For most of my life when I was growing up I heard four main words repeated many times: “I have no money”. My mother was a single mom taking care of three rambunctious kids. As you can imagine money was always tight and any amount of debt wouldn’t help the situation. There were many things I wanted and wished I could have but my mothers problems with debt always made my wants an unlikely dream. Because I was just a child, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t give me the world or why our birthday presents were handmade or why we would sometimes ’skip’ lunch. Obviously today I understand what she went through. Sadly her situation is not an uncommon one.

Through the help from some very good friends and plenty of work from myself I have begun to educate myself on how to manage money. I have also done my best to teach my mother everything I know and she too is learning and her debt is slowly dissolving. I don’t look back at my childhood with regret because I know she did her best. At the same time, I don’t want my children to have to worry about getting three square meals a day.

Right now I am working four jobs and sticking to a budget. I have applied all of the principles that I have read on this blog and it has helped me a great deal. I dream of the life I’ll have after this “work-time” is over. The way I see it is if you dream of how you want to live, work at it until Read the rest of this entry

Financial Management

Written By: Cayden Ryan

True financial freedom seems to be a mystery, as most people have not discovered it yet. Some think it’s not even possible. It is, and it’s possibly one of the easiest things to do, you just need the commitment. Four of the major things you need to do with your money are:

Make sure you have more then one source of income

Money is not necessarily the only way to become financially secure, but it definitely helps speed the process and also makes it easier. The more streams of income you have to work with, makes it easier. Many people have decided that the one stream slump is the only way to be secure, this thought process is not ok. You need more then one stream to get out of a paycheck to paycheck slump.

You need to save

You have heard it from everyone all over the place, but have never actually done it. Saving money will increase your self pride and make it easier to feel financially stable. Creating a detailed plan will help you achieve this. Also if you have direct deposit, having the money automatically go in to a savings account that you won’t access is a great idea. There is truly no way to achieve financial stability if you do not save. The only problem is you might not have enough to pay bills and still save, this is why having more than one source of income is so important.



You need to invest

Your money won’t grow if you don’t invest it. This requires saving a little more then you would with just savings. That’s where budgeting and having several income streams come in to play. If you put money into a plan but no interest or profit is being returned to you, your being treated unfairly and your not being given the opportunity you deserve.

Cut the costs of your living

Once you start earning money you realize how easy and fun to spend it is, you need to go back to the mentality of you having no money. This will increase the amount you save and invest by tremendous leaps and bounds. You need to write down the expenses you can’t live without, and only spend on those. You can spend on yourself a little, but always spending all your money will get you nowhere. Poor people who work are poor because they spend what they earn. Rich people who work are rich because they made themselves get there. Free handouts are rarely available, and when they are, the they are usually scams.

Guest Post Written By:
Cayden Ryan – Your Wealth Puzzle

221 Rohrerstown Road :: Lancaster :: PA :: 17603
Phone: (717)406-1889

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. “

In my previous post I discussed that there are many secrets that credit card companies don’t want you to know. There are plenty of options out there for you to pick from and many ways that you can avoid user fees and pay little to no interest on purchases. You as the customer have the choice to let your credit card work for you. Here are a few more exciting credit card secrets that will offer you a great deal of personal finance help.

Two-cycle Billing:

This is one other way that credit card companies will attempt to get more money from you and many people don’t even realize that two-cycle billing exists. In short, issuers will calculate an interest charge that is two months of interest if you were unable to pay off the balance in full. It seems like a nasty trick but you are borrowing their money after all. This problem only occurs if you switch from paying on time all of the time to carrying a monthly balance. The solution to rectify this problem is to switch to a new card issuer or ALWAYS pay your balance in full.

Fees Are Negotiable:

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Well the Vancouver Olympics were a blast. The Gold Medal game for hockey will probably go down as the greatest game in history. With the closing ceremonies for Vancouver 2010 finally over we are announcing the final winner for our contest!

The winner is….

Farouk

Congratulations!  You will be sent an email shortly with your prize!

Thanks to all that entered and because of the excitement this generated we will be holding a contest in the very near future! Keep reading to find out when. If you haven’t entered yet be sure sign up the next time we have a contest!

There are many secrets that credit card companies don’t want you to know. There are ways that you can avoid user fees and pay little to no interest on purchases. You are a customer and each credit card company wants your business. Make them work for you. Here are a few great credit card secrets that will offer you a great deal of personal finance help.

1. Interest Backdating

Unfortunately many credit card companies charge you interest rates as high as 18% from the moment you make a purchase. Suddenly that cheeseburger you bought on the first day of the month for $4 has suddenly cost you $4.72 or 18% more. The more purchases you make with that credit card the more everything will end up costing.

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Financial Advice for a Picky Eater

Written by Gary Foreman

The Dollar Stretcher Blog

I have a 5 year old that is a very picky eater. Will not eat veggies, except green beens or corn. Meat only hamburger or ham. Can you give me some suggestions as to what dishes I can make? My husband and I are tired of eating the same meals. Thank you.

Sonny

Sonny asks a good question, although at first I wondered if it weren’t better suited for a parenting column. But given more thought, it occurs that it really helps illustrate a point about raising financially responsible children. How so? Let’s take a look.

We’ll begin by considering what Junior is saying when he refuses to eat anything but hamburger or ham. Part of it is good. He’s exploring how much control he has over his world. And, although I’m not a child psychologist, that strikes me as healthy. It’s all part of the growth process.

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Hello all!

Well the Vancouver Olympics are winding down. The United States looks like a lock to win the overall medal count. With that being said, we are holding our final Olympic Contest. If you hope to win a fantastic prize sign up by following the steps below or click: How To Manage Money Tips Contest. Remember if you have already entered you still have a chance to win!

How to Enter win 3 simple steps:

step  1 – Sign up clicking here: how to manage money tips contest.

step 2 – Confirm the email that will be sent to you.

step 3 – The winner to be announced later this week. Be sure to check howtomanagemoneytips.com every day to see if its you! If you are the lucky winner, an email will be sent so you can download your prize!

Good luck to everyone that enters!

As a financial consultant, I’ve coached many people on why emergency funds are important. You can get more information by searching google, or check our resource links for budget spreadsheets and other financial calculators. In the previous post you learned important personal finance basics about starting an emergency fund like budgeting, goal setting and automation. Today I’ll go over three quick tips to help you decide where to start your emergency fund.

Convenience – If you’re like most people, you want to make saving into an emergency fund as seamless and easy as possible. Coaching personal finance basics has taught me that if it’s not easy, it usually doesn’t get accomplished. You likely have a checking account. If so, you probably have a savings account attached, or could open one online or at your branch. If so, I would suggest using this venue to park your emergency funds. You may not get the best interest rates, but it’s an account you already have, or can set up in a jiffy.

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