Entries Tagged 'general finances discussion' ↓

Time for you to check out the highlights of Stop Swimming blog posts this past two weeks.

Five Ways to Know the Home You Can Afford

Are you comfortable with taking a loan? Obtaining one will greatly increase your budget, but of course that depends if you have someone to borrow funds from in the first place. Do you think any of your relatives or friends will be willing to lend you money at ideal rates?

10 Common But Forgotten Ways to Save Money on Utility Bills

Just because all the members of your home are aware of the need to save money on utility bills doesn’t mean that they’ll know how to do so much less remember to do it all the time. It also doesn’t mean that they don’t care, but since they’re not the ones managing the budget, saving money on utility bills will definitely not be their first priority.

Six Car Repair Cost Saving Tips

When you go to a car repair shop, don’t go there alone, especially if you are a woman. Not unless you REALLY do know what needs to be fixed and you can assert yourself well. There are mechanics that harass people who don’t know much about cars making them pay for undone jobs or unnecessary expenses. To make sure that you get the best service, check if the car repair shop is ASE-certified, which is a seal of approval from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, a nonprofit org).

Tags: utility, car cost, home buying, car repair

Here are the highlights of the past two weeks of money blogging.

200k as Retirement Fund for the Last 30 Years of My Life

Binary Dollar posted an open mic discussion about How Much Money Does One Need to Retire. When I have read the comments just a few hours ago, I’ve noticed that many responded that they need millions of dollars to retire comfortably.

Eliminating Credit Card Debt: Avoid Promo Pitfalls

According to survey, 80% of US households hold at least one credit card. An average American earner, has 8 credit cards on his wallet, all accumulating interests and debts! It has also been found out that only 2% of credit card holders pay their entire bill each month. $574 billion are accrued as interest for all carried over debt per month! Well, it’s not easy to own 1 card, all the more managing 8 credit cards!

Top 10 High Yield Savings Accounts

If you are looking for a list of high yield savings accounts, eMoneyCentral has a frequently updated list. High yield savings accounts are the best if you are looking for an account that will earn you most interest over time. Emergency funds and down payment savings are best placed in these bank accounts.

List of Credit Card Companies with Zero Fee Balance Transfers

Tired of your old credit card’s high interest rates and annual fees? Why not transfer your balance to another credit card, one that offers better interest rates and zero fee balance transfers? You get to enjoy the same privileges of having a credit card but can rest easy at night knowing your interest rates aren’t draining money away from your pocket. Here are some of the credit card companies that offer zero fee balance transfers you might want to get in touch with.

Double My Emergency Fund Challenge Week 6 Results Mission Accomplished

As predicted on my Week 5 results, I was able to double my emergency fund as early as on the first week of June. I received the $200 payout from my two new blogs. Here are the figures:

Does this look familiar?

If so, I’ve got two words for you - read this.

[image from PostSecret]

For financial management gurus out there, who knows a thing or two about money matters from theories or straight from their own financial experiences, you might want to share some no-nonsense money advice on how to handle the following problems:

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits ask the readers about their Best Advice for Getting Out of Debt.

Julie Rains of WiseBread invites everyone to share their Worst Financial Mistakes

SavingAdvice wishes to save a reader from a gift-giving dilemma and asks the readers to share tips on How to Choose Appropriate Gifts that Won’t Need You to Break the Bank.

[image from kowchow]

Tags: money question, choosing gifts, mistake, debt

I joined a personal finance carnival which was hosted by Getting Green.

Here are the money advice gems I’ve found:

10 Ways to Find Hidden Cash in Your Budget

Could Your Family Live on One Income

Personal Finance Advice Young People Don’t Want to Hear

There are still many of ‘em financial management tips if you’d like to read more. Here is the complete list of money articles that made it to the minimalist edition.

Your credit score indicates the status of your finances and will play a major part when you decide to take out a loan someday. When you get your credit report, you can also ask for your credit score. But to get it, you’ll need to pay about $7 to $15. These days, there are certain resources that can give you your credit score at no cost. Here’s how to get your credit score for free:

Free online resources
There are websites that offer to give you your credit score for free. Sites such as CreditReport.com and FreeCreditReport.com offer this service at no charge.

CreditReport.com, for example, allows you a free copy of your credit score and your credit report for 30 days. You simply have to sign up for their credit monitoring service online. Within this period, you’ll get updates of certain changes in your credit. When the period is over, you will be automatically billed $9.95 a month.

