The subject of personal finance instills all sorts of real and imaginary fear in an individual. Even educated individuals feel edgy when it comes to making budgeting, investing and renting Vs buying a home decision.
Experienced people, particularly in the area of business where decision-making is a regular feature, also aren't quite sure as far as their personal finance is concerned.
Hence, many people put the issue of dealing with their personal finance on the back burner till they reach a crisis point in their debt or credit dealings.
However unsavory the subject may be for you, the best way out is to face it up front. All you need to do is have a firm understanding of your actual income and your expenses every month. Many people have a general idea of their earnings and expenditure and whether or not there is any difference between the two. You must have a definite picture of your financial position before you take any step towards managing your personal finances.
So the first thing to do is assess you financial situation.
Gather together all of the information and documents that will give you a picture of your financial position.
Tally your net worth, including real estate, superannuation, monthly income and all other assets.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the total. Then, set yourself up a budget by listing all of your expenses. Be completely honest and dont leave anything out. If you cheat on this you will only be cheating yourself. List everything including luxury items such as take out, cosmetics, magazines and movie tickets.
Once you have made a budget for yourself, you arrive to the next step required for tackling your personal finance. You should do a survey regarding services available in the market like electronic bill pay, investment counseling and seeking tips and hints for financial prudence. For people who do not have the time for bill payment or simply don't care, Electronic bill pay or BPay is the most suited.
Option to get your bills by email rather than snail mail is also provided by most companies. Paying them electronically through direct withdrawal from your bank would save you time and money besides the transaction getting immediately processed.
Once you have assessed your budget and established a regular and efficient bill paying mechanism, you might feel that you are then brave enough to investigate other areas of personal finance such as investments and stocks and shares. Once again, the Internet can be an invaluable resource, allowing you to thoroughly explore all of the different options and strategies available. You can find all sorts of useful references about investments such as term deposits, managed funds, purchasing stocks and shares and participating in share clubs.
Like a majority of people, you would like to start simple by opening a short-term savings deposit account. Monthly or weekly deposits in it from your paycheck would allow you to pursue your next goal, whether it be a car, holiday or some health related issue.
Samantha Flokigge is the owner and operator of Fuzzy Finance, a leading Internet portal for finance information. For more finance information and resources, be sure to visit:
http://www.fuzzyfinance.com
