Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
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Newsletter for January 2017
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Budgeting and Personal Finance
Top Ten Financial Tips
by Deborah Fowles
Keys to Financial Success
Although making resolutions to
improve your financial situation
is a good thing to do at any
time of year, many people find
it easier at the beginning of a
new year. Regardless of when you
begin, the basics remain the
same. Here are my top ten keys
to getting ahead financially.
Get Paid What You're Worth and Spend
Less Than You Earn
It sounds simplistic, but many
people struggle with this first
basic rule.
Make sure you know what your job
is worth in the marketplace, by
conducting an evaluation of your
skills, productivity, job tasks,
contribution to the company, and
the going rate, both inside and
outside the company, for what
you do. Being underpaid even a
thousand dollars a year can have
a significant cumulative effect
over the course of your working
life.
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. It doesn't
always have to involve making
big sacrifices.
Related Resources:
Stick
to a Budget
One of my favorite subjects:
budgeting. It's not a
four-letter word. How can you
know where your money is going
if you don't budget?
How can you set spending and saving
goals if
you don't know where your money
is going? You need a budget
whether you make thousands or
hundreds of thousands of dollars
a year.
Related Resources:
Pay Off
Credit Card Debt
Credit card debt is
the number one obstacle to
getting ahead financially.
Those little pieces of plastic
are so easy to use, and it's so
easy to forget that it's real
money we're dealing with when we
whip them out to pay for a
purchase, large or small.
Despite our good resolves to pay
the balance off quickly, the
reality is that we often don't,
and end up paying far more for
things than we would have paid
if we had used cash.
Related Resources:
Contribute to a Retirement Plan
If your employer has a 401(k)
plan and you don't contribute to
it, you're walking away from one
of the best deals out there. Ask
your employer if they have a
401(k) plan (or similar plan),
and sign up today. If you're
already contributing, try to
increase your contribution. If
your employer doesn't offer a
retirement plan, consider an
IRA.
Related Resources
Have a
Savings Plan
You've heard it before: Pay
yourself first! If you wait
until you've met all your other
financial obligations before
seeing what's left over for
saving, chances are you'll never
have a healthy savings account
or investments.
Resolve to set aside a minimum
of 5% to 10% of your salary
for savings BEFORE
you start paying your bills.
Better yet, have money
automatically deducted from your
paycheck and deposited into a
separate account.
Invest!
If you're contributing to a
retirement plan and a savings
account and
you can still manage to put
some money into other
investments, all the
better.
Related Resources:
Maximize Your Employment Benefits
Employment benefits like a
401(k) plan, flexible
spending accounts,
medical and
dental insurance, etc.,
are worth big bucks. Make sure
you're maximizing yours and
taking advantage of the ones
that can save you money by
reducing taxes or out-of-pocket
expenses.
Related Resources:
Review
Your Insurance Coverage's
Too many people are talked into
paying too much for life
and disability insurance,
whether it's by adding these
coverage's to car
loans, buying whole-life
insurance policies when
term-life makes more sense, or buying
life insurance when
you have no dependents. On the
other hand, it's important that
you have enough insurance
to protect your dependents and
your income in the case of death
or disability.
Related Resources:
Update Your Will
70% of Americans don't have a
will. If you have dependents, no
matter how little or how much
you own, you need a will. If
your situation isn't too
complicated you can even do your
own with software like Will
Maker from Nolo Press. Protect
your loved ones. Write a will.
Related Resources:
Keep
Good Records
If you don't keep
good records, you're
probably not claiming all your
allowable income and
credits. Set up a system now and
use it all year. It's much
easier than scrambling to find
everything at tax time, only to
miss items that might have saved
you money. |
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