Non Profit Organizations In Texas

 The Balancing Act: Personal Finance Tips - Non Profit Organizations In Texas

You’re not alone. Most Americans aren’t naturals at saving money. In fact, the United States has one of the lowest saving rates in the world and the highest credit card debt. To gain insight into your personal finances, take a few minutes and make a two columned list that has your assets on one side and the liabilities on the other.

Assets:

1. Value of your home and/or other real estate

2. Balances in Savings and Money Market Accounts

3. Value of all your investments (Stocks, US Savings Bonds, Mutual Funds, 401K, IRA etc.)

4. Any other assets

Liabilities:

1. Outstanding Mortgages

2. Credit Cards & Loan Balances you owe

3. Alimony, Child Support you owe or other Judgments/Debts

Subtract your liabilities from your assets, and what remains are the resources you have to begin building your financial foundation. Don’t stress if the numbers don't look great. Most of us start lower than we would like. Non Profit Organizations In Texas association of nonprofit organizations number is negative, the first step to improve your financial situation is to create a budget to pay off all non-mortgage debt.

It is surprisingly easy to find extra money in your budget to pay off your credit card debt and increase your savings when you making minor painless changes to your daily habits.

Here are 8 Easy Tips to Improve Your Financial Foundation:

1. Implement a budget - get Quicken 2008 for Windows or Mac from J&R and get 8.5% BondRewards!

2. Start saving monthly by reducing one or two of your weekly expenses and saving the money instead.

o Cut back on lattes 2 times a week or buy a tall instead of a grande

o Pack your lunch 2 days a week

o Eat out one day less per month, or watch a movie at home with the family instead of going to the movies.

3. Take the extra monthly savings and use it to pay the highest interest rate credit card first. Obviously, there’s no sense in paying off a 10 percent card before a 15 percent card. Make minimum payments on the 10 percent card until the 15 percent rate is paid off.

4. Shop around for the best credit card rates. Visit our Credit Card Center
for a starting point and work on credit card debt consolidation whenever possible.

5. Take advantage of your employer’s 401K. Increase your contribution by 1%, and if you are not contributing -- Start Now.

6. Get a Certificate of Deposit (CD’s). Generally they offer a higher rate of return than your Money Market Account, and you will get 10 BondRewards when you sign up with ING Direct

7. Create your holiday shopping list early. Start shopping now to find the best deals on BondRewards. Sign up for the “Free Shipping Deals” emails and visit the “Coupons” page frequently to see the best deals from your favorite stores.