Times are very tough during the current economic downturn. Jobs are scarce and unemployment is sky h...

1. Suggestion For Taking Control Of Your Personal Finance
Times are very tough during the current economic downturn. Jobs are scarce and unemployment is
sky high. Because of this, it is extremely important, now more than ever, to know how to properly
manage your personal finances. Continue reading this article to secure your financial health by
saving and making more money than you ever thought possible.
College education can be very expensive, academic scholarships can be a huge help in financing
your education. Academic scholarships are awarded for excelling in school. Those who receive
academic scholarships had an acceptable GPA, excelled in their studies, and the college would like
that individual to continue studying at their school.
Improve your personal finance skills with a very useful but often overlooked tip. Make sure that you
are taking about 10-13% of your paychecks and putting them aside into a savings account. This will
help you out greatly during the tough economic times. Then, when an unexpected bill comes, you
will have the funds to cover it and not have to borrow and pay interest fees.
Always consider a used car before buying new. Pay cash when possible, to avoid financing. A car will
depreciate the minute you drive it off the lot. Should your financial situation change and you have to
sell it, you might find it's worth less than you owe. This can quickly lead to financial failure if you're
not careful.
Never use your credit card for a cash advance. Just because your card offers it doesn't mean you
should use it. The interest rates on cash advances are extremely high and utilizing a cash advance
will hurt your credit score. Just say no to the cash advance.
Change your cell phone plan. When you sign up to an expensive monthly cell phone plan you can end
up paying for talk minutes that don't use. So, the next time your cell phone contract is due for
renewal consider switching to a cheaper plan and you could save $20 a month or more.
An important tip to consider when working to repair your credit is to consider hiring an attorney
who knows applicable laws. This is only important if you have found that you are in deeper trouble
than you can manage on your own, or if you have incorrect information that you were not able to
rectify on your own.
Keep your checkbook balanced. It's really not so hard and can save you the expense and
embarrassment of bounced checks and overdrawn fees. Do not just call the bank for a balance and
count on having that amount in your account. Some debits and checks may not have cleared yet,
resulting in overdrafts when they hit the bank.

2. Venomous snakes can be a profitable although dangerous way to earn money for your personal
finances. The venom can be milked from the snakes repeatedly and then sold, to be made into anti-
venom. The snakes could also be bred for valuable babies that you could keep, in order to produce
more venom or to sell to others, who may want to earn money from snakes.
Rebalance any investments that you may have. Stocks and bonds have had an overall good year,
though cash yields are near zero. Look at your portfolio and make sure that you don't need to move
anything around so that you are earning more money. You should be doing this every year to help
your portfolio.
Keep track of the money you are spending every month and make a budget. This way you can see
where you need to cut back on your spending, which will make it easier to save. Make a budget and
track every single expense you have, then look at it at the end of the month, so you can know where
you stand.
In today's world there should be no reason to have a checking account that is costing you money.
While they may not yield much interest, there are plenty of free checking accounts available, and
many are starting to give you a percentage of your cash back made on debit card purchases.
Have an emergency savings cushion. Without one
umbrella contractor to fall back on, unexpected expenses
unavoidably land on your credit card. Put away six to
twelve months' worth of living expenses into your
emergency savings account so that if you have a huge medical expense or the car breaks down,
you'll be covered.
If you're trying to start a budget using a program, try to avoid spending with cash. It's easy to forget
about cash purchases and not factor them in, since they're much more difficult to track with
budgeting software. Instead, use debit or credit cards wherever possible to keep your spending
visible.
Take the time to establish a budget for your family. Your budget should cover small daily expenses,
as well as, your bills. You should have a clear idea of how much money you absolutely need to spend,
and what kind of expenses you could avoid by changing a few habits for instance.
Do some research into how you can develop a way to earn a passive income. Earning income
passively is great because the money will keep coming to you without requiring that you do
anything. This can take a lot of the burden off of paying bills.
Try to take advantage of all types of discounts and free items during the holidays. These bargains
can really add up and can serve as a great way to build up extra income for the fixed expenses that
you have. Find deals or coupons online or learn about them from your friends and family.
Use cash or a debit card instead of a credit card, especially when purchases are small. This will save
you money in interest if you are someone who does not pay credit card bills in full every month, and
will allow you to purchase from vendors who may
http://www.gcccd.edu/employment-area/default.html not take credit cards for small amounts.

3. As stated in the beginning of the article, it is most likely that any personal financial problems you
may be having are because you do not know important information about finance. This article was
created for you and people like you in order to help you get your finances back on track.