Finance Books

The Motley Fool: You Have More Than You Think: the Foolish Guide to Personal Finance

Personal finance is an individual’s financial status. It’s about how much money you have, and how much you need. It is about managing your money – today and for tomorrow.
Money is the currency on which all world economies function. Income – expenditure -bills- debts – savings: These are a fact of life. A constant for most is the endeavor to tip the scales in favor of savings.

Successful financial management includes planning and keeping records of income and expenditure, budgeting, balancing your check book, insurance and investments – whether in real estate, the share market, funds or any of the other available mechanisms. You cannot overlook the necessity of planning your savings, your tax savings and your retirement.

A very interesting way to look at Asset and Liability is in the following terms:

An Asset is anything which brings in money or does not change the status of your money in the bank. A liability is anything which causes money to flow out – whether under the pretext of taxes, interest or fees.

Budgeting – This ensures that you are financially healthy and flourishing. It is a good idea to create and use a budget worksheet which allows you to make a detailed expenditure plan and helps you discover any shortage or unplanned expenditures.

Some useful tips in planning your finances:

- Handle your own money. If you choose a financial consultant, ensure you understand how your money is being managed.
- Save a huge amount in interest by opting for a shorter tenure of loan term – home/ car/ personal.
- Debt: Should ideally not be indulged in, or repaid at the earliest.
- Savings: it is easier to save more if you start early – you can put aside small sums and over the years watch it accumulate and earn interest for you.
- Retirement planning: don’t wait till you are 40 to start. Begin today – and ensure a comfortable lifestyle in your old age.
Avoid cashing out your PF or breaking your Funds.
- It’s a good idea to do an Annual/ Quarterly financial health check up.

I have been trying to find out more about making money on the internet as a result of a little google ad that popped up next to one of my articles.

Since then, I have been sucked into the world of internet marketing and while I’ve learnt a lot, I can’t say I’ve really enjoyed myself. I like writing for the sake of writing and to have to keep adjusting my point of view to slant it a little towards a product I was trying to promote just took the fun out of the writing.

Not to mention having to think about these important things called keywords so google would find me. It drove me nuts trying to remember to mention a keyword, and not make the whole article sound like I was trying to mention the keyword.

But I ramble on. Actually, what happened was, I tried to create a blog on personal finance. I figured that maybe if my content was about money, maybe people would put all sorts of nice google ads about money on the site, and I could promote the internet products helping people to get rich.

I have since realised my flawed logic.

1. Money is an interesting topic. Personal finance is not. I was half-way through my blog when I learnt about this thing called doing keyword research and the number of people who actually search for blogs under personal finance are a tiny fraction of people who search for money blogs, of which there must be millions of them, mostly trying to sell something or other.

2. I don’t believe in the stuff I was supposed to be selling. I don’t believe in get rich quick schemes. But try advertising a product that tells people they can get rich slowly but surely, and in the most boring way, by saving, researching, investing etc and see how many clicks you get !

3. I changed my name of the blog from Why Money Matters – A blog on Personal Finance to Grow Rich Along With Me – The Best Is Yet To Be, and google found me ! Under “get rich blog”, google has decided I can come on its first page. Of course, once people come and visit and find out it isn’t something quick, they leave soon after. Oh well.

4. I failed a number of blogs created for the purpose of trying to make money. Actually, el cheapo me used blogger for most of them so google reviewed me and almost took one of my blogs off. Paid for another one but have since returned that !

5. My lack of savvy as a marketer became clear when I tried to sell Think And Grow Rich by Napolean Hill through Amazon.com, only to find after a few posts on it, someone else was advertising to give away a free version in the google ads next to my advertisement to sell the book !

Oh well. Have since become addicted to flooding cyberspace with blogs just for the fun of seeing them published. Have also littered the same cyberspace with articles meant to help promote my blog, but have found people read the articles, but don’t visit the blog ! Have also started a new blog on my internet marketing experience, separate from my personal finance blog, which is slowly gaining some regular readership.

Because of their own dreams, fears, disappointments, guilt or other emotions about money, some parents avoid teaching their children about this other fact of life. But it should be told!

It seems that more often than not, parents would prefer financial skills to be taught in schools or by a government programme. The truth is, however, that basic tools needed to handle money well — how to balance a cheque book, set up a budget, compute percentages, understand interest rates — are already taught in the classroom.

These principles are found in the basic arithmetic and mathematics classes which all students take. So what’s missing? At home, parents should help their children learn how to handle money, and the dreams they associate with it, in practical, constructive ways. As a parent these are five useful tips which I hope may prove a benefit to other parents.

