Organizing and prioritizing your finances

When it comes to saving your money and keeping your finances in check, many fail to realize that the most important thing is keeping everything in one organized place so that when it comes to tax times, you know where to look. Or when the holiday comes and you have to buy gifts for your families and friends, you know where to go and how much to spend. Here are a few more suggestions to consider.

1. Want to save some money for that one thing you always wanted? A house maybe? maybe a wedding ring for your girlfriend? I recommend opening savings account with ING Direct. Just keep all your savings in ONE place, and be sure to set a goal and deposit monthly or weekly if you can. The process is discussed more here.
2. Almost all of the bills I have are paid online through my checking account. Why? because it’s convenient:) and saves you a lot of money on stamps; most importantly, your mail won’t get lost. Most companies have online pay nowadays so check with whichever company that you have debt with and see. Most credit card companies definately offer it.
3. Do you shop online a lot? Open a PayPal account, which is free and you can set up your credit card information there so you don’t have to take our your credit card everytime you want to buy something, reducing the risk of somebody looking over your shoulder.
4. Always pay your gas with cash when you go to a gas station. It’s really not hard to go to an ATM and withdraw some money for gas and yet people keeps paying with their credit card.
5. Last and most important. Pay off the credit card with the most balance first and be really aggressive with it, because it is the one that will rob you just from interest alone.

The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. There may for the most part be summed in these two: Common-sense and perseverance. – Owen Feltham