very nice —very cheap—little statuette of the Virgin Mary, although my religious sensibilities don’t lie in that direction. I had seen it on sale in our local all-purpose shopping emporium at $1.49 and knew that was a real sacrifice for my little Brian. For many years, the statue was part of our Christmas decor until in some move around the country the cheap plaster disintegrated from the stress. I missed it when it was gone.

A poet once said it best: “The gift without the giver is bare.” Gift it or regift it, but give it from the heart.

Christmas Shopping Budget Tips

The crunch is on. With a few days to Christmas, too many shoppers are in panic mode and throwing the budget out the window. If it’s happening to you, stop, take a deep breath and take back control.

Even those who manage to keep a lid on Christmas shopping during the early days of the shopping season sometimes find the temptations too much in the final days leading up to Dec. 25, credit counselors say.

Merchants —literally— bank on it. They offer last-minute bargains designed to bring the shopping throngs through their doors. Free photos with Santa, holiday food samples, special in-store events, buy-one-get-one-free deals are all crafted with the buyer —and his wallet—in mind. Keep firmly in mind that nothing is a bargain if you can’t afford it. Keep your Christmas shopping budget in mind.

Experts offer several strategies to help you avoid temptations during the final days of the annual frenzy.

Stick with the budget you made to begin your shopping spree. Avoid the temptation to add to your list or fudge a little on what you planned to spend for each recipient. Trying to be Santa to too many is a sure-fire budget-buster. Be a friend all year round instead. Biting off more than you can reasonably chew is a sure way to take the ho-ho-ho out of the holidays.

If last-gasp gift requirements do pop up, consider gift cards. They’re more convenient and less time-consuming than looking for bargains. The longer you spend in a place of merchandising, the greater the temptations become. If you go, have specific items in mind, find them, pay for them and go home. Browsing only gives you time to weaken.

Remember that groceries are part of the equation. The come-ons in the grocery aisles can be as tempting as those in other stores. Plan what you want to offer family and friends and stick with it. A cupboard full of crackers is not a particularly good Christmas leftover.

Shift your focus to other things. Avoid the stores. Think of places to go to celebrate the season without the urge to lay out cash, checks or the plastic. Remember for whom the till tolls. It tolls for you. Find some good entertainment that doesn’t involve walking through a mall. Or throw on the holiday music and spend some feet-up time. Contemplate the good things about the season, spending aside.

Avoid credit cards. Leave them home if you are venturing out. In extreme cases, have someone you trust put them away for the duration.

Communicate, even if it is belatedly. If the first 11 months of the year were tough, leaving your Christmas budget on the thin side, say so. Share your situation with relevant family members. Look for unique gifts that won’t break the bank. A little of your time may be more appreciated than a lot of your money. Chances are that if you talk with others, you’ll find they are hoping to cut back on their Christmas outlay too.

Use some of the time you are saving by avoiding the stores to look ahead to next year. Plan in advance to keep expectations reasonable and to make the season fit your situation. Plant firmly in your mind this year’s temptations for last-minute spending and recognize it when the same thing happens next year.

Occupy Movement Concerns

At this point, no one knows what effect, if any, the Occupy movement will have, ultimately, on the American economy. But the effort that was planted in Wall Street has sent off shoots that are bearing indignant fruits in all corners of this country, and even in countries beyond our borders. The determination to catch the attention of those who make things happen clearly manifests a growing undercurrent of dissatisfaction at the bottom end of the feeding trough. Those who have been left devastated by the effects of a prolonged recession are ticked. They’ve watched their own incomes disappear into the unemployment quagmire or get skinnier while some of the huge institutions that came palms-up for taxpayer help chalked up enormous profits and handed out hefty bonuses to those at the top. The protesters are screaming “No fair!” with good reason.

