Safe Personal Finance

Young people aren’t being taught the fundamental skills necessary to become financially stable. They are thrown into the real world after being supported by others and are expected to figure it out. Becoming financially literate takes a long time, and it is important that we pass on tips to help them achieve these skills quicker.

Teaching the younger generation good financial habits can help them out in later life and the earlier these habits are developed, the better the generation will be at handling finances.
People always agree that teaching young kids how to deal with money is the right course to take, but many people seldom do this. Parents can often delay even talking about money until their children get older.

It is the exception to the rule when a child leaving a home is financially responsible. I know I was spending everything I could and I know that my friends did the same. Teaching children how to be financially responsible at a young age can help solve this kind of situation, and have students leaving college with minimum debt.
Teaching children about financial planning using simple games is easy to do. Giving a child a budget for treats and teaching them how to manage what they spend will teach them how to delay gratification and save for bigger treats.

Also having kids save part of their allowance you can help build the saving habit. Offering to match what they save (just like many wealthy individuals do) can provide an incentive to your children.

By teaching financial literacy to their children, parents can realize their own mistakes and learn a thing or two about financial management themselves. Improving your own financial literacy is a great by product of helping your children have a stable financial future.
I hope that I’ve helped to convince you that teaching children at an early age about financial responsibility will provide rewards that could last them a life time.

Computers (especially desktop machines) are mammoth consumers of electricity and can be a major source of strain on your electricity bill. This can be especially worrying when you have kids that are at their computers for the majority of the evening.

Computers can consume a lot of power, especially when considering the heat and noise energy that is wasted in older desktops.

Luckily there are a few steps that you can take to help lower your computer power wastage.

Switching to a laptop from a desktop pc can cut your power consumption in half. Laptops consume little power when compared to desktop PCS. If you have a laptop with a long battery life, you can also unplug completely and use the battery power.

Computers come built in with sleep modes but it is surprising how many people don’t take advantage of this. There are settings computers that will turn the monitor off, the hard disks off or even put the system into hibernation when you are not using it. Find out how to activate these on your particular system and make sure your computer is only turned on when you are using it.

This leads me to the point about screen savers. Screen savers may make your desktop look pretty but they are a complete waste of power. Having the computer screen on with an animation means consuming power when you’re not using it, make sure you choose to put your monitor to sleep rather than have a screen saver.

Dimming the screen just a touch can help you save power. A lot of power is consumed in powering the monitor, so it makes sense that you concentrate of having the monitor either switched off or dimmed when possible.

Closing programs when you have finished using them will help the computer save power by cutting down on the power consumption of the processor. You don’t need to keep all of your applications open, make sure you’re efficient and exit an application when you no longer need it.

When I became old enough to have a credit card, companies were pitching their cards at every corner. Even going to the bank to extend my student overdraft involved several credit card pitches from various members of the bank. Obviously I caved in, I was a student and the idea of having extra money to pay for drinks and club entrance fees didn’t push me away from the idea.

Then of course the interest hits you in the face, and the realisation that you’re going to have trouble repaying this amount of money plus interest. The debt monster is soon clutching at you and you realize that it wasn’t the best idea getting that credit card after all.
Every time a credit card bill came it appeared that the balances were doing nothing but growing, and I couldn’t keep up with the fees and interest charges. With the help of a few family members and a financial advisor, I finally managed to get the debt sorted, at the expense of having no savings or emergency funds to survive with.

It is best to stay away from credit cards altogether, but here are some tips for dealing with credit from banks.

• Using a debit card instead of a credit card is a great way to curb spending, the money is deducted from your bank account and helps avoid over spending.
• Always be on the lookout for the best credit card deals. Many providers offer 0% interest on purchases, which can help you save money on expensive charges that come with most credit cards.
• Never use department store credit cards. They come with all kinds of benefits included discounts. Now it sounds good to have discounts for your favourite stores however remember that the reason they offer you this discount is that they make double the money from you in the long run with interest charges and fees.
• Pay off your balance each month, make it a habit to clear any balance with your bank account so that interest charges aren’t building up.

Following these simple rules can help you avoid the hefty charges that come with owning a credit card. Making sure that you keep on top of the financial problems of credit cards can ensure financial security in years to come!

