A Quck Lesson in Saving Money

Did you have a piggy bank when you were a child? I did. Mine sat empty for a long time until my mother convinced me that I should really start putting my pennies and nickels into it in order to save my money for when I was older and wanted to buy something.

So, I did. I had about forty cents on me from the sale of some baseball cards to one of my friends (probably a Reggie Jackson Rookie Card or something worth thousands today) and I plunked it into the piggy bank to save money for "when I was older." The next day I went to my mother and asked her, "How do you pray?" She was definitely taken aback by the question (I was probably five or six years old at the time), but gave me a long religious discussion about talking to God and waiting to hear an answer, the whole nine yards. I was puzzled by this response and asked my next question, "But how do you pray open?" She asked what I meant, so I went and got my piggy bank to show her the disc on the bottom which had a small slot perfectly sized for the insertion of a flathead screwdriver, upon which was stamped the phrase PRY OPEN. I was, after all, a day older and I wanted my forty cents for the ice cream man.

Too many people seem to have this same, childlike attitude toward saving money. They may open a savings account or even a CD account with the best intentions of saving money until they're "older," but find themselves making more withdrawals than deposits and, in the case of CD's and IRAs, sometimes paying hefty penalties to the bank. If you're one of these people, I implore you to stop.

Put down that screwdriver (withdrawal slip), and walk away so you can save money. The ice cream man (or new TV, stereo system, DVD player or whatever) may look pretty good now, but you'll probably want to have those funds when you're older and on a more limited income. Don't pry open your bank account - the piggy bank for adults - before your time. Heck, maybe you'll get better results by trying to pray it open instead.

by Mika Hamilton

Risky Business: You May Not be as Daring as You Think

I thought I was through with exams when I finished college. Then my financial adviser (a.k.a. stockbroker) had me take a test to measure my tolerance for risk. He said, there were no right or wrong answers, but I knew better.

Once I had taken a personality test when I was in career transition (a.k.a. unemployed). My counselor had said the same thing, "There is no right or?," but when he told me my score he noted it was on the edge of the bell curve - the wrong edge. My need for acceptance by others was high; so high that I could not confront a taxi driver who gave me zero change from a $10 bill, on a $4.50 fare.

I was very leery of taking this "risk-tolerance profile." As I expected the questions showed that I was a total "wuss." (In Pittsburgh, if you're 15 and a guy it means you always cover your ears in winter).

A typical question; if your portfolio dropped 21.8 percent in one year, would you:

a. Sell all your equities?

b. Sell 1/3 of your equities and buy intermediate-term, tax-free municipals?

c. No change, staying the course?

I selected 'c' not because I believed in my strategy but out of total fear.

And yet deep down, when it came to the important things in life I felt that I was a risk-taker. I could be as much a risk-taker as an F-16 fighter pilot or a New York City undercover cop. However, no test ever asked the real important questions of life, the kind of questions that affected my daily reality. Questions like:

You have to drive to the airport. You get in your car, turn on the engine, and the gas gauge is on "E." Do you: a) immediately fill up, b) drive to the airport but don't put on the air conditioning, or c) drive back and forth without ever looking at the gas gauge again. OK, now lets add some real risk to the above question. What is your answer assuming your spouse is in the car with you?

Now let's deal with food instead of hedge funds. For example, for breakfast you like your bagels dark but definitely not burned. You've just put a bagel in the toaster, and it is just not dark enough. You put it in the toaster again, just nudging the dial to the optimum position, taking into consideration the heat already generated and the level of darkness around the edges of the bagel. As you wait for your bagel, do you: a) stand there staring at the bagel, b) let the dog out, c) get your newspaper from the driveway and check the Knicks score.

How would your answer change if it were your last bagel?

Now lets deal with the most risky part of life - relationships: Its 11:30 p.m., Thanksgiving Eve; your wife is exhausted, having cooked the 24-pound turkey and the rest of the food. She asks you to place the turkey in the fridge in the basement. She reminds you of last year's fiasco when you forgot to refrigerate the bird. Do you: a) do it immediately; run upstairs to report to her that you completed the task. You then return to the basement to ensure that you have closed the fridge door, b) leave a note for your teenage son to do it when he comes in after midnight.

Now for extra credit. You get a call from your high-school sweetheart. She asks to meet you for coffee in an hour. Do you: a) decline and tell you wife about the call, b) decline and not tell you wife about the call, c) ask your son if you can borrow his mousse. You get the idea. On this kind of test, I would score very high.

I figure once I fine-tune my questions, I could use this kind of questionnaire to screen professionals trying to give me advice. For example, my internist wants me to come in to review the results of my prostate exam and to discuss the different options and the risks involved with each course of action. I may surprise him and ask him to complete my questionnaire first. I want to see what kind of risk-taker he is.

P.S. My stockbroker just took my exam. He failed. I am looking for a new broker. Any recommendations?

