A carpenter uses a set of house plans to build a house. If he didn’t the bathroom might get overlooked altogether.

Rocket Scientists would never begin construction on a new booster rocket without a detailed set of design specifications. Yet most of us go blindly out into the world without an inkling of an idea about finances and without any plan at all.

Not very smart of us, is it?

A money plan is called a budget and it is crucial to get us to our desired financial goals.

Without a plan we will drift without direction and end up marooned on a distant financial reef.

If you have a spouse or a significant other, you should make this budget together. Sit down and figure out what your joint financial goals are…long term and short term.

Then plan your route to get to those goals. Every journey begins with one step and the first step to attaining your goals is to make a realistic budget that both of you can live with.

A budget should never be a financial starvation diet. That won’t work for the long haul. Make reasonable allocations for food, clothing, shelter, utilities and insurance and set aside a reasonable amount for entertainment and the occasional luxury item. Savings should always come first before any spending.

Even a small amount saved will help you reach your long term and short term financial goals. You can find many budget forms on the internet. Just use any search engine you choose and type in “free budget forms”.

You’ll get lots of hits. Print one out and work on it with your spouse or significant other. Both of you will need to be happy with the final result and feel like it’s something you can stick to.
Like this article? The Budget – The Ultimate Financial Management Tool
How Can Credit Score System Works for your Financial Needs?


It is natural for us to resort to credit when we are in great financial need, yet we are running out of cash. Instead of pawning our precious assets in exchange for the amount that we need (which is commonly minus the applied interest), we can apply for different types of loans with convenient terms of payments and affordable interest rates. In addition, there are also instances when the lender provides rebates and other forms of financial incentives to their clients, thus making credit an advantageous alternative when you are in great financial need.

However, there are individuals who do not understand the limitations that must be followed when resorting to credit. Since credit allows them to make purchases in the absence of cash, they tend to spend more than what they can afford to pay later on, thus resulting to piles of debt at the end of the billing period. Though credit limit is strictly enforced, there are individuals who manage to slip away from their credit limits, thus they are acquiring more debts until the time comes that they cannot repay such debts anymore.

It is important that you are aware of your limitations when you avail of credit when making purchases or payments, especially with regards to their credit score system. There are many individuals who are practically ignorant of what credit score system is. As a matter of fact, they do not even know what credit score is and how it works. The credit score system has already been in effect for quite some time now, and many lenders use this as one of the basis to determine whether your loan application is accepted or rejected.

How can credit score system works for your financial needs? To start with, let us define first what credit score is, and understand the system itself as a whole. Keep in mind that it is a vital report that you must be aware of—that is, if you want to have your loan application to be accepted.

Credit score is a statistical manner of assessing the credit worthiness of a borrower. It possesses every inch of information about your credit experiences—your loan paying history, the accounts that you own, the age of each accounts, late payments that you have made prior to your latest loan application (if there is any), and existing outstanding debts that you failed to pay (if there is any).

The credit score system works through a statistical method which is used to make comparison of your credit profile with other borrowers with similar profiles. Points would be awarded for every factor that manifests debt repayment. These points will be summed up, and it will tell how likely you will be able to make the payments when it is on due. This will now be your credit score—a three digit number.

Each time you will borrow or use credit for purchases or payments, you will get a credit score which shows how you managed your past credits. Lenders rely on credit scoring system that gives grades to your credit performance. For instance, once you have an excellent credit performance on your previous loans, you will be able to attain a credit score of 600 or above. In case your credit rating is ranging from 500 to 535, expect that you will experience difficulties of securing loans with affordable interest payments.

Your score is recorded in your credit report, which is managed by credit reporting agencies such as Equifax and Trans Union. Your credit report is divided into four major sections, which is the following:

• Personal history;
• Identifying information;
• Inquiries; and
• Public records.

A good credit score needs continuous hard work. Thus, it is important that you understand what you are dealing with to avoid complications later on. Keep in mind that it is your limitation in terms of using credit—and you are bounded to stick with it. Or else, suffer the adverse consequences.

Like this article? How Can Credit Score System Works for your Financial Needs?
Knowing what your risk tolerance and investment style are will help you choose investments more wisely. While there are many different types of investments that one can make, there are really only three specific investment styles – and those three styles tie in with your risk tolerance. The three investment styles are conservative, moderate, and aggressive.

Naturally, if you find that you have a low tolerance for risk, your investment style will most likely be conservative or moderate at best. If you have a high tolerance for risk, you will most likely be a moderate or aggressive investor. At the same time, your financial goals will also determine what style of investing you use.