Bankers claim they should not be the focal point for the money-based class warfare that is brewing. And they may be right. Dozens of factors have played into the current money mess in America. But many Americans meet the reality of their tightening circumstances at the door to their banks. And the banks have not done much to give the impression that they are sympathetic to their neediest clients. When Congress capped the amount banks can charge merchants for debit card usage at about 24 cents per transaction, that might have helped, since the average fee had been about 44 cents per transaction. But instead of heeding the obvious direction Congress wanted them to pursue, many in the banking industry responded by adding monthly fees for debit card users. Increased fees for the use of credit cards and ATMs have added salt to the wounds of many. To demand that a client maintain a hefty (for him) balance while his home is being repossessed smacks of Scroogism at its worst, the protesters say. The banks justify fee increases by pointing to the “building a banking stop on every corner” approach they’ve adopted. Ready availability has its costs, too, they argue.

The end of the Occupy movement is nowhere in sight. Spontaneous groups are still emerging to shore up the earliest protesters and there are no signs that anyone is ready to quietly tuck in his tail and abandon the fray.

One of the ways the “have-nots” are showing the depth of their angst is encouraging people to take their funds out of banks and deposit it in other financial institutions. Credit unions all over the country are reporting significant membership increases. Occupy promoters have even set a day – Nov. 5 -– which they have dubbed Bank Transfer Day on which they hope many Americans will do just that. Whether your own concern rises to that level or not, there are things you can do to avoid unnecessary costs related to bank use. Up front, be aware of any fees you are being charged. Avoid triggering those fees whenever you can. Shop with cash and consolidate buying when you can to avoid individual fees on many purchases. Don’t pay the bank for providing personal or business checks. There are companies that will charge you up to 50 percent less.

Over the course of the upcoming election year, the debates will be become hot and heavy. Maybe the Occupy effort will be just a historical blip on the ongoing effort to redirect America. But it has raised awareness that a growing number of its citizens are not happy with the status quo.

How To Live Within Your Budget

Just like diets, budgetary goals are often made at around this time of year, and we all begin to slip in a few months, losing sight of what we set out to do in the first place. Whether it’s that plan to cut out sugar from our diet, or to start up a savings account and tuck away ten to twenty percent of our income, we all falter at some point, splurging on dessert or that must-have pair of shoes. The reasons for failed goals almost always come down to a specific handful:  our goals are too high, they’re too vague, and we give up too soon because we don’t take into account the possibility of temporarily slipping. Here are a few tips for actually sticking to you savings budget this year:

Make a specific, concrete plan

When it comes down to it, we are creatures of habit that are motivated by clear directions and rewards. Before devising a budget scheme, think about why you are doing it. “So I can save money” is not a good enough reason; it’s too vague, which makes it a poor motivator. Why are you saving? Do you have plans to travel at the end of the year? Are you saving up so you can relocate for a new job? Whatever your goals are, make sure you write them down and constantly visualize the end reward.

Put away reward money

Instead of having your goal be to save X amount of dollars by the end of the year, try setting up periodic goals throughout the year. If you achieve these mid-way goals, reward yourself. For example, if you’ve planned on saving $1000 by spring time, then set aside ten percent of what you’ve saved and treat yourself to a fancy dinner or a day at the spa. These mid-way rewards serve as great motivators when the going gets tough.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve failed

If you set up reasonable enough savings goals in which you check up on your progress fairly often, then there shouldn’t be any reason why you haven’t met these goals. Still, life happens, and things don’t always turn out as you’ve planned. Instead of wallowing in failure, tell yourself that it’s okay. You may not have met your immediate goals, but you did save something in the process. Don’t scrap your savings plans altogether. Saving is not an all-or-nothing pursuit.

Constantly readjust and reassess

Saving money means knowing precisely how it is that you spend your money, then determining how and when you can cut corners. Review your expenditures every month, and try cutting out or down on particular items. If it doesn’t work, try finding other areas that you can scrap. By keeping a budget that’s not extremely rigid, one that is fluid and can adapt to changing circumstances, you’ll drastically increase your chances at savings success.

This guest post is contributed by Raine Parker, who writes on the topics of online accounting degree.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: raine.parker6@gmail.com

Managing Your Checking Account

Managing your checking account can be summarized into five simple steps. These steps are essential to master so that you can properly manage your household expenses and your budget as well.