By Hesh Reinfeld

10 Tips to Make Sure Your Financial Budget Will Succeed

You've analyzed your past expenses, put them into spreadsheets, loaded Quicken with all of your data and come up with a budget. Now what? The tough part! You actually have to stick to your budget and put your plans into action. This is easier said than done. In many cases you will have forgotten about your budget and your financial goals 6 months or a year down the road. How do you keep this from happening to you?

Here's how. Make sure you follow some of these tips below so this doesn't happen to you.

1. Create a budget with realistic targets - Let's say one of your budget goals is to not eat out for lunch or dinner on a regular basis. If you are honest with yourself you may find this to be an unrealistic goal. Sometimes it's a nice break to eat out and have a relaxing rewarding evening. In other words, don't set the bar too high. Drastic and unrealistic goals are one of the surefire ways your budget will not succeed.

2. Budget for expenses that don't occur on a routine basis - Make sure you give consideration to expenses that occur once a year, such as holiday presents, birthdays, vacations, weddings, car maintenance costs, etc. These expenses don't occur every month and they will bust your budget plans wide open. Make a list of these events on a calendar and put a dollar figure to them. Place them in the month they are expected to occur so you can plan in advance how you will pay for them. The regular routine expenses are not the reason your budget will fail. It is these "gotchas" that will wreck havoc on your budget if you don't plan for them.

3. Put your budget in writing - Take the time to write down your budget plans. Making a mental note of your budget goals is a recipe for failure. Don't assume that your financial future will take care of itself by making a simple mental note to yourself. If you have your budget goals detailed in writing you can review and remind yourself weekly and monthly of your financial goals.

4. If you have a bad month or week, don't give up! - Let's say you have been reaching your budget goals for three months. In the fourth month, for whatever reason, you didn't reach your budget goals. Maybe you even stopped trying to stick to your budget! If this happens, don't just throw your hands up in the air and admit to failure. Everyone falls off the wagon sometimes. Your budget is a journey. There will be bumps in the road, so the key is to realize that everyone makes mistakes. This relates to a story I like about a great old time golfer named Walter Hagen. Before each round of golf, he told himself that he would have 4 or 5 bad shots. During the golf round, if he hit his ball into a bunker, he would tell himself, "There is one of my bad shots that I was expecting", hit the ball out of the bunker and move on. It didn't phase him one bit because he had knew there would be some bad shots in his round.

5. Adjust your budget over time - This one is a biggie! It can take months or even years to fine tune a personal budget. When you initially made your budget plans, you probably had to guess at some of your figures. They might not have been in touch with the realities of every day life. For example, you may have underestimated your monthly grocery or utility bills. If this happens, analyze all of the underlying money that was spend in this category to see if your initial estimate was unrealistic. If it was, try to come up with a more accurate number and then to stick to that new figure. It is this type of adjustment that is one of the keys to making sure you can stick to your budget.

6. Review your budget every month - This is where you will make any adjustments that are needed. Set aside the first day of each new month to review your income and expenditures and match them to your budget goals. By actively reviewing your finances and comparing it to your budget, you can adjust your spending habits. This gives you a chance to analyze areas that exceeded your budget expectations and make the adjustments in your spending habits or your budget. The goal here is to not forget about your budget. One tip that has worked for me is to put a printout of my basic budget goals on the refrigerator. That way every day, several times a day, I would notice my budget goals sheet. I may not read it every time, but I notice it and it reminds me that I need to stick to my budget. That is why tip number 3 is so important.

7. Set specific short-term goals - Let's say one of your budget goals is to have all of your credit card bills paid off in two years. If your credit card balances total $20,000 that would be $10,000 a year. Divide that number further into quarterly reductions in your credit card bills, in this case $2,500 every 3 months. Now, this is a more tangible budget goal to shoot for isn't it? I find that when I divide intermediate and long term goals into short-term tangible stepping stones, I am able to feel a greater sense of accomplishment and am more likely to succeed. This brings us to number seven?

8. Reward yourself - That's right! Treat yourself when you reach your some of your short-term goals. Since your financial budget is really a journey, take some time to smell the roses on your way. Sticking to your budget should not be a restrictive, unpleasant experience. Not only should you take the time to enjoy your financial accomplishments along the way, but use part of your budget for fun things that you enjoy. Just make sure your rewards don't end up breaking your budget!

9. Pay yourself first - I'm sure that one of your budget goals is to save and invest a portion of your income. One of the keys to make sure you succeed at this is to do what the IRS does with your paycheck, take it out of your discretionary income immediately. This way, the money is saved away right off the bat. Move the money immediately into a savings or mutual fund account. Many mutual fund companies can setup automatic deductions from your paycheck. Despite your best intentions to save, the hectic, daily demands of life can reduce the amount you are able to save.

