Parents, everything your children learn about personal finance (not to mention everything else) will come from your examples. Your kids will accept paying early or paying late, having enough or not having enough, being in debt or being debt free as the way life is.
Mar
19
Along with death and taxes, you can count on inflation to lie in waiting for you.
What is inflation? It’s a $40.00 fill-up. It’s the $4.00 loaf of bread, the $1,200.00 rent payment, the $150,00 electric bill, and the $12.00 movie ticket. And it never stops.
Mar
14
The first three online calculators have helped wipe out your credit card debt, plan an early loan payoff, and buy a car within your budget
Once you’ve gotten that far (and maybe you’re there already), you’ll want to sharpen your savings plan.
Mar
12
The online calculator in this installment is very similar to the loan reduction calculator featured last time. Bankrate.com calls it an Auto Calculator and gives you more options for narrowing your price range and terms.
In all good conscience, I can’t talk about this tool without first mentioning that Real World Finance is strongly opposed to taking out a loan to buy a car. As detailed in an earlier article, the advantages of saving for your next car purchase are many and the dollar savings are significant.
Mar
7
The first article in this five-part series featured the online credit card calculator, designed to give you the hard numbers on what it will take to pay off the credit card company. It was first because getting rid of credit card debt is the number one priority on the road to financial freedom.
The next calculator represents the second big step, and that is paying off an existing loan as quickly as possible. For most people this could mean an auto loan, or a home equity line of credit loan. Your motivation for paying off the loan early is a big savings in interest charges.
Mar
5
Regular readers of Real World Finance know I’m an advocate of seeing the big picture, financially and otherwise. If we don’t understand where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re headed, then chances are pretty good we’ll continue repeating mistakes and getting nowhere.
Feb
9
Back in college I came up with the idea of creating what I called my Master List, and over the years it has saved me more time and money than any other tool I can think of. Much like my To Do list, it has evolved very little since I started using it, probably because it is so simple.
Jan
4
If you’ve resolved to do better at keeping your finances in top shape, I’ve got some great news. This is the time of year to stock up on office supplies because a lot of stores put them on sale.
As detailed in an earlier article, having the right tools is a great way to invest in yourself. The pittance you spend now will pay dividends starting today and lasting the rest of your life. If you like, think of it as sharpening your axe before heading into the forest.
Dec
19
I have a little holiday present for you, which you can download by clicking here.
Now before you get too excited, let me tell you this is a used gift. Used, as in I’ve used it continuously since around 1992. It’s something I haven’t modified all those years because it’s so simple and it works so well. At the risk of sounding immodest, this could be your best gift. Or at least the most powerful.
Jul
14
Now that you have all your supplies gathered, it’s time to start getting organized.
The first thing is to set up a filing system. Each file folder will contain some paperwork that matches one part of your life. Since we’re all leading different lives, I can’t tell you exactly which labels will go on your folders. Students will need to keep track of things like receipts for tuition and books, and might not have car or rent expenses. A full-time worker will likely need to keep track of a lot more things including rent and utility bills.
