financial life /

How Keeping a Journal Can Help You Turn Your Financial Life Around

Keeping a journal can be a vital part of your financial life. Simply journaling about your finances, money, and money worries can be a great way to turn your finances around. There are many things you can journal about:

1) Your attitudes about money. Our attitudes about money shape what we do with our finances. Keeping track of your attitudes in a journal can help you weed out those money beliefs that don’t serve you.

2) Your spending habits. Writing down everything you spend lets you see where your money really goes and lets you gain more control of your spending.

3) Your personal loans and debts. Journaling solidcashsolutions about what you owe helps you keep track of your cash loans and also serves to motivate you to pay down your debts.

4) Your financial goals. Writing down your financial goals can help you achieve them, according to experts.

5) Your money worries. Worrying about money rarely helps, but writing down your financial worries allows you to get some relief from money stress and allows you to focus on solutions to your money woes.

Starting a journal is very simple. Simply purchase a small notebook and pen and carry them with you or store them in one place. Once a day or throughout the day, as thoughts occur to you, jot them down. Soon, you will have plenty of material to review and consider.…

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education /

How to Slash Your Education Costs

slash education costsIf you pay full-price for your education, you will likely have to take out and repay student loans to finance your degree. If you want to rely on loans less, you can often do so by reducing the amount of money you pay for your education. Here’s how:

– Look into alternative courses. Taking Advanced Placement courses and tests in college could save you hundreds of dollars in your first year at college, since these courses can count towards college credit. Don’t overlook online classes and programs, which often feature a lower price tag.

– Check out low-cost housing options. Other than your tuition, you living expenses will probably make up the bulk of your educational costs. Consider all your options – renting a house with friends may be cheaper than roommates or dorms.

– Reduce living expenses. Buy used textbooks, consignment clothes, and generally stay away from consumerist behavior. The less you spend now, the smaller you debt load in the future.

– Keep track of small expenses. You probably don’t even notice when you spend small amounts of cash, but those tiny amounts can add up. Keep a running total of all your expenses (even the tiny ones) on your cell phone or computer. Once a month, take a look at your expenses and look for ways to slash spending.

– Look out for small, regular expenses that add up. If you spend $20 a week on movies and pizza, you’re spending $1040 a year on that luxury. That’s a lot of cash. If you rent a movie or take in a free event (like a concert) every other week, you could slash that amount by half.…

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money /

Reducing Your Pet Care Costs

reducing pet care costsAs a pet owner, you love your pet – but those vet bills and pet costs can really add up. You may be tempted to take out personal loans or payday loans to cope with sudden medical costs, but there are many ways to make caring for your pet less costly.
Visit a vet school in your area. If there is a vet school in your area, contact them to find out whether they take patients from the general community. Some do – at very discount rates – in order to give vet students a chance to learn. Students are usually overseen by experienced instructors, so your pet still gets quality care.
Take your pet into the vet sooner. If you notice your dog or cat has a symptom that worries you, take them to the vet first. This is usually far less expensive than waiting for a condition to become more fully developed – treatment is usually more expensive then.
Discuss pet food costs and options with your vet. You do not have to spend a ton on pet food to offer your pet quality nutrition. Some pet owners even make their own organic pet food for a fraction of the price of fancy designer brands.
Do the math on pet insurance. Calculate how much you spend on average on vet bills and how much pet insurance might cost. If it makes sense to do so, get pet insurance. If you decide that pet insurance makes no financial sense, start a pet emergency fund to ensure that you can pay for vet bills in an emergency without taking out loans.…

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money /

According to most relationship experts

relationship and moneyMoney is one topic that many couples argue about. Money tends to be a very emotionally-charged topic and can easily lead to friction. Learning to talk about money in healthy ways, though, can pave the way for a healthier relationship. Here’s how to have those tough talks.

Have regular money discussions. Rather than just talking about money when there’s a problem, discuss money regularly – say, when you pay the bills. Get to know each other’s financial attitudes and values. Praise each other for savings, promotions, and money management.

Set goals together. Develop financial goals as a couple – maybe a mutual savings system or a joint financial retirement plan – and review your goals during your regular financial discussions.

Keep some finances separate. Don’t have everything in common accounts. Keep separate accounts, as well, for personal buys. This will help prevent arguments about one person spending the couple’s money. Have a joint account into which each partner pays a pre-set amount each month. Deposit the remainder of your paycheck into your personal account. Use the joint account for combined expenses (such as paying off the mortgage or personal loans you have taken out together) and individual accounts for personal expenses (clothes, personal gadgets, etc).…

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