Financial help for the new family, money, and debt

©Copyright LillyGrillzit all rights reserved November 10, 2010

To get you started today, Lilly has included below, the list and directions for everything you need to start a small financial system of your own . See Below,

• Envelopes
• 3 x 5 cards
• 12 pocket expandable divided file folder
• office supplies

See the best training is on the job *

This is not written in stone, but with this simple system, you can then create your own. Keep track of bills paid, all things financial in one easy system.

This can be done on-line with some banks using Peachtree®, Quicken® QuickBooks®.

For small business owners or investors, this is a safer way to keep your books, but there may be fees.

Weekly budgeted money can be deposited into a savings, or special bills checking account, where the only money going in and out are budgeted costs.

To be successful - start your own financial system. This is your system hatched by you, common sense and some sound financial principles. If you are lucky, you had parents who knew a lot about finances, taxes and investing, and they have passed that knowledge on to you. This is more for those who do not have much idea what it takes to establish themselves as an independent adult in the US.

When you are on your own in the US.

• If you are not on your own yet, and you have time before leaving home, get started now. Many young people are anxious to gain their independence from their parents, so if you familiarize yourself with the reality of bills and budgets, you will not go into shock and run back home the first month out.
• Get a budget book, or books, It can be as professional as products offered by Amazon, it can be as simple as an old notebook the kids discarded. The moreimportance you assign to your budget book , the better a tool this will be for you. This can also be used in the event of an audit or if you have problems with products or services purchased, or bills paid, that are in dispute.
• Cartoon featured checks send the wrong message to check users. Working from 9-5, and 16-75 is not funny. It is a grand and serious effort. How serious can a person be about their checking account if they have Looney Tunes® checks? I love Loony Tunes® , they are suitable for tattoos, but not financial planning.

• The option for Cable is going to come up. Some households pay ¼ of their earnings in cable and pay-for-view charges. The local library checks out movies, and other media for free. There is free viewing that is legit and legal, without enormous cable fees. Check my Hub Free shows and movies legally.
• Purchase a coupon divider - clip some coupons for what you eat. Save $$$
• Get your own "store" saver card. We have Kroger, and you can earn store coupons by what you purchase. Also, 5 cents off a gallon of gas for every $100.00 purchase. Those savings can be had at many stations now.
• If you travel, make sure to get membership cards from the Hotels and Inns. Each time you make your reservation use your card to gain points, for free hotel stays, or airline miles, or gifts

• Consider how you will handle your earnings and investments. Cash in the hand goes very quickly out the window. Open a checking account, or savings account where you can access your money for free via ATM, or other electronic or paper source. (Checks are not EXTRA money - they are paper with your word on them)
• Look into loading your earnings onto a debit/credit card offered by large retailers like Wal-Mart or Walgreen's. It is a simple fee for loading the funds on to the card. No return check charges, no overdrafts in the Account **
• You will be filing your income tax for the first time as a non-dependent. (There are circumstances where you need to discuss with your parent(s) your filing status for your first year as a free-bird!) The IRS website has a lot of good information. You will be considered Single and your tax rate is the highest.
• When filling out your W-4 for Withholding take 1 exemption per person. Many people 'over withhold' as a savings account. You can save your own money, or have use of the money you need throughout the year.
• When filing your taxes, refrain from getting loan products and a quick refund. These days you can get your refund from the IRS Directly in 11 days. Save a few hundred dollars this year. IRS Free File, offers free and low-cost products.
• It will be important to come up with a budget and savings plan. At your age, opening a HSA (Health Savings Account ) that converts to an IRA or an IRA and simply putting $50.00 per month away, with sound investments - long term at age 40 you can do what you want. Retire, start a new career. ($12.50 X 4 = $50.00 Not much in the long run - 2 Lattes a week?)

• Join the Military to pay for schooling: Stay in 15 years and your future will be solid and you will be able to "live" instead of merely survive. As a Veteran you are eligible to apply for a VA Loan (Veterans Administration)
• Buy a home as soon as possible , finance only 15 years . It will save you $100,000.00's! The payments will be a little higher at first, but in a few years, it will seem like nothing!
• When you purchase your first car, get one you can pay cash for, or pay off in a few months. Wait until you have financial stability before going into the type of debt a new car brings.
• Establish a relationship with a Bank that is solid.
• Get out of debt as quickly as possible. If you are considering a major purchase, start saving the amount the new payments will be. Make sure and include extra insurance, or taxes. Here is an example of paying yourself. The longer you can make those payments into your savings. The less interest you will pay to borrow someone else's money. If you have saved up over 20% of the purchase price, go for 50% and buy it at 40% savings for not buying on credit, but owning your money and making it pay you.
• Use the credit card companies to document your financial movements, pay off your balance every 21 days.
• Check out Federal Credit Unions , they offer many plans and benefits for members regular banks do not. The stability comes from large memberships. Often you get purchase opportunities on big ticket items like vehicles and homes.
• Apply for 1 Credit Card through your Bank . Remember it is NOT EXTRA MONEY. Do not use your card, unless you can pay for what you are buying. Pay it off in 25 days. If you have an emergency, see (NOT EXTRA MONEY). In an emergency contact family, friends, organizations. Do not rely on your credit limit for emergencies. I don't know who came up with that ploy, but it indicates the Credit Limit will help you out of a jam. Instead, it makes the jam deeper.
• If you have a choice on your frequency of pay from an employer, although it is hard to adjust to, getting paid monthly gives you more purchasing power , and makes budgeting easier. If you get paid weekly, create a system to take a little out each week for monthly expenses. Again - Credit If you cannot afford it without the credit, you cannot afford it.
• When considering extra debt, only $25.00 extra per month, may seem like nothing, but get one or two more of those and suddenly you are enslaved to paying for what you attempt to enjoy. The reason people shop is to fill a void, buying on credit never lets you 'own' the stuff, no wonder there is no long lasting satisfaction.