1) Don’t use money as a substitute for, or tool of, love. Buying gifts for your children too frequently, because you feel guilty about having to work and be away from them, sends the wrong message. Before long, they believe that spending money is a sign of love.

2) Be honest about your child’s tendencies with money. Some children seem to be natural-born savers, others are spendthrifts; and most fall somewhere in between. Don’t ignore this aspect of your child’s personality. Early on, devise ways to help them learn how to compensate for any weaknesses they have, and avoid some of the problems your foresee.

3) Base the amount of pocket money on something your child can understand, such as their age, the year they’re in at school or some other rationale. This can serve as your child’s first steps towards understanding a budget and how to spend within its limits. Also, display a list of additional chores your child can do to earn specific amounts of extra money if they so need it.

4) Require the child to contribute money to some purchases. If your child wants a big gift or one involving lots of different pieces, try requiring them to save (not borrow against!) their pocket money to contribute to the purchase. The gift should be brought only when the child has saved that amount. This will help them understand the relationship between prudent financial behaviour and reward.

5) The best way to learn about money and personal finance is to take your child to open a savings account. When they’re about 10 to 12 years old, that’s a good time for you or your children’s grandparents to take them to a bank to open their first savings account. Make this a new and exciting experience for them, almost like a rite of passage.

And don’t worry. Teaching kids about personal finance will not take away their childhood innocence. But you just may plant a seed that could help grow into fiscally responsible adults.

Why would you not consider yourself a business of ONE person? Or your family as a business of 3 or more people? Well that is exactly what you are – “Me Incorporated”, “I Inc”, “We Incorporated”. You truly must consider yourself a small family business. Like any business you have ongoing expenses (mortgage, rent, utilities, groceries), revenue (salary and other income) and major capital expenditures (house, vehicle, vacations, renovations).

Like any good ‘household business’, you need to do some planning. Set out a budget for the year, track your expenditures and retained earnings (savings). Yes, all of this looks, feels and is exactly like a well run business. On My Gosh! Don’t rush out and buy an accounting package to run your household. And no need to take a crash course on accounting or bookkeeping. You can accomplish all your financial tracking and planning requirements with some paper or by using a simple template with your favorite spreadsheet package – Microsoft Excel or even with Open Office.

Just like a well run business, your household budget and tracking your spending is best served using a visible record of events; namely, financial records, bank or check register. It is just like tracking your road trip progress using a map. If you know where you are now, then you will have some idea when you will arrive at your destination. In life, money or finances allows you to get to your personal destinations or dreams. A visible financial roadmap of your ‘Me Incorporated’ finances, mapping your progress, seems logical.

Running your ‘Household Business’, like corporate business, requires a few processes to keep track of your finances:

1) Establish a yearly and monthly household budget. Consider all your expenses – weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly outlays of money. You will be surprised at the length of this list and all the places you spend your money.

2) Track monthly your actually spending and income against the budget you established in step 1. This will help you see the ‘peaks and valleys’ of spending or seasonality aspect of your expenses. Over time, you will come to know these expense ‘peaks and valleys’ and this will help you maintain a positive cash flow. Bottom line: have money in the bank to pay all your expenses and still have some left over (retained earnings). Your single biggest challenge in running any household (or business) is always having enough money in the bank to pay the bills; especially, the unexpected ones. Having a buffer of savings will help with these ‘peaks’ in expenses.

3) Track all your bank account activity. Track and enter in your Bank or Check Register every deposit, every electronic (ATM, web, PayPal, debit machine) transaction and every analog (check, money order) withdrawal. And reconcile your bank statement every month. Know exactly how much money you have available in your bank account(s).

4) Especially track your spending through credit cards and lines of credit. These are potentially the ‘run away’ expenses. Remember only once a month do you see the visible record of your credit card spending. Compound that with the fact that most people have more than one credit card. This can easily result in multiple ’spending surprises’ each month. Be diligent in tracking your use of credit card transactions. Breakdown the credit card expenses into their respective budget items – gas, groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc. This will help you separate normal household expenditures from other shopping incidentals. You will come to see your spending patterns and can now make adjustments. Just like your bank account, reconcile your credit card statement every month.

All this personal bookkeeping every month can be done with pen and paper or set up a personal finance and budgeting template using your favorite spreadsheet software. Using an electronic spreadsheet allows for all of the mundane calculations to be processed automatically, reducing monthly reconciliations to a simple 5-10 minute endeavour. Whether you choose an analog or digital approach to your personal finance bookkeeping, these visible records are the most effective way to plan and control your personal finances and reduce one of the major stress points in your life – Your Financial Health.

