Thoughts On Finance

One of the biggest keys to successful financial structure is to put in place a budget and stick to it.  A budget is the best way to get a grip on your spending and making sure that your money is being used in the way that you want it to be.  Life on a budget is a necessity and so if you haven’t been living on a budget, there is no time like the present to get started and the following information may be helpful in getting started.

Creating a budget generally requires taking the following three steps.

1.  You must track your spending to figure out your current spending patterns.  You can’t change what you don’t know about.

2.  You must evaluate your current spending and set goals to take into account not only your day to day living expenses, but also your long term financial goals.

3.  Continue to track your spending to make sure that it is within the guidelines that you have laid out for yourself.

PITFALLS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Cash leaks.  If you are spending money and you don’t know how much or where it went, then you have a leak.  In general, if you are well budgeted, then you should be able to predict how much cash you need to take for the week, and that should be it.  There should not be constant runs made to the ATM machine or bank, this shows that you are not budgeting effectively.

Spending More Than You Have.  This is a common problem in most households, but you really need to come up with a reasonable budget and then stick to it.  Overspending causes debt, and once debt takes over, it can be difficult if not impossible to overcome, so don’t fall into the trap of spending more than you make.

Don’t Confuse Luxuries With Necessities.  Understanding the difference can be the key to making a realistic budget.  Cable TV, cell phones, internet service and fast food, are not necessity items, even though many people try putting them in that category.  It is important to not try and fool yourself into thinking that you can’t live without these items.

Don’t Count On Windfalls.  When you are figuring out how much money you can live on, don’t include in your budget things like bonuses, tax refunds, or investment gains.  The extra money from such items may be nice, but shouldn’t be figured into your income.

Watch Out For Spending Creep.  This is what happens as you begin to make more money, you begin to spend more money.  You are much better off sticking to the same monthly budget and putting the extra income into your savings.

Many people are looking into buying foreclosures, and the truth is this is probably a good investment if you can afford to do so. It is an excellent time to buy into the housing market and consider owning real estate for the purpose of turning a profit, but you must be able to truly afford this type of investment. There are some real hard facts that you must consider.

1. When buying a foreclosed property, you don’t get a lot of the information about the information about the property that you might receive during a traditional home purchase, and this can put you at a disadvantage, if you only have enough capital to take over the home, but don’t have enough capital to invest in repairing the property. Many foreclosed properties require major work and although you may be one of the lucky ones who gets a property that is in excellent condition this should not be counted on.

2.  If you are considering buying a foreclosed home, make sure that you can afford to pay the taxes on the property.  Just because you get a good deal on the property itself, does not mean that you can afford to hang on to it.

3.  Make sure that you are not spending money that you will need back right away.  It is important to realize that with this uncertain market, that although you can definitely make a profit on a foreclosure it may be a little while before you can turn the best profit.  This is why you need to think of buying a foreclosure as a long term investment, unlike real estate investments of the past, when you could quickly turn over homes for profit.

The important thing to remember is that foreclosures are an excellent opportunity to make a profit, but make sure that you can afford to buy one before you do.

FDIC insurance is what our banks supposedly have to cover our money in case the bank that you have your money in goes under.  This insurance used to cover up to $100,000 per account and has recently been extended to cover up to $250,000 per account and if your money is in a non-interest bearing account, all the money that you have in an account is supposedly covered according to the new FDIC rules effective until December 2009.  Investment and finance expert Suze Orman has been on TV of late for commercials regarding the new FDIC online evaluator, that allows you to check and make sure that your money is insured.  My real question to all is, if this system were to crash, would our government really be able to cover all of the money that every single person in the US has in the bank? And the answer in my opinion is NO WAY! Take a moment and think about the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  In that movie, when people got wind of the bank’s problems they all ran to the bank to withdraw all their money at once and very quickly they knew they were in trouble.  How do you think that our government would handle such a crisis? Do you think that they could just explain to people that their money was invested in their neighbor’s homes and farms? I think not.  So is it a good idea to keep all your money in the banking system? I suggest not.  I am not saying to withdraw every penny, however, it may be a more advisable to begin to save some cash on hand, just in case.  I mean with the stock market so iffy, and the potential that banks and real estate could crash and no credit available, isn’t it possible that you could be left without a dime.  I think it is not only possible, but perhaps likely.  In any case, it is not meant to scare people, but to take note of where your money is and who has the control over it.  It is actually ironic that we are allowing the Federal Government full control over our personal finances, especially since they seem to be such prudent financial wizards, don’t you think?