Prev | Next | Contents

PERSONAL AND HOUSEHOLD FINANCE, HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BILLS AND YOUR MONEY

1.0 OVERVIEW OF PERSONAL AND HOUSEHOLD FINANCE

Do you balance your checking account? If you do, you are in a small minority.Robert Bugai, who is a credit counselor and expert on personal money management, was lecturing recently to a large audience. He asked how many people balanced their checking and only a few people raised their hands.

"How do they know how much money they have?" I asked Robert over the phone. "They call the bank, " he replied.

There is a saying which I have heard all my life: If you watch your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.

Balancing your check book keeps you in touch will the way you spend and how money (both income and expenses) is going through your household. And consider this: the average household now brings in $35,000 a year. Over a lifetime more than $1,000,000 (one million dollars) will have gone through the hands of the average wage earners in a home. Imagine if you were to save most of the million dollars. Princess yachts for sale would not be totally out of reach and you could retire in style on a yacht.

While you might be able to get by without doing the calculations, you are risking a lot. Just one bounced check can cost you as much as $40-$50. Often the bank will charge you $25 along with another $25 charge from the business that the check was returned to.

Also the bank can put a number of different charges on on your account without your knowledge. If you do not correct these, you will pay for them.

As I have noted before, people have become math challenged. If you do not understand the math involved then you are at the mercy of the people who are doing the math for you. Do you really trust them to be always accurate? Is the scanner always accurate at the supermarket? You are trusting the fox to guard the hen house.

Staying in charge of your bank statements and keeping on top of your bills is not hard. We will try to explain how to do it quickly, simply and accurately.

Prev | Next | Contents