If you are saving for retirement in your early twenties, you should use a conservative or moderate style of investing – but if you are trying to get together the funds to buy a home in the next year or two, you would want to use an aggressive style.

Conservative investors want to maintain their initial investment. In other words, if they invest $5000 they want to be sure that they will get their initial $5000 back. This type of investor usually invests in common stocks and bonds and short term money market accounts.

An interest earning savings account is very common for conservative investors.
A moderate investor usually invests much like a conservative investor, but will use a portion of their investment funds for higher risk investments. Many moderate investors invest 50% of their investment funds in safe or conservative investments, and invest the remainder in riskier investments.

An aggressive investor is willing to take risks that other investors won’t take. They invest higher amounts of money in riskier ventures in the hopes of achieving larger returns – either over time or in a short amount of time. Aggressive investors often have all or most of their investment funds tied up in the stock market.

Again, determining what style of investing you will use will be determined by your financial goals and your risk tolerance. No matter what type of investing you do, however, you should carefully research that investment. Never invest without having all of the facts!
Like this article? What Is Your Investment Style?

You say you know where your money goes and you don’t need it all written down to keep up with it? I issue you this challenge. Keep track of every penny you spend for one month and I do mean every penny.

You will be shocked at what the itty-bitty expenses add up to. Take the total you spent on just one unnecessary item for the month, multiply it by 12 for months in a year and multiply the result by 5 to represent 5 years.

That is how much you could have saved AND drawn interest on in just five years. That, my friend, is the very reason all of us need a budget.

If we can get control of the small expenses that really don’t matter to the overall scheme of our lives, we can enjoy financial success.

The little things really do count. Cutting what you spend on lunch from five dollars a day to three dollars a day on every work day in a five day work week saves $10 a week… $40 a month… $480 a year… $2400 in five years….plus interest.

See what I mean… it really IS the little things and you still eat lunch everyday AND that was only one place to save money in your daily living without doing without one thing you really need. There are a lot of places to cut expenses if you look for them.

Set some specific long term and short term goals. There are no wrong answers here. If it’s important to you, then it’s important period.

If you want to be able to make a down payment on a house, start a college fund for your kids, buy a sports car, take a vacation to Aruba… anything… then that is your goal and your reason to get a handle on your financial situation now.
Like this article? Why Should I Make a Budget?
Credit Scores: What's It About and What Makes a Good Credit Score?


Imagine yourself applying for a car loan, you have the money and you have the right job to pay the loan back before the due date. However, even if you have the right job and the money for it, you still haven't been approved for the loan. This will make you wonder why.

In the United States, having money and having a high salary isn't everything. You have to consider one important thing that will have significant impact in your daily life. This important thing is used by creditors, such as banks and credit card companies to determine if you will likely pay back what you borrowed from them. This important thing is called the credit score or your credit rating.

If you were delinquent in paying your bills or loans in the past, you should expect to have a low credit score. Everything about your credit history will determine if you will get a high credit score or not. This is why it is important for you to settle those bills or loans on time in order to avoid getting a negative credit report from the creditors you borrowed money from.

For example, if it took you a long time to pay for your credit card bills, the credit card company will issue a report to credit reporting agencies that will state that you haven't been paying your bills on time, or you still have a debt to pay to their company. This will result in lowering your credit score.

You have to realize the fact that credit scores are very important in today's society. Even phone companies are now taking a look of their future subscriber's credit score to determine if they will likely pay the monthly phone bills or not. With a bad credit score, just simply getting a phone line hooked up in your house can be a difficult thing to do.

Lenders, such as banks and credit card companies also takes a look at your credit score to determine if you will be approved for the loan or the credit card or not. Having a high credit score will open a lot of credit opportunities for you. People with high credit score have a much easier time when applying for a low interest credit card and also for a low interest loans. This is because creditors are sure that they will likely pay their debts on time.

FICO or Fair Isaac Corporation is the widely used company in terms of calculating your credit score. The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. The higher your score is, the easier you can have access to low interest loans and credit cards. In the United States, a FICO score of 725.660 is considered as a break point for credit worthiness. Having this number on your credit score is just the starting number on your way to become a credit worthy person.

In order to get higher numbers, you should pay all your debts in time. What this means is that whatever loans or bills you have lying around in your home, you have to pay it in order to gain points in your credit score. If you don’t, then your credit score will continue to decline and will also leave you in a far greater amount of debt.

Always remember that having a good credit score is a must. If you have a 725 credit score, you are well on your way to become a credit worthy person. Increase your score and gain access to the best loan and credit card deals possible.