Stale Green Light

Money can buy a lot of things and there are usually a lot of things you want to buy.  Whether is be a new digital camera or a new pair of jeans, you have to spend some money on the things you want.

While it is healthy to treat yourself to a few non-essential every once in a while, it is important that you be careful not to splurge too much.  The biggest problem is having a long “wish list” that you could probably buy know, but it would rain your bank account.

Make sure you put money into your savings and retirement accounts each month.  After you do that and pay the bills you can set a few dollars aside to spend on yourself.

Be careful not to get carried away though.  That is why putting money into savings before you spend anything is key to budgeting your life.

When you’re a kid a quarter was a miracle, and if you got a dollar for your birthday you thought you were rich.  Oh the days…

Now as an adult, a dollar is nothing but it’s hard to save even that.  Bills stack up, and with food, clothing, and dating…there seems to be no money at the end of the day.

But putting money in the bank for savings is an important habit to start, and the earlier the better.  My suggestion is that you put money in a savings account before you even touch it for bills and everything else.  That way you won’t miss it if you never had it.

If possible, talk to the finance department at your work to see if they can deposit a fraction of your paycheck directly into a savings account so you won’t touch it.  This will allow you to put away money monthly, and you get compounding interest.

You should use credit cards prudently and only make purchases that you can afford to pay off.  Credit cards can actually help you if you use them wisely.  This means that when you make a purchase, pay of the balance.

This will allow you to increase your credit score, while still gaining rewards from the credit card company.  And the great part is that you were going to spend that money anyways, but not you get flier miles for doing it.

With the economy down, people are staying away from the housing market, which is smart for people in unstable neighborhoods.  If you have a good income and the funds to buy a few income properties, you should take advantage of the low prices.

The housing market is starting to rebound, but home prices are still way down from a few years ago, and there are still millions of foreclosed homes on the market.  That means really cheap offers are being accepted, especially on houses needing some work.

If you have the money to do it, buy these house, do the cosmetic work to make it look nice and increase the value by thousands more than you put into it.  Do this work and then go back to sell it and you could make more money in 2 months than you do all year.

Make sure you find houses in neighborhoods where the value can appreciate, and then budget your time and money so you don’t get stuck in a money pit.  Taking advantage of the low economy by  investing in real estate could be the best investment you’ll ever make.