Personal Finance

Having a budget that works can make your life simpler and work wonder for your mental health. “But that’s easier said than done if you’re constantly grappling with debt and living paycheck to paycheck,” said Geoff Williams at US News. However, drawing tips from the experts, here’s how to create the perfect budget. First, start by writing down your take-home pay. Then, pay yourself first by subtracting savings for retirement, emergencies, and other goals. Next, deduct rent or mortgage payments, plus any other recurring expenses like utilities, food, and credit card payments. Keep in mind that most single Americans spend about 36 percent of their budget on housing, 12 percent on food, and another 16 percent on car payments, gas, and maintenance. If you’re overshooting in a category, look for opportunities to save. To keep your budget on track, consider that the money you’ve parceled out to different categories is already spent. (usnews.com)

Silicon Valley’s leading startup incubator Y Combinator is going to give free money in an experiment to people and see what happens—as part of planning for a future where robots do most of the jobs. Up to 300 people will get free money as part of a Universal Basic Income. the plan is for hundreds of participants to get repeated cash payments unconditionally. Then, assessors will record life consequences like changes in work patterns, self-employment, artistic endeavors, or idleness. (fastcoexist.com)

On Presidents’ Day this year, we can apply the wisdom from former American leaders to our financial lives. Here are 4 personal finance lessons from former Presidents posted on Credit Union Insight:

1. George Washington said: “To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.” What we can learn from Washington’s wisdom: Refrain from frivolous spending until your personal finances are on solid ground.
2. Thomas Jefferson inherited a significant amount of debt from his father-in-law, and despite his best efforts, his personal debt affected his legacy. What we can learn from Jefferson’s wisdom: No matter your income, never underestimate the value of living within your means.
3. Abraham Lincoln often consulted with his advisers when making key decisions. What we can learn from Lincoln’s wisdom: There are many benefits to reaching out to others for financial advice, whether it’s consulting a professional or a loved one.
4. Dwight Eisenhower once said: “The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first.” What we can learn from Eisenhower’s wisdom: Organizing your finances is not always easy but if you accomplish things in manageable amounts, you can reach your financial goals.

(cuinsight.com)

Here is Credit Karma’s take on what’s a good credit score: “A good credit score is crucial for financial success. A credit score is a three digit number calculated from your data-rich credit report and is one factor used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness for a mortgage, loan or credit card. Your score can affect whether or not you are approved as well as what interest rate you are charged. A good credit score is generally considered to be 720 or higher. Lenders, however, can each have different standards for what they consider to be a good credit score, so it‘s important to keep building your score to receive the most favorable interest rates and highest rates of credit approval.” (creditkarma.com)

If you’re serious about spending less on groceries like my wife does, Aldi is the place to shop for groceries with rock-bottom prices. Here are some things you might not know about shopping at Aldi.

• It’s one of the world’s biggest retailers, coming out ahead of Target, Publix and Home Depot.
• In an effort to cut cost, you have to bag your own groceries so it’s a good idea to bring in your own reusable shopping bags.
• To use a shopping cart you need a quarter to use. You will get the quarter back once you return the cart.
• Even though Aldi stores carries store brands, which are cheaper than name brands, but more than 90% of the products found at Aldi are private brands. So the quality and taste are comparable with name-brand products.
• Credit cards and checks aren’t accepted, so make sure you bring debit cards or cash.
• All of Aldi’s store-brand products have multiple barcodes on them to make checkout faster.

(kiplinger.com)

David Adams writes: “After spending over 15 years between accounting and financial planning, and helping advise nearly 2,000 families, I’m convicted that it’s the small things that contribute so much to meeting long term financial goals. Saving $100 on one meal, or one holiday like Valentine’s Day, starts to add up over a 20 year plus time frame. Then you factor in investing that money saved, and you start to see momentum, which leads to increased confidence and excitement towards seeing the ability to reach you goals.” Here are three ways to make this Valentine’s Day as the start of your financial freedom:

1. Marketers know that as females you are expecting a gift, prove them wrong.
2. Money can’t buy love, but handmade gifts can.
3. Instead of spending money, discuss money.

It’s a human nature to keep the old habits even though frugality like cutting back on unnecessary spending can save us some big bucks. After all, $100 a month saved from frugality is the same as $100 a month earning from working. An article posted on Simple Dollar shows 5 reasons why people fear frugality and why those reasons are wrong. Here are the 5 fears about frugality that are wrong:

• Fear #1 – I will have to give up all of this stuff I like
• Fear #2 – It’s a lot of extra work
• Fear #3 – You don’t save much money anyway
• Fear #4 – I don’t want to live like a weirdo
• Fear #5 – The store brand is terrible

(thesimpledollar.com)

The top two reasons why couples fight are sex and money. Well, you can avoid one of them by learning how happy couples manage finances from a guest post on The White Coat Investor. To maintain a financially happy relationship you need to create financial roadmap, define roles and responsibilities, and manage money together. Other strategies include transparency in dealing with money, communication with each other, time as the most precious resource and total money control. (whitecoatinvestor.com)