When things get tough financially - Stop|Assess|make a plan to transform

Sometimes we find ourselves in situation that will cause us to panic, the key thing to do if we find that we are in a place of difficulty is to pause for a moment, and assess the situation, think about what are the causes of this situation and how you can take yourself out of this situation.   In terms of financial hardship then you should be looking at whether you are spending too much and find ways to boost your income.  Ask yourself,  'How can I increase my income'? and think about possible opportunities around you.

Here is a great article with little strategies that can help you if you are struggling financially in a tough economy

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How to Improve your Personal Finances in Today's Struggling Economy

While the economy has rebounded considerably in many areas of the country since it crashed a few years ago, many people continue to struggle. Some of the most common reasons people struggle financially relates to high debt levels, low savings balances and insufficient budgeting efforts. If you are committed to the goal of improving your personal financial situation despite the struggling economy, you may be wondering what steps you can take to accomplish this goal. The good news is that improving your personal financesmay be easier to accomplish than you might think, but it will require regular effort on your part. 

Monitor Your Finances Daily
Many people have already created a budget, and if you have not already done so, now is a great time to complete this important step. However, many people who have a budget do not use it as the excellent resource that it can be. A budget can tell you how much money you have available to spend until the next pay period as well as how the rest of your funds are allotted. If you are like most people, you may spend money every day on groceries, gas, meals and more. In order to remain on track with your budget, it is important to get into a routine of monitoring your finances daily. Once your budget is established, it should only take a few minutes of time to review your financial standing so that you are aware of your status going forward.

Consolidate Debt
Debt is a common issue for many people, and this debt may be from credit cards, student loans, car loans and more. When you have too many payments to keep track of, it may be easy to overlook a payment. It can also make you feel stressed out when you are regularly bombarded by bills in your inbox or mailbox. A great idea is to consolidate some or all of your debts into a personal debt consolidation loan or a home equity loan. Take time to explore the options to find the best solution for you. You may be able to lower your interest charges, lower your monthly debt payments and pay the debt off more quickly in some cases. 

Take Advantage of Low Interest Rates
Even if you do not consolidate your debt, you may be able to lower your interest rate with some debts. Interest rates are very low currently, so refinancing your car loan, your student loans or even your home mortgage may benefit you. This can lower payments and may make it easier for you to lower your debt balances as well. 

Automate Your Savings
While it is important to focus on lowering your debt balances and making your debts easier to manage, it is also important to save money on a regular basis. If you are not currently in the habit of saving money, the best way to do this is to create an automatic transfer of funds from your checking account into a savings account on the day your paychecks are scheduled to be deposited. You can start small, and you can increase the amount of money that is transferred as your budget allows. Another variation on this is to use a share builder program to make regular stock purchases. This is a smart idea after you have a small nest egg accumulated in a rainy day fund.

Use Personal Checks That Are Best for You
Tracking your spending is also important, and many people will use personal checks to pay for different items over the course of a month. The best personal checks to use are those with carbon copies or that have stubs on the side that allow you to jot details for each check that you write. You can also make your finances fun by choosing a unique check design. 

Many people feel challenged by their current financial status, but keep in mind that improving your personal finances is something that is accomplished with baby steps. Every day presents an opportunity for you to pay off more debt and to increase your savings balances with the decisions you make. Tracking your progress on a monthly basis can help you to see the progress you are making and can help you to stay motivated to stay on track with your efforts.

Article Source: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-improve-your-personal-finances-in-todays-struggling-economy

Financial Freedom in Two Simple Steps

Financial Freedom or financial independence is generally used to describe the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live a happy lifestyle, without having to work actively. Definition of 'happy lifestyle' varied in each individual. It depends how much you want. The more you want, the more wealth you need to create. Nonetheless, the formula to achieve it can be summarized in two simple steps.

(1) Create Surplus - Increase Income Reduce Expenses

As been known, create surplus is the first step towards Financial Freedom. Surplus is an amount left over when basic needs have been met. However, it is challenging especially for nowadays youngster. Reason being they are confusing between what is wants and what is needs.

