personal finance adviser

asked:


I know that Money and Kiplingers focus on investments and 401k which are good things that I already do, I’m more interested in reading article and tips on other things dealing with money. Thanks.

Adam

Tyro asked:


what can one do that the other one can’t?

Rafael

Gavin McDaniels asked:




At some point or another, we all experience the helpless feeling of being physically lost. Whether it’s traveling, hiking, starting a new school or job, the fear is still the same. When we are not paying attention it is very easy to lose our sense of direction. The same holds true with our personal finances. If we allow ourselves to become distracted we can find ourselves in the same helpless and scary situation. Financial goals are like the signs or markers along the way that keep us on track and prevent us from getting lost. Setting financial goals helps put our current financial situation in perspective.

As individuals and as couples, identifying your finance goals early is important. For example, you may want to take and elaborate European vacation when your children leave home. However, if you don’t prepare now you will most certainly miss out on the dream. With goals in place, you are less likely to be tempted to spend your money on something you don’t need. As you identify and review your finance goals, remember to include your significant other because it takes a team effort.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you establish your finance goals:

* What hobbies do I have or would I like to pursue?
* Is education important to me or my family members? What preparation should I be making to ensure we receive a good education?
* Do I own a home or would I like to? What do I need to do to buy a home or pay it off?
* What are my career goals? What planning or training should I be engaged in?
* Is charity or church important to me and what type of contributions do I make to them?
* Are there specific character traits that I am trying to develop in myself or children? Do my spending habits conflict with these?
* When do I plan to retire? How am I going to be financially ready before that time?
* With the state of health care, will I be prepared for the future?
* How much consumer debt do I have if any? What am I doing to eliminate that debt?
* Will my spending today bring me regret later in life?

As you ask yourself these questions, write down your goals and prioritize them. This will help solidify and keep them in your mind. Work towards each of your finance goals every month and as you do so, you will find yourself happier and better prepared for the future. Don’t allow yourself to become financially lost by setting short and long term goals today.

Ronald

GERARD C asked:


I would love to read some books that really get to the facts about earning money by using some techniques that the rich use. Leveraging with the banks money, aggressive moves in the stock market, etc. I hate hearing save your pennies and compound the savings over forty years. I’m 40 and I need to get faster results.

Janet

Kate asked:


MS Money and Quicken onkly budget per month and I need a program that will let me budget on a two week pay structure. Any ideas? Being able to download from my bank is a definite bonus.

Henry

truth asked:


but my parents have been managing mine for the last few years that I’ve been working full time. My mother is a manipulating money hungry control freak and won’t even let me have my own bank account.

I just want to get a survey here to understand how hard it is to manage one’s finance so my heart can prepare for what to come. This is really scary for me.

Grace

~Joy~ asked:


I do NOT want to cheat. I just want someone to help me understand how to calculate this finance question. If you wanted to save 5,000 in 3 years and you already had 1000. With an interest rate of 8%, how would you go about calculating the equal year end deposits?

Alicia

Jono Johnson asked:




If you start tracking down your expenses to the smallest detail, you will see that it will be much easier to keep track of what you really need to spend money on – like transportation from your home to your work and back – and things you desire, like an energy drink that helps you thorough the day. The difference between your needs and things your desires help you control your spending.

There are situations when the two overlap: maybe you will see some new pants for $70. There would be no arguing you need a pair of new pants, but the price tag would make you think twice. However, there is no point in buying something that is cheap, but you are not entirely happy with: why are you working to make money if you can’t have any joy in it?

There are some questions to ask yourself to see what the difference is between the things you really need and the things you desire. What is the purpose of this purchase? Can it save time, energy or money for you? Will it help you do something you want or must do? When will you use this purchase? What are the pros and cons of buying it now versus waiting?

What are the things you must give up to buy that thing? Do you have to say goodbye to your savings? Will there be any delays in the purchase of other things? Can you make this purchase and stick to your plan to pay down debt? Keep in mind that the real price of a thing you buy can not be defined by its price plus sales tax. If you buy something, you may loose an opportunity to invest that money.

A good trick is setting your own price tag to different things: before you decide to buy something, a lunch, a car or a vacation, ignore its price tag, and decide how much that thing is worth to you. If you do this, it will be less probable you overspend on something you don’t really need.

So if you decide how much a flat screen TV is worth to you and you are not willing to pay more on that, you will see that the yearnings for the things only rich people can afford. You will walk away freely from things that have a price tag that doesn’t match your own price.

Stella

lingua06437 asked:


This person has a checking and savings account. He has no other investments. He is a little freaked out by all the choices. What could I give hime that would simplify it all for him?

Curtis

Ryan Sachs asked:




For many people, personal finance seems to be a foreign concept or a serious venture that sounds too complicated for them. Being daunted by the task of managing their finances seems to be an effect of being intimidated by money.

To encourage a healthy attitude towards money and managing one’s own finances, parents should teach the concept of personal finance. It doesn’t matter if they parents themselves are having difficulties with their own. By teaching their children how, they can in fact be motivated to manage their own finances better.

One’s attitude towards personal finance will have a profound effect on the quality of life a person will have as he grows older. This is why it is never too early to teach it to children.

Parents can start with simple things such as explaining to a pre-schooler why they won’t buy that toy or something that the kid wants them to buy even if they can. Concepts of income and budgeting can be explained in simplified terms that children can grasp.

When kids start getting their allowance, they can already actively practice personal finance on their own. It can start with a simple task as tallying their daily expenses to see where their money went.

Better yet, children can start making a budget even before they spend their allowance. To begin with, they can declare the percentage of their allowance they intend to set aside and put that straight into their savings. The rest of their money they can spend as they wish on food, treats, or things for school.

Finally, to give children a sense of accomplishment while demonstrating how serious having savings is, parents and kids alike can go to the bank and open a savings account. For a kid, this can be an awesome experience. Going into a “grown up” place, getting a savings account, and seeing his name on a bank document will give him a sense of having achieved something. All this will further motivate him into maintaining the habits he learned about personal finance.

Gregory