Do you ever wonder where your money goes every month? Does it sometimes seem as though you cannot afford to do things because your financial obligations are holding you back? If you find that you are asking yourself these sorts of questions, perhaps you should take a look at your financial situation and assess whether you are practicing good personal finance management or not. Good personal finance management spends within their income, plan for the future and solve financial problems as they arise. Poor personal finance management pay more, do without and fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your finances by planning your personal finances.

Planning your personal finances doesn’t always come naturally, and even if you’re just beginning to take your financial matters seriously, then you likely need a few personal finance tips.

Evaluate your current financial situation. One of the most important goals for most people is financial independence. Collect accurate information about your personal financial situation. Calculate your net worth which includes the real estate, saving and retirement accounts, and all other assets. This will help you decide how much money you can set aside for meeting future needs and goals.

A basic personal finance tip is to make a budget. A personal finance budget is information made up of your income and expenses and the more accurate this information is, the more likely you are be able to meet your goals and realize your dreams. A personal finance budget should be made for at most one year at a time and include a list of your monthly expenses.

All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find expenditures that recure every month and expenditures that happen less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals.

Get an electronic bill pay. This is a very convenient way to pay your bills. You pay them electronically, by direct withdrawal from your bank account. The transaction is processed immediately. You can even link your bill pay service to your personal finance budget, so that your expenditures are automatically entered in the appropriate category. Personal financial management can be really easy.

Make an investment and finance plan. Now that the fundamental state of your personal financial security has been established, the time has come for the more prosperous part of your personal financial life. You need to make a personal finance plan of what you really want in life that money can buy. Your personal financial plan can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Find out how to finally start to implement this plan and get the money to finance it. This is the long term part of your financial. This journey is the most interesting and exciting part of personal financing you can have toward financial freedom.

You can prepare for a secure personal financial future by following these simple tips. When you take control with your money, you don’t have to worry about debt taking control of you.

Many personal finance articles have been written on the issue of money.  Can’t say I have been moved to action by many.  First I’d like to say it is ok that you feel down about the current situation about your personal finances.  I give you permission to feel your feeling for the next 24 hours and then pull yourself by your boot straps and let’s what we can do. 

There exist many a definition, I want to share with you  my personal finance definition:

Financial freedom is not an event, it is a skill.

I bet right now with the current economic situation you are saying to yourself, “I just wish I could the lotto!”  Boy don’t we all and yet statistics and personal finance facts show that the majority of people who win the lottery, end up broke and worse off before their winnings! Imagine that.  You among the many seeking wealth, riches, fame few people realize that money isn’t the solution to their problems;  the way you think about money is the problem and the solution. 

I can almost see you going oh yeah, give me the money and I’ll show you change in mindset!

My favorite entrepreneur of all times, Henry Ford was once asked, “What if you lost everything you own?” He responded without missing a beat: “I’d have it all back and more within 5 years.”

Being a master of your own personal finance is not about what is in the bank; it’s about the ability to acquire the skill that will show you how to produce new streams of income and wealth based on your knowledge and experience.

So before we go any further on this issue let us tackle the real problem here that is impeding your personal finance for good!  Why you might ask?  Well without the mastery of these 5 steps, your desire for your goal for financial success and financial freedom is highly unlikely!  This is why big players in any industry have coaches, Oprah has a life coach, football players and basketball players have coaches and mentors.  Tiger woods after every bad game will go in for coaching and training.  Why?  Those who achieve great financial success do not go it alone.  They always have a team.  Those who achieve great poverty have the do it yourself mentality!

Why is it important to plan personal finances?

5 Steps That Will Guarantee You Become Master Your Personal Finances

1. How do you think about money? Say you come up with an idea to do something. Do you think that will never work?  Are you afraid to follow through?  Are you scared of loosing money or do you see every dollar spent as an investment?

2. How do you manage and invest your time?  The average man has at his disposal  6 discretionary hours.  This is time they can do whatever they want.  No work, no chores etc.  Many will watch T.V., attend pricey sports events, spend money on meals at a restaurant and movies, see where I am going with this? Do you do personal finance budgeting?

3. How do you leverage the talents and life experiences you ALREADY POSSESS?
Most people see their experiences as failures.  They only talk of how they tried to do something as failed.  Thomas Edison failed more than I care to count, and yet he persisted to light the whole world. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison

4. Do you have a mentor and/or coach with a proven personal finance curriculum? This is the true measure of your desire for financial freedom.  This is where you literally put your money where your mouth is, can’t afford a mentor you say?  Well what was the last book you read? Gossip magazines do not count as literature sorry ?!

5. What do you think is “risky,” and what do you think is “safe and secure”?  Most people never break into the realm of the 5% wealthy group who own 95% of  the worlds resources because they want to play it safe.  They want the money, the fame, the accolades but they feel they should not have to go through the process of creating this wealth.  No wonder the internet and other places are full of scams and get rich quick opportunities.  Remember this success does not  happen overnight, but one night success does happen.  Someone once said to me, it takes 3 years to be an overnight success!