The first step is to choose a bank that you like. Go to the various banks and credit unions and ask them about the different kinds of checking accounts that they offer to their clients. The most important question you might ask is about all the fees that go with the account such as the ATM fees, cost of check, monthly fees, overdraft protection and overdraft charge. You should also ask if the account in question would be available for online banking transactions. Free checking is always a good bonus but do not base your decision solely upon it.

The second step has to do with recording your transactions. It is a tedious and boring job but you really need to put all transactions into writing. Put down in writing every monetary transaction, all deposits and even ATM withdrawals. This process will help you keep accurate bank records.

The third step is to balance your checking account transactions every month. When you get your monthly statement from the bank, reconcile it with the data you input in your check register. When you do this, you can often find mistakes and most often it is your mistake. Sometimes it is a true banking error or it could even be fraudulent activity. It is always helpful to be able to find these mistakes and keep all your records straight. In case there are errors and discrepancies, contact the bank immediately in order to correct it as soon as possible. If you cannot go personally to the bank and you use the telephone instead, be ready to discuss the situation in detail to the service representative.

Documentation is the key to money management. It is the proof of all your financial transactions so it is essential that you keep a copy of them for your future reference. Not just any copy but you need a written records so print them out. Even your online banking transactions should be printed out. When it is time to throw your records out, shred the documents first for they contain vital information you would not want other people to have.

Step number four is to keep a close eye on all automatic payments and deposits so you can be assured of its accuracy. Even if the system is in automatic already, you should not assume anything. You should have a general idea of what your normal transactions look like so you can spot things that are out of the ordinary.

Step number five is to avoid a zero balance like the plague. Do not totally deplete your checking account. You should always keep a cushion of a few hundred dollars in your account so you can use this money as a hedge against emergencies and overdrafts. If you are smart, you’ll have set up an overdraft protection account so you don’t get charged excessive fees if you do make a mistake in your records that causes you to go below zero.

Following these five suggestions will help you on your way to good money management skills and help you live life more comfortably.

Save money by ordering personal checks online.

Developing and Using a Budget

It might be very easy for you to make money but being careless in handling it might cause you to end up with nothing at all. What you need to do is write down a plan of  where and how your money will be spent. If you fail to do this, then you are inviting debt into your life and no one wants that. Here are some basic steps to budgeting your money.

You must know that the more basic your plan will be the better. When you make a list of planned expenses, the first thing to remember is to keep it very simple. You must list the typical things that you and your household needs to run smoothly. List your normal fixed expenses such as house or rent payments,  gas, electricity, water, telephone and any recurring bills.

List all money that will be coming into your account including your interest income, paychecks, child support, alimony and other costs. Doing this will help you become an effective budgeter.

After writing down the amount of money from all of your income sources, you must then identify your other expenses. This can be hard. You know why? Your expenses might change from month to month. You might have expenses you are not aware of. Create a miscellaneous category and try to guess what amount you will be spending.

You must have a good estimate of your monthly expenses  including the cost of gas, food, as well as utilities. The categories must include all areas where you typically spend money.  You will soon see where most of your money is being spent. Sometimes you will want to create sub-categories.

Some banks offer online services that automatically put your expenses in categories for you so you can easily see what you have spent your money on. This makes budgeting extremely easy.  In one glance you can see what you have spent on restaurants, which with the popularity of fast food and the great restaurants available now, make this one category that can be embarrassingly large. You can also set up categories that you most commonly use and customize your budget.

By budgeting and having your expenses written down somewhere or at least available to you online, you will be able to know where your money is going.  Analyze what you are spending for several months and it will soon become clear to you where you can cut back and how much money you can set aside for things you really want to have. Saving your money for doing something fun with your family or getting something you’ve always dreamed of is much easier when you have your budget planned and you set aside a certain amount of money every month.

Don’t stress out if you haven’t yet created a budget or you aren’t used to using one. You can always change your life by starting today to create a budget that will help you achieve your financial goals. You’ll be much happier in the long run and have much more satisfaction in being able to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.