Saving One Income

Borrowing money from family and friends can be a perfect solution, but be sure to look at the pros and cons of this approach. Before you join the bandwagon, review first this short list of its advantages and disadvantages. The Pros Flexible Terms: Unlike other forms of traditional finance, funding from family and friends is typically offered on flexible terms. Friends and family may agree to a longer repayment period and may seek a lower rate of return than traditional lenders. On a practical level, little or no security is required and the repayment can be tailored to your financial projections. Minimal charges: One of the greatest advantages of borrowing money from friends and family is that the funds are offered at little or no interest. As a start-up or loss-making company, the interest rate charged by traditional lenders can be very high. Easy to set-up: On a personal level, the family member or friend already knows your ethos and business circumstance and so are less likely...

Financial fears prevent you from taking financial risks, accepting new opportunities and making monetary decisions. They interfere with your financial security and freedom and hold you back from achieving financial success throughout your life. Start Saving Early - You might have to live paycheck-to-paycheck when you start your career. However, you can start saving a small amount of money every month and put it in your savings account. Come out from the Fear of Debt - While it may seem impossible to resolve all your debts, you can grow a large savings to cover your unexpected expenses and put down more cash while borrowing. Look for Affordable Housing Options - Go for smaller and affordable housing options so that you have enough funds to cover other expenses. Grow a savings and diversify your investment to afford a house. Build an Emergency Fund - You can overcome your fear of losing your job by building an emergency fund. You should save 6-8 months of earnings in your em...

You can't just borrow money blindly. Ignorance and lack of planning can be very expensive when it comes to your finances. If you're considering to get a loan, read these insights first. Define your reason for borrowing money - Are you borrowing money just to satisfy an immediate desire or to support a budget shortfall? Borrowing money to solve any of the two won't be beneficial for you. You will end up with unnecessary interests and into a cycle of debt respectively. Define your capability to payback -  Can you  make periodic payments later? Even though you're going to use your loan for business purposes or to make more money, you must make sure that you will be able to pay or else you will have an outstanding debt. Be aware of all the costs of borrowing money - How is your loan going to be calculated? What about the interest rate? If you don't know the answers to these questions, you will be surprised that you could be paying more than you expected. Stu...

Do you have kids who spend  money like crazy? It is not yet too late to teach them how to manage their money effectively regardless of their age. As a parent, you just have to be determined to teach them financial skills from which they can benefit for the rest of their adult lives. So, how do you start with this? Here are some ideas. Introduce piggy banks - Instead of buying the toy they want from your spare money, encourage them child to save up in a piggy bank. Use the toy as their goal for saving up. This will teach them a lot of skills and virtues as well like delayed gratification, patience, self-control, frugality, planning and budgeting. Teach your kids the value of earning their own money - When they get older, kids cannot spend their whole lives depending on you for their needs and financial problems. Is there a chore that they are capable of doing after school hours or during weekends? Encourage them to accomplish those chores regularly in exchange for a few doll...

Income protection is one of the most overlooked means by those who desire to ensure a bright future for their loved ones. There are many reasons why wages need to be protected but I have listed the top three most important ones in this post. They are the following. Provision in the event of illness - You can never tell when an accident or sickness may come to steal your ability to work momentarily or permanently. Having to pay for your medications while providing for the needs of your family can be very challenging. If you do not have the enough funds to cover your expenses, your life and the lives of your spouse and children could be in danger. Receiving payouts until you are able to work again or find another source of allowance can help you make it through during your time of need. Lifestyle security - Let us face it. Whatever benefits you might receive from the government can be set at minimum amounts. Being dependent on these alone may force you to live uncomfortably and ba...

Financial freedom and a life of wealth are two of the top desires people across countries would be willing to exchange everything with. Moreover, they think that having a large amount of money and living a comfortable life is key to happiness. Although there is a grain of truth in there, such a belief makes being wealthy an unreachable aspiration that only happens with luck. Knowing that there are steps that you can take to achieve abundance would  be a better belief to hold on to especially if life of wealth is your aim. To begin with you must have a positive attitude that highlights endless possibilities. Instead of focusing on what your needs and limitations, focus on the things that you can do to improve your current condition. Think outside of the box and have the mindset of a millionaire. While it is true that some millionaires are already born affluent, a big number of richest people still pertain to results of success stories. They started early on as unfortunate ind...

When sustainable lifestyle is being talked about, many people are thinking of acres of land to be owned in the middle of a country where technology, even electricity, does not exist. Here is just a quick correction. A sustainable lifestyle can happen anywhere and anytime so long as you decide to have one. By aiming at this kind of living, you are opening doors of opportunities by which you can save money or earn some more money. For the saving part, here are the things you can do:   reduce your living expenses (by simply living with the bare essentials)   trim down your need for commercially prepared products reduce your living space which you need not fill with much possessions  Since you will be encouraged to live simply, you can get in touch with your creative side all the more. With that creativity, you can earn additional income. Take a look at these. grow   your own food; you can always sell the extra supply raise poultry; sell the eggs ...

I recall what one of my friends often say, "What kids want, kids get!". Many parents try to endure this reality in a rather painful way. They succumb to the apparent truth that today's children are very different from how the children of the previous years were. But hey! There are many things which can be done to get this straightened out. Only a few parents though are willing to give them a try because they involve discipline among the parents as well. Yes. In their desire to avoid arguments, parents just give in to their children's wants and forego the opportunity of teaching them frugality. Limit your children's access to TV and internet - All the attractive products - particularly toys which kids today can think of are marketed through these mediums. Seeing advertisements involving kids of their age who hold the latest gadgets in their hands cause every kid to be envious, whine and prod their parents to buy what they want. Remove electronic gadgets as ...

There is definitely a difference between a frugal and a miser. However, the line that separates them could be very thin. In this post, I will try to point out the clear distinction between the two. Misers are branded as stingy by many. Stingy people have money which they do not want to spend for fear of losing all of it. Usually, this results from unwanted pains of previous financial difficulties. People who are plagued of such thinking deny themselves not only of the things they want but also need. Additionally, guilt is another thing which causes people to be misers. There are some who feel guilty about having more than enough when their relatives and friends are suffering. In order to ease the guilt feeling, they simply do not touch their money. The frugal, on the other hand, are known for their great money management skills. Unlike the miser, the frugal spend but they spend wisely. Also, they choose to make wise investments to earn more money which they can enjoy to sav...

My mom taught me about frugality. She introduced this to me in her own simplest ways. She told me that we have everything we need at home. No need to go grocery shopping more than twice a week. All meals are planned as we follow a certain meal calendar, that way we can eat balanced meals and avoid unhealthy cravings. When our neighbor's kids have new stuff, she always tell us that we can also have those if we are willing to work hard for it. She instilled the value of being contented with what we have. I even lived on a strict budget when I was in college. Now that I am married, I remember everything that my mom told me and it really helps as we prepare to have our own family soon. Frugality is the new (maybe old, but it is definitely coming back nowadays) trend in managing money. If we want to live a secure life and have some savings to hold on in the future, then we have to start now. We have to learn and find new ways to track our expenses, save money and invest those th...