Fortune Watch

It’s virtually impossible to know what size home you can afford if you aren’t fully aware of how much money you are earning and how much you are spending each month.

Start with your income: How much do you bring home after taxes and retirement plan contributions?

Next, look at your expenses: What are your necessary expenses? How much are you paying each month toward your debt? What additional expenses do you have that wouldn’t be deemed “necessary?” How much money do you have left (if any)?

This will help you see how much breathing room is in your current budget, what expenses might be on the chopping block and the space you have for additional home and mortgage expenses when buying a home.
Read (more…)

Money is a token that functions as a medium of exchange that is commonly accepted as payment for services or commodities, including repayment of debts. Another property of money, that distinguishes it from other medium of exchange, is that it has the mark of an authority (or the mark of anyone who is generally accepted) that coins it.

Money comprises of both currency, specially the numerous distributed currencies having legal tender status, as well as other kinds of financial deposit accounts, like savings accounts, certificates of deposit and demand deposits. In contemporary economies, currency is the most basic part of the money supply.

Money is not the same as value, the latter being the basic element in economics. Money is central to the study of economics and forms its most cogent link to finance. The absence of money causes a market economy to be inefficient because it requires a coincidence of wants between traders, and an agreement that these needs are of equal value, before a barter exchange can occur. The use of money is thought to encourage trade and the division of labour.
Read (more…)

Finance pertains to the creation, management and study of money, credit, banking, investments, taxation, assets, and liabilities. These financial transactions occur in public, private, as well as government financial systems.

The three general divisions of finance are commonly made: public finance, corporate finance and personal finance. These three consist of many sub-categories.

Concerns in personal finance center around

Understanding how credit damage or build a person’s financial status.
Best way a family assets be transferred upon generations inheritance and bequests).
Planning for a secure financial future in an environment of economic instability.
Read (more…)

Personal Finance is the practical application of the guidelines of finance to all monetary activities of a person or the whole family. It deals with the methods in which a person or family gain, budget, save, and spend money on a certain period of time, taking into consideration a variety of financial risks along with future life events. There are plenty of financial products a person might look into when planning for personal finances : among them are banking products savings accounts, checking account, credit cards and personal loans), investment (bonds, stock market, mutual funds) and insurance products (health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance). There is also contribution and tracking social security benefits or retirement plans of a person or sponsored by employer, and income tax management.

Personal financial planning

Financial planning is the main aspect of personal finance, which is an engaging process that needs routine monitoring and reevaluation. Generally, this calls for five stages:What Is Personal Finance by PracticalFinancialTips

The assessment: A person’s financial condition can be assessed by putting together his or her financial statements which includes income statements and balance sheets. An individual balance sheet details the valuations of personal assets such as vehicle, real estate property, jewelry, stock and bank account, together with personal liabilities such as mortgage, bank loan or credit card debt. An individual income statement details personal income and expenses.
Read (more…)

Everyone I know is sick of this recession, and sick of hearing about this recession. For one, the media’s attention to the global financial situation is depressing. But as many have pointed out, we are in this situation because of our own devices. On the individual level, poor financial and debt management, have exacerbated outside factors such as the housing market collapse and high rates of unemployment. For others, indiscriminate consumer debt has led to a number of individual crises. But in such a climate, there is a lot that can be learned. While it would have benefited everyone to know this several years ago, here are twelve personal financial lessons that can and should be learned during this recession.

Learn How to Plan Ahead

Source

It’s no secret that poor planning contributed to why so many people are currently in untenable financial situations. Don’t Panic. Figure out where you are at, where you want to be and put in place a realistic plan for getting there. The majority of businesses without plans in place before they start operations do not succeed. So if you are serious about creating a way to get ahead, or even just caught up, this step could not be more necessary. Unique circumstances will come up and cause you to stray from your plans temporarily, but structure is necessary in order to monitor your progress, and stay focused.

Read (more…)