Taking control of your finances

 

It is a good time now to start to take control of your finances. We are after all all worried about money and if the news are true we continue to borrow more and more.

In order to avoid financial disaster, it is important to take control of your finances. The following 3 points will give you a good start towards taking control of your finances and achieving your financial objectives.

1. Have a plan
   
   It is important to have a plan in order to achieve your financial objectives. Just like any project you may be part of at work, if you don’t plan you are more likely to fail.
   
   Make a plan for your personal finances, have achievable milestones along the way to help you to stay motivated and keep your eye on achieving your objective.
   
   It helps you to stay motivated and the achievable milestones, if you achieve them, will slowly take you closer to achieving your financial objectives.
   
2. Cut discretionary income as much as possible
   
   With personal finances it is easy to get carried away and spend a little more. Little expenses done often add up to an incredible amount.
   
   A working person who eats out every day is likely to spend about $100 every week on lunch alone.
   
   Watch every little expense and cut as much as possible. It will help you to stay on track towards achieving your financial objectives.
   
3. Keep track of your expenses
   
   It is very little to loose track of where your money is going. Little expenses that you don’t pay too much attention to are likely to be dragging you down.
   
   The best way to keep track of your expenses is by having a budget, following it and keeping it up to date with the latest expenses, no matter how little they are.
   
   After a while it is actually enjoyable to take control of your expenses, get rid of debt and invest your cash.
   
   It feels much much better than being caught up in large monthly credit card or other unnecessary bills.

Related links

How to create a budget and stick to it

Top 20 personal finance tips

How to make some extra cash

Financial Independence Compilation

 

Welcome to the October 31, 2010 edition of financial independence.

Your Financial Independence Articles

How to waste your money with good deals or bargains - We all love bargains don’t we? I really like getting items at a heavily discounted price. I’ve noticed that when things are on special there are heaps of people at the shopping malls with their trolleys full of staff…

Organise your finances with online banking - Using online banking can be a quick way to take control of your finances. These days online banking offers many tools that can actually hep you to save money. Here are some ways online banking can help you….

A few tips to save money - Do you want to save some money? When times are tight and you are struggling to make ends meet you will face the inevitable decision to cut back in some expenses. Here are some ideas to help you to cut back on those expenses without sacrificing too many of life’s pleasures…

Reader’s Articles

Youdondour torres presents Get your payday advance today! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

Youdondour torres presents Great facts about ACAI posted at Acai juice, the healing powers and benefits!.

Youdondour torres presents If you need cash now, apply for a quick cash advance now! posted at Pay Day Loans For You Today!.

Youdondour torres presents Get a quick cash advance now! posted at Pay Day Loans For You Today!.

Youdondour torres presents Apply now, get approved for a unsecured cash advance! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

Youdondour torres presents Apply now and get approved for a quick cash advance payday loan! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

Youdondour torres presents FACTS ABOUT A NO FAX PAYDAY ADVANCE LOAN! posted at Pay Day Loans For You Today!.

Sheri Schmeckpeper presents Good Budgets Support Goals; Good Goals Define Budgets « Center for Excellent Living posted at Center for Excellent Living, saying, "It's important to build a budget that tracks your month-to-month living, but it's equally as important to consider the future. For this reason, I want to stress the importance of goals."

debt kid presents How much savings is enough posted at DebtKid.

money and finance

Marvin Grossman presents Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, "If you’re familiar with Dave Ramsey, then you’ve no doubt heard of his ’snowball’ approach to paying down your debt. In short, Ramsey suggests that you make minimum payments on all but the debt with the lowest balance."

Marvin Grossman presents We're No. 4! What the slip in U.S. competitiveness means posted at Money-Rates.com Savings Investor, saying, "Find out what the slip in US competitiveness might mean to CD rates."

Neal Frankle presents Saving Money For Retirement ? 6 Steps To Peace of Mind posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources, saying, "Saving Money For Retirement – The Ultimate Guide You already know how crucial it is to save money for retirement – no matter what stage of life you’re in. Here are 6 steps to help you do just that..."

Tim Chen presents Just in Time for Summer: Save Money with the HHonors Hotel Rewards Program posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch, saying, "The Hilton Honors Reward Program is a great program, but there are 4 major components you need to understand before you can fully take advantage of the program."

