FINANCES
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- CincodeMayo
I think I better organize my finances before I get over my head in credit card debt (I'm getting close...)
How do you guys do it? I try to keep receipts, but I don't think throwing them in shoeboxes counts. I have a few credit cards, a debit card, a check book, a bunch of monthly bills...any recommened programs for Mac? I downloaded Turbo Tax last year but I don't know if that helps...
Any ideas?
- ********0
You don't make enough to spend blindly and make impulse purchases without thinking twice?
...
Then I can't help you.
- ********0
online banking! depending on your bank some have better feature than others
- Teeuwen0
thank god i don't have a credit card.
in the US this is so common right? every kid has a creditcard, so it seems..
would not be good for me.
- ********0
Janne, I'd gladly pay you for 2 pizzas next week, for 1 pizza today.
- chz0
If you have to buy it on credit, you can't afford it... I don't understand how people can rack up huge credit card debt paying like 19-20% interest on it.
- go_st0
i keep an old fashioned notebook of my expenses. hmmm, i should probably start using it again too....
- woodyBatts0
Find away to always know how much money you have, I religously balance my checkbook and reconcile bank statements, so that way I'm within knowing how much i have in the bank within $10 dollars,
when i don't know I balance again.With savings or paying down debt, think of spending $3/a day on paying your debt down, I use online bill pay for stuff like that. When I finance something I know how long it will take to pay it off, I give myself parameters, e.g if I have 1k on credit, I have to pay at least 250 / mo or i can't use the card, etc.
All in all I find when I don't know what's going on with my finiances it's usually b/c i'm scared of what the outcome will be, but I assure myself that by burying my head in the sand won't help.
Hope I didn't sound too didatic, just suggestions.
- Tara0
Well put Woody,
Wise man!
- CincodeMayo0
To be honest, my debts aren't as bad as I made it out to be. I recently moved, so I put a couple things on credit, and I needed a suit and tux for work, so that too. Plan on paying them off quickly.
And I always know how much I have in my account. But I have to check like 4 different websites to figure it all out...just wondering if there's an easier way to do it. Maybe I'll look into online bill pay.
Anyone ever consolidate a bunch of cards?
- -sputnik-0
don't use credit cards unless you absolutely have to.
we don't...we save up for stuff we want and if we can't buy it that way, we can't afford it. plus there's something cheesy about sleeping in a bed or washing your clothes in a machine which you're making payments on and technically don't belong to you. too weird for me.
- bgheen0
I totally disagree with you guys.
EVERY purchase should be made on a credit card that has a cash-back incentive program.
The key still is to just ONLY spend what you can pay off, in full at the end of the month. So always check your outstanding balance on the card and your bank balance (find a bank with great electronic services).
I don't even spend much but I'm expecting $400-800 free cash this year.
- ********0
yea my cc gives me points , I need about 2500 more points to get a free planner ... oh yea!
- pepsi0
I save at least a thousand a month
- Momentum20
i used my credit card to buy my DS lite... =)
- bgheen0
dude points suck..they always end the programs when you're near actually getting something good.
Cash back, thats the only good thing. I get 5% back on most things.
- TheBlueOne0
Just keep some files of the paperwork (and be consistent), get Quicken or a similar program, use only one credit card (no store credit cards, no gas cards, etc..), pay bills ontime, and open a savings account online and stick money away each month - ING Direct pays nearly 5% on the year, which is pretty good...and remember - pay yourself first.
- pepsi0
Cash back, thats the only good thing. I get 5% back on most things.
bgheen
(Aug 30 06, 09:03)Which credit card do you use?
- mg330
For you, a gift, if you have Excel.
http://www.mg33.net/newstoday/th…
I made this a few years ago when I started working, I've passed it along to many people (some here) and generally the response I get is most people have no idea how much they're living beyond their means.
The instructions are pretty straightforward.
Basically, you enter your take home pay AFTER taxes, medical, 401K, etc.Then you enter your required expenses per month, and you're left with an allowance of sorts.
Then you can seperate that into Savings Account money, credit card debt, and you can truly see what your total amount of spending money is.I've also got it set up so that you see how much allowance you have left if you hold yourself to $100 a week for things like food, going out, etc.
Hope it works out for you.
- mrsparkle0
I use my air miles credit card for everything, but I only buy things that I know that I have the money for.
Mrs.Sparkle and I have earned almost enough air miles in 2 years for airfare for 2 to Tokyo.
Consolodate those debts! I went to the bank years ago and got a loan for my debts and then they worked out that if I payed $X dollars a month I'd pay off the loan in X amount of time.
Look for a good rate though. The banks here were fighting over my business and gave me 1% under prime.
- k0na_an0k0
i really don't want to even t hink about my expenses right now. my fiance and i are less than 2 weeks away from almost paying for an entire wedding on our own.
last november before i proposed, aside from my mortgage and car, i was only in debt for 3000, and most of that was from a new computer and accessories i just bought.
now... uh... yeah. as much as it makes me want to throw up i know we'll get most of what we spent back so i can't be too worried.
i created my own spreadsheet and keep track of everything we spend our money on, what we make and how much we save. we keep track of everything monthly, add it up and see how it compares to what we both take in. if it's over, we are idiots and know it. if it's under we can see by how much. after the wedding when we get our feet back on the ground we've made personal goals of saving as much as we can and getting our debt back in line.