• In your first pad; apartment, room, dorm or hovel, shop yard sales, estate sales, garage sales, storage companies, and the classifieds for second hand items. Must anyone spend $2,000.00 on one appliance still needing a couple of more? Not a newbie adult. Get established. When you buy that refurbished washer, dryer & stove set for $225.00 with a six month warranty, you will be laughing all the way to the bank, when your used appliances lasts 3 or 4 years.
• Find out if any relatives have any furnishings, curtains, sheets, blankets, appliances they don't use, and would give to you starting out. You will be satisfied with Retro when you still have money in reserve, while your peers are freaking out about finances, or only working to live.

We are going to create your very first budget system, simple, and inexpensive. This will teach the importance of budgeting and knowing where you stand with your own finances.

Have you managed to put a little behind for a rainy day? No it isn't easy, but it gets easier when you learn to pay yourself.

When you first start out, it may be too overwhelming to set up an entire year's worth of budgeted months.

Let us take practical and easy steps.Your First month and WeeK (example ):

1. January 2011
2. 4 - 3x5 cards
3. 4 - envelopes
4. pen
5. tape
6. paperclips/stapler
7. good hiding place
8. if cash is a problem, buy money orders each week.
9. consider critters, like mice, ants, water, or anything that could destroy your savings plan.
10. this is your own plan. use caution when sharing it with others, they may try to get into your budget and ruin it.

• Be realistic, sometimes things don't work out. 
• Do the best you can. If this week you were supposed to save $50.00, but only had $45.00, you are close to your goal. 
• Do not punish yourself, or make this something you dread facing.
• It takes 21 days to make a new habit. That is 21 continual days. 
• For those who have never been taught budgeting, and have never had a financial system, go light on yourself. It could take years to get this down. 
• Keep trying. $10.00 is better than -0-. Keep paying yourself. Keep doing yourself a favor.
• Skip 2 Lattes every week for a month. Bonus savings.
• Save up for a trip of vacation. They don't have to be far away or expensive. 
• Treat yourself, while maintaining a reality about your finances.
• Don't look at others and think they have it all. They probably don't and you wouldn't want their financial woes.
• Work hard, but enjoy your earnings along the way.

• A Social Security number is required, but there is NO CREDIT CHECK
• Pay Bills On-LIne/Electronically
• This can be used like a credit card (unless otherwise exempted) to make purchases on-line.
• Your GreenDot Card can be used at the ATM to retrieve cash.
• If your PERSONALIZED Green Dot Prepaid Visa is lost or stolen, your money is protected.

**When you purchase the kit, you will have a temporary card, but it is not protected yet, The temporary card cannot be used at the ATM and it is not re-loadable. When your card comes in the mail, it has your name on it!

READ THIS! - There are FEEs associated with the GreenDot Card besides loading. If you do not make 30 POP/ATM successful purchases or withdrawls, or DO NOT plan on loading at least $1,000.00 dollars per month, there is a $5.95 fee.

Most banks offer Free Checking, but if you cannot keep a checking account well, this is a small price to pay - keeping your money you were paying in Overdraft Charges.

Frugality has been the way I have survived a good part of my life. There is success in owning your stuff, and not having too much of it. There have been times when each month was a duel between car payments, rent and food. A snap of the flu can cause a person to lose their car, then have to still pay for it. Learning the art of Wanting Less...

In 1992, I attended a lecture from a Professor/State Senator who gave us the $1,000,000.00 dollar lecture. This was broken into 2 class periods and The Senator told us if we would heed the advice he would give us, it would save us over $1Million over a lifetime. It has saved me a lot of money.

Soon after leaving college, I worked for a TransUnion Credit Bureau, running credit reports for mortgages. I learned what it takes to have perfect credit, and it is very difficult if a person does not start out right.

I have had the opportunity to speak to High School Sr's who were about to go into the cruel world, and most of them had never had a "finance" talk, because their own parents had no idea about what Good Credit means.

As a Tax Professional I have had the opportunity to guide young tax payers on the golden path, and 11 years later, many of them are well established and have the best credit around.Score!

143pv 12.26.20.10 12:28pm