With the ability to change the terms and conditions at any time, the credit card companies can get rid of card holders that are not making money, especially those with additional risk or are a financial burden to the company.

Here are some specific reasons a credit card company may cancel your card.

Not spending.

This is the most preventable and also the most common reasons credit cards are cancelled. Purchasing something every few months will ensure that your credit card remains active and you can even pay it off straight away so that you don’t have any interest charges to pay.

Credit Score Change

If your credit score changes (for the worse) your card issuer may decide to take your credit away.

Increase in Debt elsewhere

Credit card companies can view your credit score regularly, and if you’re total debt amount is increasing over time they can feel that it may be time to pull the plug on your credit to protect their own risk exposure.

The increase in credit

If you request credit that goes beyond what the company is comfortable with, they could run end up running for the hills.

Market Conditions

We’ve all seen the lending belts of huge credit card companies tighten over the last few years. Anything like what we’ve experienced could affect your ability to have a credit card.
Credit card companies are required to give 45 days notice before making any significant changes to the terms and conditions such as interest rates.

However the cancellation of a credit card is not seen to be a significant change and can be done pretty much when they feel like it.

Creating a budget isn’t hard, sticking with it can be almost impossible. The ideal budget is something that you look forward to, something that you will enjoy meeting and having that will help you keep hold of your pennies!

Regardless of whether your goals include a large bank balance or no credit card balance, having a budget that you enjoy will help you get there. If you make the path to achieving your goals

Fundamental principles for keeping to a budget include:

• having a goal, something that you’re striving towards
• keep doing things you love, for less
• suffering a large expense

A budget shouldn’t deprive you of the things that you want to do, a budget should let you have more money at the end of the month. Just make sure you pay less for the things you like to do. I go the cinema a lot, sometimes twice a week. When I stopped going to a large chain cinema and starting going to a small independent cinema I saved a bundle. I still go to the cinema a lot but I have more cash left over.

Small changes like this is how you save money.

That’s how a budget should be. You need to track everything you are spending money on, cancel everything you don’t need, and start finding ways to cut the price of the things you want to keep spending money on.

Changing where you buy pizza from rather than cutting it out all together will help you reduce your expenses and it won’t feel like a loss of lifestyle.

Review where you spend your money and what is costing you more than you should be paying, and you’ll come up with a number of ways to save money. Act like a business on this and you’ll be closer to achieving your financial goals. Cut expenses where you can, keep your outgoings to a minimum without  staying at home staring at the wall.

Debt settlement companies are all over the tv channels these days, and there are plenty of companies fighting for your attention online (check any personal finance blog with adsense enabled and you’ll see what I mean).

If you’re struggling to pay your debts you can often be tempted. With that crushing feeling of debt rearing its ugly head everyday it can be tempting to look for a quick fix but it isn’t always wise to give in.

We’ll discuss what debt settlement is and how it works and whether it’s worth contacting one of those companies.

If you owe a significant amount of money (tens of thousands) and you were once able to make payments but are now struggling, credit companies will start harassing you. What a debt management company will do is basically call the creditor up and say “I’ll give you a small amount of money back, and then we’ll call it quits. Either that or you don’t get a thing.”

This is what the plan of debt management firms is, and the creditors are finding it difficult to say no to.

Creditors realize that some money is better than no money and a debt management company will force their hand, reducing your debt massively.

That’s what debt consolidation is, the debt management company will lend you some money to give to creditors, decreasing your payments and reducing all of your debts into one.

Of course, your credit score will take a hit, and the debt management fee is still going to be making money from you. But if you’re struggling to pay back a large amount of debt, paying a little is better than paying a lot.

You could potentially do all of this yourself if you are a good negotiator, however, you have to then find some way to get the money to pay off the small amounts you’ve promised creditors. A debt management company will lend you the money, so it is important that you have a good amount of cash available if you choose to do it yourself.

If you’re in a large amount of debt more than likely you will have to deal with a credit counsellor or a debt advisor at some point.

If you’re debt is weighing you down and creditors are knocking at your door, it might be time to speak with a debt advisor. They can provide you with help, and it may be a case of getting the helper sooner rather than later.