Jeff Weber presents Best Holiday Shopping Credit Card Deals posted at Smart Balance Transfers, saying, "The top credit card offers of the holiday season can put up to $175 in your pocket or save you money on interest."

nissim ziv presents Behavioral Based Interview Questions and Answers posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, "Behavior-Based interviewing became a mile stone hiring process of many companies. The logic behind the behavioral based interviewing is that past performance in similar situations will provide the most accurate predictor for the … future performance of a candidate."

Andrea presents Money Makeover- 6 Steps To Get Back On Track posted at Savings Scoop.

Wenchypoo presents In Barter Nation, Old Forms of Commerce Are New Again posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Mike Piper presents Low-Risk Investment Planning posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, "Instead of setting expensive goals and using high-risk investments to attempt to meet them, what if we started with low-risk investments and set goals based on modest returns?"

MoneyNing presents Investing In Nostalgia: 5 To Know With Making Money from the Memories of Your Youth posted at Money Ning, saying, "Do you have any toys or collections that you can dust off from your childhood? They could be worth quite a bit of money!"

Jim Nariel presents How you can Build a Successful Work from Home Business Now posted at Point and Click Program Revealed, saying, "blog post showing how you can build a work from home business today"

Neal Frankle presents Find A High Paying 2nd Job Using Craigslist posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources, saying, "You Can Find A High Paying 2nd Job Using Craigs List. If you’re looking for high paying 2nd jobs, look no further than your computer screen."

Arjun Rudra presents How To Think About The Economy With Noted Economist Paul Summerville posted at Investing Thesis, saying, "How To Think About The Economy With Noted Economist Paul Summerville"

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Man Can?t Live By Bread Alone ? Or Can He? posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog.

Robert Alan presents Best Financial Software to Track Your Expenses posted at Credit Cards Blog | CreditCardAssist.com, saying, "Never lose sight of your expenses, track your expenses today with the Best Financial Software."

BWL presents Long Term Care Insurance And Senior Citizens posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, "Are Seniors the only ones who need long-term care insurance?"

Michael Pruser presents TIPS Auctioned at Negative Yield (And What It Means For Consumers) posted at The Dough Roller, saying, "A quick review of the TIPS recently auctioned off"

FMF presents How to Become Wealthy posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "There are three keys to becoming wealthy: growing your income, saving as much as possible, and getting a good return on your investments. This posts tells how you can use these three to become rich over time."

PT presents The Best Airline Miles Credit Cards posted at Prime Time Money, saying, "Complete reviews of the best airline cards. If you fly one airline all the time, these cards make sense."

Central Florida Real Estate presents 10 Tips To Consider When Buying A Foreclosure posted at The Central Florida Real Estate Site, saying, "If you’re shopping for a foreclosed house that you want to flip, hold your breath until the urge passes. Your checkbook and credit report will thank you. Why is it that people think that they can buy low and yet others will agree to buy high? But if you’re looking for a home to live in, or one to lease to others for years of positive cash flows, buying a foreclosure might save you some money. Foreclosed homes typically cost 10% to 15% less than comparable homes in the same neighborhood, even after you’ve made all the needed repairs. Savings of 20% or more are not unheard of. Just follow our 10 Foreclosure Tips for buying a foreclosure to make sure you get the best deal and avoid costly pitfalls."

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Online Bill Pay Account From FNBO Direct: Review posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Do you do online bill pay? Here's a look at an account that can help facilitate your money management tasks."

freefrombroke presents Schumer Box And Credit Card Offers posted at Free From Broke, saying, "Know what that box with all the credit terms is on your credit card offer is? It's the Schumer Box. Here's why it's there."

FIRE Getters presents Direct Deposit to Bank Account - Handle With Care! posted at FIRE Finance, saying, "First of all let's try this pop quiz: Can anyone take out money from your bank account without your permission? You must be thinking "How on earth can that can be?" The next thought might be "Are these folks crazy?" Ahh...m, please read on to find out the truth!"

Darren presents SIMPLE IRA – Rules, Contribution Limits, & Benefits posted at MORE than Finances, saying, "The SIMPLE IRA is a retirement plan for small companies. Let's take a look at how it works, its rules, contribution limits, benefits, and more."

