Try 2 checking accounts (2/3 in one account to pay bills and 1/3 in another account for investing and fun)
Avoid CREDIT CARD DEBT
Only keep one card for emergencies
Know where your money goes
Put together a budget
Negotiate with the credit card company for a lower interest rate
Try to find loans that offer a lower interest rate than what you are paying on your credit cards
Try to save something every month
Get the most out of your retirement plan
Review your investments at least twice a year
Take advantage of governmental tax breaks
Review your insurance coverage every year
Prepare or update your will if needed
Locate and organize all of your important financial documents
Teach your children about money
Sample Budget
Why does this budget work? Because we are prepaying future expenses, that is where most people fail.
Beginning Balance
Salary
Interest on CD
Total "Income"
1000
50
1150
Car Payment
Electric Bill
Groceries
300
150
200
Insurance
minus
Total Expenses
equals
Balance +
750
400
Future Pay Expense
Total Expenses
100
750
*Expenses that you will have to pay in the future. (In this example, this person makes their insurance payment semi-annually. He makes one payment of $600 on June 15 and one payment of $600 on December 15. To avoid having to make two payments of $600 each he prepays $100 per month.
+If this is a positive number you are ok. If this is a negative number you need to cut expenses or increase income or both.