Stale Green Light

The beginning is here.  It is now 2011 and it is time to start on that New Years resolution we talked about before.

The holidays are completely over, the eating must be controlled, schedules put back in order, and spending patterns back to frugality.  This all happens now that the new year has started and we need to start off on the right foot.

We now have several months before we need to start spending money on vacations and tuition so take this all important time to safely put away that paycheck every two weeks.  Schedules will help you curb your insane holiday spending sprees at the mall.

Now that vacation is over, everyday you will be at work and school, and for one month you will be at the gym a lot.  All that free time that you had for the past two weeks is long gone, which is actually a good thing – for your bank account at least.

Now you can get back to regular eating patterns and mundane schedules, where you keep track of everything you do and need to do.  Structure and stability are the key to financial success.

Put your money in the bank and let the interest add up in your savings account.  Keep track of you budget and stick to it!  You will appreciate  your frugality in a few months when you saved up enough to go to Cabo with your friends this summer.

The holidays are in full swing and that means that a lot of cash is being thrown down on presents, food, and travel costs.  The expenses add up really fast, and before you know it your savings account is drained in only two months time.

It is stressful and you wonder how you will recover and prepare for the next big things on the calendar; like tuition, summer plans, and and everything else that is just around the bend.  Well that is what New Years resolutions are for.

Make the commitment to cut back on spending and put your money away in a safe place every paycheck.   The expenses will slow down after the new year, and there should be no reason why you can’t build back up your savings in a few short months.

You just have to be safe and smart.  Take it day by day, and try to resist those little splurges while you are out running errands.

You probably don’t need those new shoes, and your can kids definitely wait for that $50 video game.  Christmas was the time for those things, but after the holidays pass you need to buckle down and look towards the future.

Budget your money wisely and try to put as much as you can into the bank every month.  If you can, put a large chunk into an interest bearing savings account so you are making money while doing nothing.

If you plan and take control, you can build your savings back up and get back to happy place where you are not completely stressed out about money.

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.