DCTrader presents Margin Calculator posted at DCTrader, saying, "This handy little calculator instantly figures margin requirements for any stock price / balance. You can use it here for free."

Khaleef @ KNS Financial presents 401k Advice – Stop Passing Up Free Money! posted at Faithful With A Few, saying, "Many people struggle with retirement planning, often paying thousands of dollars in fees in order to get sound advice. However, a recent study has shown that many of these people are neglecting the easiest way to get free money for their retirement."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of financial independence using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Technorati Tags: money,financial independence,blogging,payday,make money,saving

 

Financial Independence Compilation

Welcome to the October 24, 2010 edition of financial independence.

Your Financial Independence Articles

Teach your child how to make make money - Want your child to be a millionaire? All parents want the best for their children so why not teach them how to manage and  make money?

Here are a few tips to help you to raise a millionaire.

Making money through blogging – developing highly profitable topics using Google AdWords - If you are into blogging you know that it can be very difficult to make money. You’ve heard it many times that the secret is on attracting the crowds. There is more to it, you also have to ensure that you are choosing topics that are highly profitable.

There are many articles on the web that tell you how to attract traffic into your site. Most of them say that the more traffic you get the more chances you have of making money either through advertising or via selling some sort of product. It is true, the more people come to your site the more chances you have of making money.

Thriving 30 million dollars business from a school project. Find out how she did it -  At 16 years of age, Lindsay Phillips had an idea to create flip-flops with straps that could be changed during a school project. It is project that this year her company will bring $30 million in revenue says AOLSmallbusiness.

The idea is very simple, you buy one pair of flip flops and renew their appearance with new straps. They look new and different every time and can be worn with different clothes depending on the occasion.

Her company is now producing other products such as shopping bags, scarves and sandals for children.

How to make some extra money - Do you need some extra cash. I think we can do with a little extra cash. The following sections describe some of the strategies you can use to make some extra cash.

Reader’s Sponsored Articles

Rick- presents Best IRA Rates posted at Stock Tips, saying, "To get the best IRA rates, portfolio diversification is necessary. Find out how to get the best IRA rates and IRA returns today."

Youdondour torres presents 1 HOUR Payday loan for fast cash now! posted at Pay Day Loans For You Today!.

Youdondour torres presents Payday advance for those with poor credit! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

Youdondour torres presents A Cash advance with no credit check! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

Mike Piper presents Types of Annuities: Annuity Definitions posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, "What are the differences between the various types of annuities? Which ones are useful, and which ones are a raw deal?"

Youdondour torres presents 1 hour paday advance for quick financial assistance! posted at Pay Day Loans For You Today!.

Youdondour torres presents Quick ways to get cash now! posted at Quick and easy payday loan!.

ABConseil presents THE AMAZING WIDGET�S REVIEW :AutoBlog posted at AutoBlog, saying, "TheAmazingWidget.com claims to offer a breakthrough new way to generate �semi autopilot� traffic and commissions, with the launch of their new Software and accompanying Blueprint. Further, they claim to offer a dead simple way for virtually anybody to begin placing their oddly named �Amazing Widgets� in hundreds of free spots around the web, as a foolproof way to make money on autopilot once in place."

BudgetSnob presents Retire Rich ? Let Everyone Else Work posted at Budget Snob.

BudgetSnob presents Close Your Budget Gap posted at Budget Snob.

Robert Alan presents How Do I Make Bad Marks on My Credit Go Away? posted at Credit Card Assist, saying, "How to make bad marks on your credit go away in 6 simple steps."

CreditShout Kevin presents How to Deal with Credit Card Customer Support posted at CreditShout.

Victor del Rosal presents A social experiment: your finances solved posted at Internet Empire Formula, saying, "This article poses a hypothetic questions: if your financial life was completely resolved, forever, would you stop working? It analyzes the true meaning of work."

Sam presents New !! Is an Annuity Insurance Retirement Plan Best for You? Five Essential Points posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "Thanks for including my article on annuity insurance retirement plans. Here's an excerpt... Are you afraid that you will outlive your money? Are you worried that you might lose your savings in the stock market and face retirement broke? The past few years in the stock markets have upset the retirement plans of many investors. Today, people are living longer than ever. Seniors and baby boomers are concerned that they have enough money to support them during a long life. Annuities are an investment option for these people. Annuities guarantee that you won't outlive your income, no matter if you live 100 years or longer. Furthermore, with an annuity you do not risk losing the nest egg you have accumulated."