Credit counsellors are the lightest option to tackle debt, and the one that you should try first if you are struggling with your finances. Credit counsellors are a great way to get help with your debts, and there are plenty of advisors willing to help, even some for free.
Doing a quick search on Google maps will show you a whole host of results in your area as will scanning through the yellow pages for credit or debt advice. Many can provide initial consultations for free and you could walk away with enough advice to get the ball rolling yourself.

Credit counsellors are generally selling a product, and eventually they will recommend that you join a debt management program, which they will normally get a commission for.

There are many advisors and you will normally be able to find some at your local bank who will provide you with free advice without an ulterior motive, so it may be wise to book an appointment with your bank.

Counselling agencies will normally require fees past the first session but they could help you out of a sticky situation with some good solid advice. These people know the debt industry and they can provide you with information that you may not have thought about which could be the first step to getting yourself out of debt and back onto your feet.


Debt can become overwhelming very quickly. When creditors are starting to come knocking on your door it can be a difficult situation to get out of. As long as you tighten up your belt and start making payments by making cuts elsewhere, you can come out fighting.
Here are some great strategies for paying down debt.

Figure out exactly what your situation is

You may have no idea what money is leaving your account. Using your credit card to pay for things that you can’t remember a few days later is a great way not to keep track of your finances. Take a week or so to monitor your spending and understand exactly what is leaving your account and why. You’ll notice things that you might not have thought of. Things like the latte factor can add up over time and keep you from reaching your financial goals.

Draw up a plan

Nothing can beat a plan. I love getting a spreadsheet created and plan exactly what I’m going to do. Jot down your expenses and income and jot down your debt. Figure out how much you can pay each month and whether you can manage to meet payments. Once you know you can follow a plan and watch your debt decrease gradually.

When Possible, Put a little aside

Starting to save is the first thing you should do after you pay off your debt. If you can start doing it while you’re paying your debt off then that is even better. Start the saving habit as soon as you can. It’s the opposite of building up debt, and it is what you should base your entire financial strategy on once you get out of debt.

Pay as much of your debt of as possible

Sticking to minimum payments on debt will take for longer and cost you much more than if you increase your payment each month. The minimum payment is set up only to make money from you. Creditors love it when you choose to pay the minimum, its more money for them. Make sure you pay what you can and you’ll reduce your debt quickly and cheaply.

“The mint makes it first, it is up to you to make it last.” – Evan Esar

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money.” – Jackie Mason

“The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket.” – Kin Hubbard

“Money will come when you are doing the right thing.” – Mike Phillips

“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.” – Woody Allen

“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.” – Bob Hope

“What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.” – Julia Cameron

“The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any.” – Katharine Whitehorn

“If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.” – Ben Franklin

“The art is not in making money, but in keeping it.” – Proverb

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Smith

“Money is usually attracted, not pursued.” – Jim Rohn

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” – Donald Trump

“If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Money is like love; it kills slowly and painfully the one who withholds it, and enlivens the other who turns it on his fellow man.” – Kahlil Gibran

“Someday I want to be rich. Some people get so rich they lose all respect for humanity. That’s how rich I want to be.” – Rita Rudner

Financial statements can be an absolute bore to read, however it is always wise to keep track of your money. Making sure you keep up to date with what’s going in and out of your account will help you maintain a good financial balance and see where your money is actually going.

Learning to analyse and scrutinise your financial statements is a great way to learn about your spending habits so that you can make conscious decisions about saving money during a normal day.

When applying for a loan banks often ask for your financial statements. They know what to look for and what the statements can potentially tell them about your financial situation.
Your bank statement gives an indication to your financial performance and whether you can manage your money or not. Your bank statements will show how liquid you are and whether you have enough leverage for the loan amount. Your income statements will show how profitable you are with your investments (if you have any).

If your bank statement shows a strong level of good financial management and if you have shown that you have good profitability with investments a banker will assume that you will be profitable for years to come.

An ability to manage your finances equates to an ability to pay debts for a bank and so make sure your financial statements show this.

Making sure that your income vs expenses is stable or increasing year on year will show a banker that you know how to manage your finances and will be the kind of person that they would like to do business with.

If your expenses are getting on top of your income and you are starting to slip into the red it will be clear to a banker that you may not be able to pay back what you borrow.