http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5J107U72oo
Make sure to adequately shop around for better financing. When dealing with loan officers email them questions and concerns and try and get as much of their responses in writing as you can as loan officers often change terms of finance deals all the time to get you to pay more than you have to.
Never use a credit card for a cash advance. Cash advances carry with them extremely high interest rates and stiff penalties if the money is not paid back on time. Strive to build a savings account and use that instead of a cash advance if a true emergency should arise.
Don't order your checks through your bank! Most banks charge a pretty hefty fee for printing your checks because they aren't the actual printer. They are financial institutions but they are just a middle man when it comes to printing. Look for ads in the Sunday inserts to find a cheap check printer.
If you have any credit card debt, make sure to start paying the higher interest ones down first. Putting all your extra money into paying off your credit cards now is a smart move, because looking at the trend, interest rates are going to continue to rise over the next couple of years.
Make paying down high interest credit card debt a priority. Pay more money on your high interest credit cards every month than you do on something that does not have as big of an interest rate. This will ensure that your principal debt does not grow into something that you will never be able to pay.
When you are shopping for decorations for the holiday seasons it is always best to wait to buy them after the holiday. The retail stores always put them on sale the day after at insane savings. Sometimes you can save up to 90 percent on holiday items if you just wait!
Avoiding debt to begin with is the best advice for good personal finances. You may need to get a loan for a car or a home. But don't rely on credit cards to get you by from one day to the next.
Don't automatically buy the biggest containers of a product thinking you will be saving money. While that is most often the rule many times a comparison of the per unit price of a product will show that it is actually the same between bigger and smaller containers, or even that you would actually save by buying the smaller quantity!
If you must move in with a family member to reduce expenses and save money. Make the best of the situation and save, save, save. It may be tempting to blow your paychecks on nights out or other frivolous things, but you could be saving for a few months' rent, a car, and other things that can get you back out on your own.
To make sure you are prepared for unexpected expenses, start putting money away in an emergency savings account. One of the easiest ways to do this is by scheduling automatic savings deposits to be taken out of each paycheck. Then, the next time you have an unplanned expense such as your car breaking down you will have the money on hand to cover it.
A vital step in getting your personal finances in order is to make a budget. If you do not like that term, call it a spending plan. Whatever you call it, make sure you get it done. You cannot make progress towards better controlling your finances if you do not have a handle on where your money is coming from and where it is going.
Now that you've learned what to do about your finances, life should be getting good again. You likely have some good ideas about the steps that need to be taken to improve your financial situation. Now that your situation has improved, be sure to pass on the knowledge.
