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Author: KatherineZ Article source: http://www.articledeshboard.com/. Used with author's permission.
Fall is here, and it's natural to start worrying about high heating bills and having enough money for holiday shopping. It is also a perfect time to assess your budgeting planning.
You're not alone. Most Americans aren't naturals at saving money. In fact, the United States has one of the lowest saving rates in the world and the highest credit card debt. To gain insight into your personal finances, take a few minutes and make a two columned list that has your assets on one side and the liabilities on the other.
Assets:
1. Value of your home and/or other real estate
2. Balances in Savings and Money Market Accounts
3. Value of all your investments (Stocks, US Savings Bonds, Mutual Funds, 401K, IRA etc.)
4. Any other assets
Liabilities:
1. Outstanding Mortgages
2. Credit Cards & Loan Balances you owe
3. Alimony, Child Support you owe or other Judgments/Debts
Subtract your liabilities from your assets, and what remains are the resources you have to begin building your financial foundation. Don't stress if the numbers don't look great. Most of us start lower than we would like. If the number is negative, the first step to improve your financial situation is to create a budget to pay off all non-mortgage debt.
It is surprisingly easy to find extra money in your budget to pay off your credit card debt and increase your savings when you making minor painless changes to your daily habits.
Here are 8 Easy Tips to Improve Your Financial Foundation:
1. Implement a budget - get Quicken 2008 for Windows or Mac from J&R and get 8.5% BondRewards!
2. Start saving monthly by reducing one or two of your weekly expenses and saving the money instead.
o Cut back on lattes 2 times a week or buy a tall instead of a grande
o Pack your lunch 2 days a week
o Eat out one day less per month, or watch a movie at home with the family instead of going to the movies.
3. Take the extra monthly savings and use it to pay the highest interest rate credit card first. Obviously, there's no sense in paying off a 10 percent card before a 15 percent card. Make minimum payments on the 10 percent card until the 15 percent rate is paid off.
4. Shop around for the best credit card rates. Visit our Credit Card Center
for a starting point and work on credit card debt consolidation whenever possible.
5. Take advantage of your employer's 401K. Increase your contribution by 1%, and if you are not contributing -- Start Now.
6. Get a Certificate of Deposit (CD's). Generally they offer a higher rate of return than your Money Market Account, and you will get 10 BondRewards when you sign up with ING Direct
7. Create your holiday shopping list early. Start shopping now to find the best deals on BondRewards. Sign up for the "Free Shipping Deals" emails and visit the "Coupons" page frequently to see the best deals from your favorite stores.
8. When you receive your free savings bonds from BondRewards in the mail, add them to your Assets list.
Save while you shop at BondRewards.com. Shop at over 500 of your favorite stores and get an average of 9.4% payback! Bondrewards.com is free and automatically increases your savings.
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