Fortune Watch

Credit cards can be an excellent tool to help you manage your finances. But sometimes we make poor choices, or sometimes the events in life take us beyond our expectations and we are left to foot the bill. Perhaps you have had a few months of extra, unexpected expenses that you are now paying for. What can you do? Bank of America is known to help you manage your money successfully. If you see their terms and conditions they can assist you with you money management program.

Credit cards can be an excellent tool to help you manage your finances and buy the things you want or need. But when things go on a ride and your bills get out of hand, which happens to even the best of us, choosing a personal loan as a way to consolidate those bills will help you reduce your interest rates and set up a fixed amount of payment. Reduced interest rates will ultimately increase the amount of money you keep and a fixed amount due every month will help you plan your budget.

Gather together all of your credit card bills and add up the amount that you owe. Factor in the extra expenses you haven’t heard on your credit cards since you receive those bills. Add to that about ten or twenty per cent, which is the “whoops, I forgot about that” factor. Then, with that figure, start shopping around for a loan.

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You may have heard the saying ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true’. But how do you work out what could be too good to be true?

Start with the rate of return you have been offered. Most investments illustrate their rates of return using percentages. While that’s perfectly reasonable, research suggests that many people have trouble working out percentages, especially in their heads.

To determine how many years for your capital to double, you bring to mind the Rule of 72, which tells you to always divide the capital by the interest, and the result is in how many years it will be doubled. This is simpler than it seems. Before calculators or spreadsheets, investors used the trusty old ‘Rule of 72′.

How the Rule of 72 works

Suppose you were offered an investment with a return of 10% per year and you reinvested all your returns. How many years would it take to double the value of your original investment?

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Clients often ask me, “Why do I need a will?” Many people share common misconceptions — that only the wealthiest need a will, or that the process of making one is complicated or costly. What I have learned through the years is that everyone needs a will and that it is far more costly to avoid making one.

Without a will, you leave important decisions to someone else to make after your death. Make a Will now for real peace of mind. I have noticed that people generally manage their lives quite well but leave things in an utter mess when they die.

A will lets you specify how your assets will be distributed and how taxes, if any, will be paid. You can select whomever you wish to administer your affairs. Without such a plan, your state of residence determines who receives your assets and how the taxes will be paid. The courts may become actively involved in administering your affairs, and they may award property to relatives you would never include, but overlook friends or charities you want to remember.

It is a strange fact that around 70% of people have not made a Will, but the consequences of dying without one can be serious. Everyone urgently needs a Will; If you don’t make a Will you die intestate, which means that everything you own is distributed under rules laid down by law irrespective of the wishes of your family.

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Everyone has a unique situation, and there are no concrete financial numbers that define success, but there are some rules of thumb that can help you gauge your progress. While following these rules won’t guarantee success, they will put you on the right track.

Keep in mind, these rules represent guidelines, not gospel. Life doesn’t always stay inside the lines, and what may work for some may not work for you. Nevertheless, these are worth aiming at if you’re ready for some target practice and want to build a serious financial cushion.

How much Debt should I have?

Ideally, no debt would be the best answer, but you have to realize that for some assets it is almost required you borrow money, such as buying a house. If you have taken more debt than you can handle, don’t be discouraged. It doesn’t matter how much money you make. If you can’t live within your means, you become a slave to your creditors. Most experts agree that your total monthly debt payments shouldn’t exceed one third of your gross monthly income.

How Much Worth House Can I Buy?

So how much should you spend on a house? The traditional way to calculate that is to add up all your income and make sure that your housing expenses — mortgage payment, homeowners insurance and property taxes — don’t exceed a certain amount of that total. The traditional limit, still used by many lenders, is 28% to 32% of gross monthly income. For example, if you and your spouse together earn $100,000 per year, you shouldn’t spend more than $250,000 on a home.

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There has always been a need for retirement planning and today is certainly no different. There are many other types of retirement plans that are available to you. You will need to take the time needed to evaluate what your current financial needs are and what you expect the future to hold.

You must keep in mind that your planning today is not just for the ideal future, but the future that will be reality for you if things turn out to not be ideal or according to your plans today. By starting early and contributing the maximum that you can afford, you will have a better chance of being prepared for the unforeseen.

Unsure of what you will need for retirement? Are you on track or not? Don’t forget that life expectancy is getting longer. Today you can expect to live 20-30 years past retirement and, suddenly, the amount you need to retire comfortably with a major change in lifestyle gets very large.

