Personal finance can be easy to manage with the use of tools, such as excel or other personal banking software. The best practice is to make sure that you pay your monthly bills at the beginning of the month. This assures that you will not forget a bill and end up with late payment fees. Managing your personal finances by utilizing a tool to keep track of what has been paid and how much yo have spent, also allows you to refer back and see past years’ finances and compare how you are doing today, compared to the past.
If a credit card is close to its limit, consider transferring portions of the balance to a different card. Having a card that is almost maxed out is a huge blow to your FICO score. Transferring part of the balance will even up the credit you have available on your cards.
Set up an automatic savings plan with your bank so that a certain amount of money is transferred to a savings account each month from your checking account. This is a great technique which forces you to put aside a little bit of money each month. It is also helpful if you are saving for a big event in the future, such as, a wedding or a special vacation.
Don’t sell if the time is not right for you. If you are earning a decent amount of money on a stock, let it sit for a while. You can look at your stocks that are not doing so good, and figure out if you wish to move those around.
There’s a good chance that if you are in financial dire straits, you are not along in your circle of friends. Get together and agree on a set amount for your social outings and dining out. Plan on participating in activities that will allow you all to abide by your shared goals for saving and spending.
If a person is always ending up with single dollar bills left in their pants pockets from getting change they can use them in a fun way to possibly increase ones personal finances. If one uses the left over dollar bills for scratch off lottery tickets they stand a chance to win much more than they spent.
To sell an item, draw attention to it with a catchy slogan or a good price. For example, a person trying to sell a truck in the winter could say “Need a good winter vehicle, here is a ……” Do this and instead of your items being overlooked you’ll get the sells you need.
To be sure you are on top of things, you should use a tool to keep track of what has been paid and what is still outstanding. Make sure that you either, choose a point in time to manage this or refer to it frequently, in order to verify that you have not left out any important bills that require payment during that time period.