Current Situation
Do You Need A Diagnosis Of Your Personal Finances?
You’re probably reading this question and wondering are you kidding me, I don’t think that my finances are sick, maybe a few problems here and there but what does a diagnosis have to do with my personal finances? Well, if you’re having a problem with your personal finances and you cannot determine what the problem is then wouldn’t it be great if you were able to identify the problem you may be having with your finances? That’s right, you would be diagnosing your own problem with your finances up close and personal.
If you’re able to diagnose a current problem with your own personal finances this may help you to alleviate further damage to your finances. You’re thinking to yourself, yes maybe diagnosing my personal finances may help me but, I’m really not sure about this. Well, let’s take a further look to determine if diagnosing your personal finances is something you should consider doing. Interestingly, Janet and Joseph were also a little apprehensive about diagnosing a problem they had with their personal finances too, but, they decided that they would take a stab at investigating the problems they were having with their finances.
Joseph and Janet were having problems meeting their mortgage payment each month along with some of their other household expenses. They just could not understand where all of their money kept going each month. They both had very good jobs, no children and not many bills to pay. Their combined net income is approximately eight thousand dollars a month. It seemed when the first of each month rolled around they struggled to make their monthly mortgage payment of $3,500. They just could not understand why they were living pay check to pay check with the amount of income they were bringing into their household each month.
Joseph and Janet decided they would sit down and diagnose their personal finances. They just could not continue to go on being frustrated and stressed out each and every month about their bills. They decided to use the following tips to diagnose the problems they were having with their personal finances:
Tip One: Write down all of your monthly expenses including the following: mortgage or rental payment, vehicle loan, credit card bills, utility bills, etc… Try to ensure that you include all of the monthly expenses you have to pay. Accuracy is the key here.
Tip Two: Calculate other expenses that you may pay on an annual, bimonthly, semi annual, or quarterly basis which may include bills such as; home or renters insurance, property tax, vehicle insurance, health insurance, etc…
Tip Three: Secure all of your credit card, debit card and store receipts. Calculate these receipts as part of your bills for each month as these particular expenses were incurred.
Tip Four: Look at your bank statement and balance your checkbook. This will be an important factor in helping you to diagnose your personal finance problem. Go over your statement and checkbook register as close as possible.
Tip Five: Tally up all of your income received monthly. This means any money you have received coming into your household each month.
Tip Six: Take a first, second, and maybe a third look at your expenses and income to determine where your financial problem may be. It’s somewhere there, all you have to do is locate it. You can do it, just look, seek and you will find. Just keep looking and you should be able to diagnose your personal finance problem. Keep in mind persistence, consistency and perseverance and determination is key here. Just stay focused and you should do just fine in diagnosing your personal finance problem.
After spending several hours going over their expenses and income, Joseph and Janet were elated that they were able to diagnose their personal finance problem. They discovered that Joseph had an awful habit of using his debit visa card on expensive daily lunches while at work and also weekly visits to play golf at his favorite golf course. In addition, Janet also had a fetish with going to her local mall to buy clothes three times a week after she left work. These extra added expenses incurred by Janet and Joseph really added up each month and neither one of them had any idea what they had been doing to themselves financially.
This information discovered by Janet and Joseph enabled them to make the necessary changes in their spending behavior to regain control of their personal finances. This also allowed them to meet their obligations of paying their monthly expenses each month on a timely basis. Joseph and Janet also found they had additional money left over after they paid their monthly bills so they were able to set aside money for their savings account.
Joseph and Janet found this was good time well spent diagnosing their personal finance problem. They are so happy they took action to take control of their personal finances rather sooner than later. So, if you think you may need to diagnose a personal finance problem you may have, go ahead, get started and take action to get back into the driver’s seat and control your own personal finances today, you’ll be glad that you did.
Santanya Fahie - About the Author:
Consider diagnosing your personal finances when you are having a problem with your finances. Learn some of these tips on how to start diagnosing your personal finance problem. At times it can be difficult to target problems you may be having with your finances. So, by spending time reviewing your own finances you may be able to diagnose a solution to your personal finance problem.
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Credit Repair and Financial Freedom
Your Credit
On the day that you decide to set foot on the path to financial freedom you should take a good hard look at your credit reports. The content of your credit will determine your credit scores. Every one of the building blocks of your financial plan is important. But if you ignore your credit every single large obligation in your life can end up costing far more than it should.
Credit Repair
As a credit repair professional I can tell you that there is a strong likelihood that your credit report contains errors that are having a negative impact on your credit scores. When you review your credit reports please take the time to look at every single item. The all important FICO credit scoring model places a significant amount of weight on information that you might not normally consider. Most people scan their credit report in search of obvious derogatory items like late payments or collections. Important information like the age of each account as indicated by the initial reporting date is often ignored. There are a number of important categories that can have a major impact on your score that you need to examine. A close look at all three of your reports will pay dividends.
Live Within Your Means
Over time life will force you to live within your means. It is a universal truth. If you live beyond your means today you will inevitably be living below your means tomorrow. Spending beyond your ability to repay is a temptation to which too many people succumb. The result may be familiar to you! If you find yourself wondering where the money for your car payment will be coming from, or if you find yourself examining the content of your checking account and realizing that you will have to cut back on your food budget, you have probably over committed yourself.
Start Your Budget Now
How much do your really have available to spend? This is not a complicated question. For most people the answer comes in the form of their weekly paycheck. If you want to put an end to financial stress you have to make a serious effort to live within a budget. Whatever it takes you have to make your expenses fit within the constraints of your income. If after a careful accounting you discover, as many people do, that your expenses exceed your income you must take immediate action to correct this situation. There are only a couple of options. If you have examined your credit repair options as a means of reducing the cost of your credit the only choice left is to look at ways to cut back. If you are serious about achieving financial freedom you need to make this a priority.
The Beauty of Simplicity
If you find that your expenses exceed your income you need to look at each expense item with an open mind. If you want to be free from money concerns you may have to make sacrifices. This is a matter of priority. If you have purchased an automobile with an oversized payment you should consider trading it in for a car that fits within your budget. Are you stuck with a mortgage that is sucking so much money out of your account each month that you have nothing left over? If you want peace of mind you should consider downsizing. There is no shame in this. If you don’t make these decisions voluntarily today you may find that your creditors are forcing you to make the decisions tomorrow. In the credit repair business we see people every day that have come to these valuable realizations the hard way.
Inner Wealth and Outer Wealth
You should not look at these budgetary decisions as an austerity plan. The inner peace that comes from living within your means is far more satisfying than the pleasure of buying unaffordable possessions. If you can fully grasp this concept and put it into practice an amazing thing will happen in your life. You will discover that you have more money than you need each month. And having discovered the joy of living within your means you will naturally discover the next step towards financial freedom which is savings and prudent investment. The value that you place on inner peace will inevitably lead you to real wealth. The first steps towards financial freedom may seem hard, but the moment that you commit yourself to the path you will feel a burden lift from your shoulders. You are on your way.
Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.
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