Traditionally, immediate basic needs are food (including water), shelter and clothing. In modern life, transportation and communication have also categorized into the list of needs. Unintentionally, most of the time people tends to overspend on so-called 'needs' and put themselves into cash tied situation. Example:

• Dining out. Why not just enjoy home cook food?
• A bungalow. Why not just a cozy terrace or apartment? Renting is another option too.
• Branded clothes. Non-branded clothes are nice and comfortable as well.
• Luxurious car. Why not an economy one or an average one?
• Smartphone and laptop price can be varied from few hundreds to few thousands as well.

Think twice. Is all those really your needs or wants? Overspend here and there causing you have very little surplus, no surplus or even negative surplus with the convenience of credit card.

Increase income and reduce expenses must be co-exist in your financial planning. It can be done by having a proper personal budget. Overtime, you build up surplus and ready for the next step.

(2) Generate Passive Income - Create Money-Making Machines

Passive income is an income received on a regular basis, without or with little effort required to maintain it. Each tool that you used to generate passive income is your money-making machine. It can be any types of investment and/or businesses. One need to have more than one money-making machine as part of risk management to ensure smooth generation of passive income. One can declare Financial Freedom when their machines able to generate a total income that is greater than their expenses.

Most money-making machines require some sort of investment up front. This is where your surplus come into the picture. Great things almost always start small. Likewise in financial planning. Start with one money-making machine with your initial small surplus. As time goes, build it up, diversify and further build it up. You will definitely closer and closer to your goal - Financial Freedom!

Article Source: Financial Freedom in Two Simple Steps

Handling Financial Problems For A Happy Life

These days, having a sound financial status has become an
indispensable aspect of life. In other words, with societal status, luxury,
comfort and even happiness sometimes directly proportional to the financial
status, people are extremely focused at building their financial status.
However, this being the fact the common concern these days faced by many is
despite planning the savings are low, the hike in salary is less and the money
earned and the expenses are nowhere in a balanced. In addition, we always have
the tendency to find fault with external factors like lack of salary hike,
sudden arrival of guests and expense, etc. But all this is just trying to cover
and avoiding the actual reasons of financial problem.

 

However, this disturbance or inconsistency
between earning and expense can lead to financial problems which in turn have
the ability to affect your mind. When an individual faces financial problems,
the first impact of the problem is on his mind, leading to stress and anxiety.
Therefore, here are some the factor that actually lead to financial problems
and tips on how to overcome financial problems:

• Lack of self confidence:
  These days, there is a growing tendency of looking at things from the short
  term perspective and complete avoidance of long term means. That is the reason
  that if there is even a small hike in the income, we tend to immediately spend
  it off than saving it. Therefore, while managing your finances look at it from
  the long term perspective
• Unnecessary expenses:
  These days, the motto of purchase is not completely need based. Many a times
  people buy stuff just because it is new in the market or just because their
  close friend or relative has purchased. In this madness one is not paying
  attention whether the product fits into our budget, whether is it useful etc is
  missing. Therefore, before doing any big purchase ask yourself, "Do I need
  this??? Why do I need this??? Is it a must to buy it now??? If the answers are
  satisfactory, then go ahead and spend money
• Proper planning:
  What you earn will not change overnight so plan your monies to ensure you don't
  fall short of money. Stick to the planned budget unless and until it's an
  emergency to deviate from the budget.

Thus, with the above mentioned simple tips on how
to overcome financial problems, you are definitely clear that planning
money is the key. However, despite all the planning, if you come across
financial problems and are stressed out, it is very necessary to stay mentally
and physically healthy to face them. Therefore, giving due attention to one's
health is very important. Based on this concept of overall health, Trivedi
Global Inc often conducts health and wellness programs that are aimed
at grooming people in handling challenges and stress. In addition, the
Trivedi Healers™ of the Trivedi Foundation™ give practical solutions
that help you realise that staying healthy is all in your hands. Therefore, for
overall health and wellness programs you have Trivedi Foundation™
programs.

Article source: Handling Financial Problems For A Happy Life