FreeCreditReport.com also offers free access to your credit score, but you’ll have to sign up for their Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring service. You don’t have to pay for it initially, because the service is free for 30 days. You’ll receive your credit score courtesy of Experian.

However, your credit score is liquid. It’s bound to change, depending on the activities of your finances. The credit score you got last month may not be the same figure today. If you need your latest credit score figure, you might not be able to get it for free the next time. Online companies who offer to help you obtain your credit score for free will later charge you for the transaction. If you don’t want to pay, simply cancel before the trial period for their service ends. Otherwise, expect to spend for your credit score.

Tags: free credit score, check credit score

The long overdue post on Assets and Liabilities as I’ve mentioned from the How to Calculate Net Worth discussion.

The foundation of financial wisdom for anyone will always be the basic accounting equation: equity or owner’s equity equals asset minus liability.

Assets are what you own - regardless of the manner you’ve acquired them. Liabilities are what you owe - regardless of whom you owe them to and again, the manner you’ve acquired them. Owner’s equity is what’s left of your assets when the total value of your liabilities has been taken out.

Personal assets can be acquired by your own money or borrowed funds. Assets increase when you earn more money or something with value like cars, homes, equipment, and jewelries. Personal assets decrease when your liabilities increase. When you borrow money, you obtain a debt or liability.

School loans, credit card debt, and mortgages are all good examples of liabilities. Your savings, properties in your name, and the cash in your wallet are all good examples of assets.

Obviously, life will be much better if you have more assets than liabilities. You can do this in various ways. Work hard to earn more money, and make sure you spend less than you earn. Lead a financially practical lifestyle. Avoid using your credit card for the wrong reasons. The same goes for taking out any kind of loan – do so only when you truly need it. And lastly, make money work for you to increase your assets: know when, where, and how to invest your money profitably.

You could receive other more seemingly complex tips for managing your finances, but all of them will still surely boil down to the basic accounting equation we’ve started with: equity equals asset minus liability.

Tags: asset, liability

Siblings badmouthing each other because of what they thought is a wrongly divided inheritance.

Friends becoming enemies because of unpaid debt.

Prenuptial agreement problems, etc.

How do you handle money matters while considering ethics?

Check out how you fare by trying this money and ethics quiz from CNN Money.

[image from unerrore]

Tags: money ethics, money quiz

Thinking of combining your finances? Here are reasons why you should and why you should not:

Pros
- Finances are easier and much simpler to record and track. Your money is located in a center pool, making your earnings and expenses easier to handle. This is also effective if either husband or wife earns more than the other.

- You get better interest rates because your balances are bigger and you also get better deals with investments . You also pay fewer fees because you maintain fewer accounts.

- Either husband or wife lacks the discipline to handle their money, making combined finances the better choice.

Cons
- A joint return may not only make you ineligible for certain credits, it also puts you at a tax bracket that is higher than you’re used to.

- If you’re filing separately for your federal income tax return, you might find it disadvantageous if one spouse is getting a refund and the other owes the IRS money. You might also have to pay more if either the husband or wife has big medical expenditures, losses and other deductions that need to meet an income threshold in order to be claimed.

- If bills are addressed to just one spouse, the other might have a problem building his or her credit history. Not a problem if divorce or separation is a non-issue, but if it happens, it could mean a lot of headache for the other spouse.

- In case one spouse dies, access to the funds might be controlled in probate. It’s common for joint accounts to be frozen until the estate is settled by the court

What’s the worth of net worth? When I was younger, I was wondering why so many people, (actually I’ve just heard much of these from my Basic Accounting instructors) make fuss about it. When discussion classes have started about what net worth is about, it was defined as the total value of whatever you own, also known as assets minus what you owe, aka liabilities. From that meaning of net worth I still didn’t care much about it simply because I don’t experience its implications or so I thought. UNTIL…

I entered adulthood and my colleagues, friends, and family start influencing to assess my net worth. I wish I’ve learned about the value of net worth monitoring a lot earlier. I could have tried to be more financially responsible. Why? Seeing figures go up and down excites me. I could have made use that excitement to motivate me, right? Ok, enough of excuse. But it’s better to be late than never right? Anyways, here’s more about net worth.Â

Why calculate your net worth? It will provide a snapshot of your financial stability. How rich are you? How extravagant have you become? What assets do you value? How financially ready are you? Your net worth

How do you calculate your net worth? As from its meaning, you can calculate net worth using this formula:

Assets - Liabilities = Net Worth

Next is what should you put under assets and what should be under liabilities.