Your Financial Action Plan: 12 Simple Steps to Achieve Money Success
Title:Your Financial Action Plan: 12 Simple Steps to Achieve Money Success
Author: G. Cotter Cunningham
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN-10: 0471650307
ISBN-13: 978-0471650300
Start: 2010-10-17
End: 2010-10-24
- When creating an emergency fund, the rule of thumb is to stow between three and six months’ worth of income someplace where it earns interest until you need it. “Need” means that you’re facing a financial sickness, not a mere hiccup.
- The most important thing is to take the plunge: Pay yourself first and start saving. An emergency fund should be part of your savings plan, but by no means the only part.
- Money market mutual funds invest in shorterm corporate and government debt securities and earn a variable interest rate that is often comparable to the interest earned on CDs. You may withdraw money at any time without penalty.
- Shift your bills around by changing the due dates on your credit cards. In this way they will not be so heavy during one part of the month.
- Group your expenses into three categories: fixed expenses (mortgage or rent, car payments, insurance premiums, and savings); variable expenses (regular bills whose amounts can change, such as electric or phone bills); and discretionary (what’s left after the basics are covered).
- Bankrate suggests that you should count on needing 70 to 90 percent of what you’re spending in your pre-retirement life to live a comfortable retirement. (This does not account for inflation.)
- No matter where you invest, it’s best to do so regularly where a fixed amount is deducted automatically from your paycheck monthly and invested in mutual funds. The result is dollar-cost averaging, which means you buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high.
- Don’t pay a bank for its services. Rather, let them pay you. Add enough to your minimum account balance so that it becomes fee-free.