Join the Discussion~
Find Us On Facebook
Facebook is a registered trademark. |
Paying Yourself First
|
 |
10 Tips on Building Your Nest Egg
1. Save automatically. Sign up
for direct deposit at work and make sure that a portion is deposited directly
into your savings account.
2. Create a workable budget & stick to it. This will help you avoid credit
card debt and increase savings.
3. Brown bag your lunch. Spending $5 per day on lunch adds up to $1,300 a year,
or $13,000 over ten years. Imagine having that money for your retirement.
4. Pay off credit cards as fast as you can. Paying off $1,000 in credit card debt
at a 20% interest rate is the same as earning 20% interest on a $1,000 investment.
Get rid of that debt as soon as possible while still saving for emergencies.
5. Reduce tax withholdings. If you get a big tax refund, too much tax is taken
out of your paycheck and you're giving the government an interest-free loan.
Yes, the big tax return in April is nice, but earning interest on those funds
year-round is better. 6. If you do get a big tax
return, pay down your debt or invest that money in a Roth IRA if you qualify. Ask
your investment advisor for details.
|
|
|
Greetings!
Welcome to the re-designed, re-ignited (and renamed) Personal Finance Today newsletter (previously Fresh Start). Our goal for this newsletter is to provide useful, relevant information to help you and your family increase your financial knowledge and take steps you need to achieve your financial goals. The re-launch of this newsletter comes at a time when many Americans are
re-evaluating their financial habits and actively seeking to improve
their financial literacy. I promise that the articles in Personal Finance Today will be relevant, easy reads. In this and future issues, we will discuss strategies to manage debt, build assets, and how changes in the financial landscape affect everyday Americans ~ in short, this will be information you can use. I hope this newsletter helps you and your
family work toward a your financial goals.  Leslie Linfield Executive Director & Founder Institute for Financial Literacy |
 |
Using Back to School Shopping to Teach Financial Literacy to Kids
|
 Pencils & paper, crayons & rulers,
rugged clothes with a little room to grow: whatever essentials have made it to your
back to school shopping list, chances are good that your children have some
ideas of their own. And, if you're like many families, you have to make your
money stretch further than ever.
But, with every challenge comes an opportunity - what better way to teach your
children the basics of living within a budget and learn the difference between
"wants" and "needs?" Here are a few tips that will help you
and your kids earn an "A" for shopping smarter.
|
| |
How the Credit Card Act
Affects You
|
Earlier this year, President Obama signed the Credit CARD
Act into law. This law was designed to make credit card contracts less
confusing and provide needed protections for consumers.
But be careful: most of the law doesn't take effect until
February of 2010. Here is what you should know about your rights under the Act right
now, and what you should look out for between now and February.
Beginning August 20, 2009:
Credit card companies are
required to give you 45 days notice of interest rate increases or big
changes to the terms of your account. They also have to let you know you
have the right to reject the change and cancel the account. |
| |
Thrift on Credit: How Your Choice of Stores Can Affect Your Credit Limit
|
Credit card companies know a lot about you. They
know where you shop, how often, and what you buy. They know the restaurants you
frequent, what kind of tires you just bought for your car, and whether you and
your spouse have been to a marriage counselor. Or, at least they know this if
you used your credit card.
You've known this for a while, so you may ask, what's the big deal? Well, the
big deal could be a sudden decrease in your credit limit if the credit card
company doesn't like what it sees. Data mining is
the process of gathering huge amounts of information to identify patterns.
Lately, people have reported that their credit card companies have cut their
credit limits based on their spending patterns. The thinking goes, if someone
is shopping at a thrift store or local fast food joint, maybe they are facing
or preparing for financial hardship. Or, if a credit card company sees a charge
for a session at a marriage counselor, they could assume that the card holder
will probably get a divorce soon . . . and will have less income. People from
across the country have related stories about having their credit limit cut
because of where they shopped.
|
|
|
|
|