Jeff Weber presents Avoid Balance Transfer Mistakes posted at Smart Balance Transfers, saying, "Avoiding these three balance transfer mistakes will help you save the most money and avoid hurting your credit score."

nissim ziv presents How to Present Yourself in an Interview and Impress the Interviewer? posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, "When you are in the process of preparing yourself for your job interview, one of key prep steps is practicing your interviewing performance and reshaping your presentation level in order to create the best positive impression on the interviewer."

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Pigheaded Limerick posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog.

Alexander Peter presents Catering Trailer Insurance posted at Catering Trailer Blog, saying, "If you are thinking of starting your business one important thing to consider is insurance. This article provides some advice for catering trailer owners."

David de Souza presents 5 Steps To Getting A Tax Rebate posted at UK Tax Blog, saying, "Are you due a tax rebate? Our guide will help you claim your tax refund"

FMF presents A New Rule-of-Thumb for Renting versus Buying? posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Does this "new" rule for renting versus buying work?"

Marvin Grossman presents That's gross! Why home insurance won't pay for disgusting problems posted at Insure.Com Home Insurance Articles, saying, "Rats, mold, bed bugs? Here's why home insurance won't pay, and some exceptions to the rules."

Jim Nariel presents How you can Build a Successful Work from Home Business Now posted at Point and Click Program Revealed, saying, "Blog post on how to start a successful on line business from home"

Joanaa Tiger presents Top 10 Financial Blogs for College Students posted at Criminal Justice Degrees Guide.

BWL presents 4 Habits of Millionaires posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, "This article looks at how millionaires really spend their money..."

Arjun Rudra presents Statistical Arbitrage Pairs Trading With Michael Kapler of SciVest Capital Management posted at Investing Thesis, saying, "While you may have heard of simple pairs trading which involves going long one security and going short another, it’s the statistical arbitrage aspect that you’ll be introduced to today."

FIRE Getters presents Tax FREE Money Market Mutual Funds! posted at FIRE Finance, saying, "Most astute investors are aware of municipal mutual funds also known as MUNIs. These funds invest in term debts issued by various state and local governments. In general dividends and gains from muni funds are exempt from federal as well as state taxes."

Jason @ Redeeming Riches presents 8 Financial Myths to Discuss with Your Kids posted at Redeeming Riches, saying, "Teaching kids about money can be a tough task to tackle, especially with these myths."

Barb Friedberg presents Can the Average Joe/Jane Expect Price Changes When the Dollar Fluctuates? posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance, saying, "Understand the relationship between US dollar and how it MIGHT impact future prices. Use this knowledge to help you toward financial independence."

freefrombroke presents What Is A Reverse Mortgage Loan? posted at Free From Broke, saying, "What a reverse mortgage loan is and who it is for."

Joe Morgan presents Living on a Single Income: 7 Years and Counting. posted at Simple Debt-Free Finance, saying, "Some tips and lessons from 7 years of living on a single income with a wonderful wife and 3 children. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either."

PT presents Meeting with a Fee-Only Certified Financial Planner, Part 2: Planning Session and Retirement Recommendations posted at Prime Time Money.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of financial independence using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati Tags: make money,blogging,business,mortgage,debt-free,financial independence money blog carnival

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Managing your finances online

There are many ways to manage your finances online. There are websites that you can use to track your finances via the internet. You enter your details and some of these sites download your financial transactions and create charts and reports for you.

The principle is right, you need a way to keep track of your expenses. But I prefer to do that in my local machine instead of on a hosted environment where my detailed financial information is maintained by someone that I don't even know.

At the end of the day, these websites are maintained by people, all you need is one dishonest employee with access to the database and he/she can steal your identity and, potentially, your money.

These websites have very strict rules and they assure you that they are always doing all that they can to keep your data safe, nevertheless all you need is one person and the damage is done.


I support the internet and all the wonderful things that we can do with it, nevertheless, I don't think that it is safe enough to be giving out detailed personal and financial information to perfect strangers on the internet. After all, would you give out your bank account numbers, and how to get to them, to a stranger on the streets? So why would you do it to a stranger on the internet?