Tracking your personal spending can be a complex, time-consuming task. If you track each expense, it is easier to maintain a budget. With things like online banking and other financial tools you may think this is easy but it’s still important that you stay on top of your money.
Make sure you always have a small envelope handy. Use it to preserve any receipts or business cards you receive. It’s important to keep these things for future reference. You might need these receipts later to compare against your credit card’s monthly statements in case a double charge or other error shows up.
There are generally 90 day or year long warranties on products, so usually if something is going to go wrong, it will do in within that time period. An extended warranty is just a way to make more money.
Credit Score
Don’t fret if your credit score decreases while work on repairing credit. You may not have done anything to hurt it. Keep on working toward getting good things on your credit score, and your score will improve.
Try to negotiate with debt collectors who are trying to get you to make payments. Chances are that they bought your debt for a low price. By talking them down, you can pay less than what you originally owed while they still make a profit. Use that information to rid yourself of debt for very little money.
Try making presents instead of buying them. This will lessen the amount you spend shopping and can help you save a lot of money during the holidays. By being a little creative you will save money, and have extra cash in your pocket for other things.
Make sure to save for a rainy day by creating a savings account for emergencies. Save for some goal that you want to achieve, such as paying off a debt or saving up enough money to go to college.
Flexible Spending Account
If your company offers a flexible spending account be sure to put it to use. You will save money with your flexible spending account if something were to happen where you incurred additional bills. Having these accounts will help you build a savings of pretax dollars to pay for these expenses. However, there are certain restrictions, so you should consider speaking with an accountant or tax specialist.
If you have any old laptops lying around, you can generate extra cash and supplement your income. Used electronics that are working can net a decent chunk of change. This is a much better alternative to running up interest on your credit cards.
Set up payments on a monthly basis when you are paying credit cards. Paying a credit card bill on time is a boost to your credit score, even if you can’t pay the full amount. If you set up an automatic payment, late payments never happen and you can pay more than the minimum if you happen to have some extra funds free.
Staying on top of your finances will allow you to save money on overdraft fees and late fees. Keeping track of your financial situation will reduce your level of stress and make you feel more in control of your money.
There are tremendous opportunities for small businesses and social entrepreneurs to support their communities through community foundations, donor advised funds and other means of giving back. Find the neighborhoods in
Kalamazoo, Michigan where you can make the most impact on education in the community.