If you are like most people, you never received instruction on personal finance in school, and your ...

1. Getting Control Of Your Financial resources Remains in
Your Best Interest
If you are like most people, you never received instruction on personal finance in school, and your
parents probably did not discuss money with you either. After you moved out, you had to muddle
along on your own, figuring out on your own how to best manage your personal finances. This article
will discuss a few important concepts that you need to know, and will offer a few tips on getting the
most out of your money.
Bring a small envelope whenever you leave your home. You can store receipts, business cards, and
other important items in it. Keep this information available as a record that you might need at a later
date. Your receipts can be used to compare statements in the event you are charged twice for a
transaction.
Set up your bank account to transfer a predetermined sum of money from your checking to your
savings once a month. You will forget you even have this money or see it as a bill, just like any other
expense. Your savings can add up quickly by doing this.
One of the best ways to start saving is to get an old-fashioned piggy bank. Get a big plastic one that
cannot be opened. Put all your change in your piggy bank and if you find money or get money as a
gift, put half of it in the piggy bank. When the piggy bank is full, cut it open. You will have a great
start to a savings account.
Make sure that you are collecting all of the tax credits to which you are entitled. Look out for the
following tax credits: Child Care Credit, Child Tax Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, Earned Income
Credit and Hope Scholarship Credit. Visit the IRS's website for a complete list of tax credits that you
may be eligible for.
One of the ways that you can save money to improve your financial standing is to shut off the car
when you are parked. Keeping your car running could waste gas, which rises in price every single
day. Shut your car off any time that you can to save additional cash.
Try to refrain from keeping a lot of money in your checking account. Typically, you will not need to
have more than a thousand dollars to pay your bills and expenses. Instead, invest your money so that
you can build on the money that you already have in your account.
If you have more than one student loan, consider consolidating them. Consolidated loans can be
locked in at a low interest rate, often lower than the interest rates on your original loans. You also
have the option of extending your loan payoff period if need be. Contact the agency that holds your
student loans to see if you qualify.
Instead of going to a car dealership and signing a lease for a new car, take a look at all of the used
cars in the lot. Sometimes it is better to purchase a used car, as you will pay a much lower price and
have resale value in the end.

2. How can you increase your finances? Having a
savings account is very important. The best way to
do this is to pay you first - before any other bill is
paid. Understandably, there are times in life when
it's difficult to save; however, just putting $25 a
paycheck aside for savings will add-up over time.
Contribute to an IRA. Not the Irish Republican Army
but an Individual Retirement Account. If you or your
spouse work, you qualify to put money into an IRA.
The account can be with a mutual fund, bank, credit
union, insurance company or other trustee. Deposits
for a traditional IRA are tax deductible and returns
are not taxed until withdrawn. A Roth IRA deposit is
done with after-tax dollars but withdrawals are not
taxed.
Never take out cash advances from your credit card.
Not only will you immediately have to start paying
interest on the amount, but you will also miss out on
the
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=CD5CB5178D433F76%21121 standard grace period for
repayment. Furthermore, you will pay steeply increased interest rates as well, making it an option
that should only be used in desperate times.
Use a credit card only if you pay it off in full each month. If you don't, the interest on an item that
cost you $10.00 could end up costing you $50.00. You never want to pay more than you have to for
anything!
Making your money stretch is important when dealing with personal financial issues. One way in
which you can work to save money is to start looking at used items instead of new items. If that
stove breaks, check out a place like Craigslist for some deals on quality items. You can save upwards
of 80%.
In order to save money on gas and driving costs, you may want to consider carpooling with
coworkers or friends. You can all pitch in on gas and take turns using your cars. If you have to pay
for parking costs, you could split the bill between all of you as well.
Teaching children early will help their personal finance improve and enable them to have a strong
idea of the value of things. Teaching ones children will also help the parent brush up on their basic
personal finance skills. Teaching children to save can also help enforce the idea on parents.
Try to avoid eating out. It may seem like a good idea to go to McDonalds and order something off the
dollar menu, but those things add up. Often it's much cheaper to make a sandwich or cook dinner at
home. And whenever you cook, if there is food leftover, save it to have as a meal another time.
Do not settle for a job in which you will not make enough money to pay your bills. Sure, a low paying

3. job is better than no job, right? No, that is incorrect. What is the point of working so hard at a job
that does not even earn you enough money to pay your bills? Figure out what your expenses are and
be sure that whatever job you get can cover them.
As was talked about in the opening paragraph of this article, during the present economic downturn,
times are tough for most folks. Money is hard to come by, and people are interested in improving
their personal financial situation. If you utilize what you have learned from this article, you can start
improving your personal financial situation.