Lets say that today you need $40,000 to live on and you retire in 20 years, you will need a minimum of $850,000 to carry you through retirement. That is assuming that you will live an additional 20 years after you retire and are in good health.

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Are you short for month money at the end of each month? Do you have 5-10 credit cards, all maxed out to the limit? Do you forget to pay your bills on time? If you have answered, “Yes,” to any of these questions, don’t feel bad and don’t worry. I have some tips that can help you improve your financial picture: Create a Bill-Paying System

The first thing you’ll need to do is to go out and pick up some colored hanging folders. If you don’t have a file cabinet, get a file box that you can find in any stationery store or discount department store. They’re very inexpensive. Then, make a folder for each expense. Use one color for your bank statements, another for your utility bills, and another for credit cards. Keep the system pretty simple or complexity could let procrastination) take over.

Each day when your mail arrives, separate it immediately into what you don’t need and want to throw away and your bills and other things that need attention right away. Do the things that are needed and either pay the bill right away or put them in a central place where you can retrieve them when the money is available for paying the bills. This could be the front of a desk drawer, for instance, or even a basket on top of your desk. Just be sure that nothing goes into that basket besides your bills.

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No one likes to imagine that illness or death could compromise their family’s financial security. But, tragically and all too often, these things devastate families and leave them in a vulnerable financial position just when they need the most security.

Spending only a few hours preparing for such a scenario might save your family needless trouble. Once, only fathers needed to worry about this, but today with two-earner families comprising the majority of families, both partners should actively participate in planning to ensure financial security for themselves and their children.

At the very least, each partner should have a simple will specifying who will receive assets and who will take guardianship of the children. Financial professionals advise naming one person to control the financial assets and another person to take physical custody of the children. Although this is a good short-term solution, you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible, particularly if you have a lot of assets or there is disagreement in your extended family about who should serve as guardians for your children.

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Stuff happens. And it usually costs money. If you don’t have an emergency fund equal to three to six months worth of basic living expenses, you’re living on the edge. There’s no time like the present to get started.None of us have the ability to foresee the future or predict the hurdles which lie ahead of us. This makes building an emergency fund a financial priority. People who are living on a lean-and-mean budget will have the toughest time setting aside money for emergencies. If it’s possible to squeeze out another $40 or $50 each month and put it in a money market account, it’s worth doing.

Establishing an emergency savings account is vital in good times and in bad. The purpose of the fund is to sock away three to six month’s living expenses. But this money could also be used when you’re staring at major, unplanned expenses such as a car breakdown or a leaky roof.

Housing a small rainy day fund should be a vital part of an individual’s financial goals. This is of high importance if you don’t already have readily available funds in your account for covering any unanticipated expenses. They provide financial security because they give you funds to fall back on if you become ill, or if you or your spouse loses your job, you incur large medical bills, or have an unexpected large bill such as a major car or home repair. You do not want to end up in a situation where you have to buy daily necessities on credit.

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Seriously you dont…

I advise people on personal finance including banking, budgeting, saving, and investing. How to save your money-tricks, how to budget, and using credit cards, etc. How to make more money by investing? What are stocks? Bonds? Mutual funds? What can you do to start today and maximize returns?

All you need is three ingredients, income, discipline and time. Chances are, you already have two of them, income and time. All you need to do is add the third, discipline.

There’s a saying in economics “expenses rise to meet income”. This means money that’s easily available to you is certain to be spent. That’s why most people’s paychecks disappear before their next payday. They get used to having a certain amount to spend, and habitually run down their bank account.

Here’s how it works: Say you start with nothing, invest $500 (of your income) a month (a healthy discipline), and let your money ride (over time) in diversified investments. Long term, the stock market returns at least 10% annually. Assuming a 10% return, you’d have $102,000 after 10 years, $380,000 after 20 years, and $1.1 million in 30 years.

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Financial planning, something we all know we need to do, but always put off to the future. Financial planning is hard simply because it requires financial discipline, which is difficult to have in this consumer society.

However, financial planning is very important because you want to retire one day, be financially stable in the event of an accident, or unexpected loss of a job. Regardless of when you begin, the basics remain the same.

Here are my top keys to getting ahead financially. Once you have made financial planning part of your routine, it won’t seem so difficult. But getting your financial planning started can be the most difficult thing. These tips will help motivate you to make financial planning one of your main goals.

No matter how much or how little you’re paid, you’ll never get ahead if you spend more than you earn. Often it’s easier to spend less than it is to earn more, and a little cost-cutting effort in a number of areas can result in big savings.

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