Personal finance concentrate on the methods used by individuals to access, budget, spend and save financial resources over a given period of time, considering varying economic risks now and in the future.

All this is very crucial but not when it is done manually. Many will start enthusiastically but end up abandoning the good funds control progress in no time because of using these poor methods.

It is very difficult to record all aspects of personal finance in your books, and this is why using software, is much easier, convenient and enduring.

<B>About the software product</B>

It is basically indoor accounting software that enables users to track down their expenses at any given period of time they may wish and this ensures a good comparison in terms of how well they stuck to their usual or new budgeted incomes.

This personal finance software product has got unlimited number of accounts, categories, subcategories and currencies.

The feature of varied currency is very important for the users whose transactions comprise of different currencies as the source of their monies.

It contains summary view, graphs and reports, printing, export and import data. So, it is clear that those doing business across their country borders can still use it to control their finances.

Users got an opportunity to manipulate data in any way they would please by sorting by any field, searching, classifying transactions by names and so on.

This user-friendly product is rated high by the fact that it has a password protection for those family members using it and above all comes in different versions.

<B>Why do you need personal finance software?</B>

This great software enables one manage the personal finances in that, they can understand when cash flows out and where to, locate extreme disbursement and do away with the ones not compulsory.

The software’s usage is fit for both beginners and those acquainted with it because, apart from offering many settings and functions, it is effortless to trail personal finances.

See, it is not all of us who are financial geeks and so it becomes difficult to structure records quickly, in a manner that shows professionalism in knowledge of bookkeeping.

The incredible brains behind this automated method of managing money at personal level has included unique and varied features that one may not create in manual cashbooks.
They demonstrate simplicity and clarity in the way a person’s money has been budgeted and spent in total sums and percentages, balances left on various accounts and in full amount.
Manually, records are not easily deleted when unneeded, edited when errors are pinpointed or even easily copied to the next page.

With personal finances software, there is a feature that enables users to automatically carry out any of the above.

Also when using books and pens to keep records, you have to write dates each time a new transaction has come up.

The software enables you to create brand new transactions by design, without having to specify the date over and over again.

For instance, if a transaction name used earlier need to be repeated again, users can use the auto fill feature to have it done directly without having to fill in the name again.

It is through personal finance that people are able to prepare individual budgets that distribute upcoming incomes towards savings, expenditure and debt repayments.

Keeping up to date personal finance records is very important but many people break the progress when done manually.

The use of personal finance software has thus helped many make their spending lives better and convenient than if they were to do it using books and pens.

The features that any ordinary person cannot come up with especially in normal bookkeeping methods are already incorporated in the software.

With the computers, work is made easier in cases where some files need to be deleted, edited, duplicated over and over again than it is done with books, pens and rubbers.

These is the product household needs to track down the cash inflows and outflows on a daily basis and compare it with the estimations of the budgets.

Personal finance software benefits to look for

Ability to use it for multitasks- good personal finance software does not limit one only to a few tasks.

It should offer you the opportunity to do things like banking and paying bills online, control your investments in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, transfer data to a tax software to save on taxes and so on.

It should offer features on account transactions and reconciliation such that it also gives the users the ability to carry out banking functions like writing and printing checks.

For those who operate international trade, the software should offer users the capability of exchanging currencies among other things electronically.

The features- as technology progresses, software programmers keep updating the versions of a particular product they have made a name for to the target publics.

This one for personal finance is not any different, and if you already are using it, it is advisable to keep knowledge of what the owners are doing to make it more user friendly than before, so you can order the newest and improved version.

Great features allows you to work fast and effortlessly because such actions as transactions needing to be replicated, deleted, edited can easily be done automatically.

Since most people require some of the legal data such as tax updates and reviews from the IRS or stock market reviews for instance, such personal finance software should have this feature.

Easy to use- Firstly, the users must not find it difficult to install in their computers.

It must also be easy to use by any person with the knowledge of basic bookkeeping in the sense that they can understand the help topics and navigate through it.

Must enable financial forecast- people make big investments in buying homes, insurance policies, paying debts, paying collage fees, paying taxes, savings and many other monetary goals before their earning lives can diminish.

They therefore need to keep good records showing how each of these goals is progressing and with personal finance software that allows such actions, they can achieve a lot.

Final reports- after all the transactions are made on a daily basis, an effective software for your individual funds will provide the final information and summaries so you can see how much you deviated from the budget for a given period.

It is by using this kind of software that you can see clearly how your finances has been used in the past, currently and make informed projections for the coming days.