10. Attitude is everything - When most people think of a budget, they picture restrictions and pain. Almost like a diet. You know what happens with most diets? They don't seem work for long! First, if your budget is too strict, too restrictive on your spending, it won't work either. However, you will need to limit your spending in some areas and this will take some adjustment in your attitude. I found that when I am feeling limited and sorry for myself when I can't purchase something that I want, I remember my financial goals I set with my budget. I think about the satisfaction I feel when I reach those goals. Over time, you find that you don't want to disappoint yourself by breaking your spending goals on a spur of the moment purchase. Now, I actually get more pleasure knowing that I am reaching my budget goals when the thought of an impulse purchase crosses my mind.

If you follow these tips, your budget plans are more likely to be a great success. By taking some simple steps you will find that living within a budget is not as tough as you imagined. It can actually be fun and rewarding!

By Greg Quincy

Identity Theft is a Major Problem: Whose Responsibility is It to Protect the Consumer?

We have heard a lot about consumers' personal information getting into the hands of identity thieves. More and more people are taking steps to minimize their exposure to such theft by reducing information on personal checks, refusing to share social security numbers with just anyone who asks, being prudent in their use of credit cards, and shredding "junk" mail that might allow another person to pose as them. However, we can do little to protect ourselves against lackadaisical security methods or unscrupulous business practices.

Because recent reports confirm that personal information continues to fall into the wrong hands, consumers have become increasingly concerned about how companies handle their personal information. But consumers can only do so much; then it's up to businesses to provide their customers with privacy policies that will ensure their information is handled appropriately and secured from the hands of would-be opportunists, as well as outright crooks.

How can this be accomplished? As business owners, managers, or supervisors, we need to establish and enforce effective company privacy policies. These polices should outline the handling, reviewing, storage, and destruction of customers' personal information, as well as that of employees. Once privacy polices are drawn up, they must be carried out. All employees should be trained in the handling of sensitive information. When employees obtain personal information from customers, several questions need to be asked. Who is allowed to handle it? How long will the information be unsecured? Can information viewed on computer screens be seen by others? How will the information be secured? Who will have access to it? How long will it be kept, and when will it be destroyed?

Establishing strict information handling procedures may be cumbersome. However, they are necessary if we are to gain and keep the confidence of our customers and our employees. Review the following privacy policies that should be established and practiced by every business.

? Adjust computer screens so customer information is not visible by anyone standing in close proximity. If the screen cannot be moved, place something in the line of sight to block unwanted viewers. Hanging plants, room dividers or frosted glass can block the view.

? Computers should be password protected. When an employee leaves his/her computer, it should always be secured and protected by a password. Even if you leave your computer for just a few minutes, unsecured information could be accessed by anyone passing by.

? Customer files should never remain unattended on a desk that can be accessed by customers or unauthorized employees (including cleaning or maintenance staff). Files left unattended can be quickly viewed and documents stolen or copied. Files should always be in a secured drawer or locked room when not in use.

? Customer information should be secured as quickly as possible. Once information is obtained from a customer, the document or program should not be left unattended. Secure all information before servicing another customer.

? When customer information is secured, assign specific employees who will have access to the information. The more employees who have access to the information, the more chances exist for misappropriation. Don't tempt employees with the access if they don't really need it.

? Don't discuss customer information when other customers or employees are able to hear. When requesting information from the customer, have the customers write it down for you. Once you are finished with the written information, it is very important that you hand it back to the customer. This way the customer can dispose of it, and there are no concerns that the written information is intentionally or inadvertently passed on to someone else.

? Don't leave outgoing mail out over night or over the weekend. Mail or any other documents that are waiting in an "out box" can be easily access by cleaning, maintenance, or service staff, as well as by children or friends of employees. Keep outgoing items secured until pick up time. A central location should be designated for such items during the week. Often items placed with other out going mail or documents are quickly forgotten, that is, until the recipient notifies you that the document has not been received. The more time that has lapsed between sending and receiving the mail or documents, the less likely you will be to locate them.

? Documents waiting to be shredded should be in a secure place. Many offices use a box under each desk, where documents are thrown until the end of the week. This system provides easy access to documents that are seldom noticed if they go missing. Shred bins should be locked or kept in a locked room. Larger bins are often used to store documents until a document disposal company takes them. These bins should also be locked or kept in a secured area.

As employers, we often obtain information from Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), to help with our hiring decisions. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) places emphasis on the accuracy of information, and under new FACTA provisions, any business that uses consumer reporting agencies must adopt proper disposal procedures for the information obtained.

Consumer Reporting Agencies are not just "credit" reports issued by one of the three major credit bureaus. Consumer reports include medical records or payments, insurance claims, employment history, check writing history, and residential or tenant rental history. There are several companies that specialize in providing reports for specific purposes. FACTA defines companies that issue non-credit reports as "nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies." Consumers may request a free annual report from any of the specialty CRAs.

FACTA also says that receipts for credit and debit card transactions can include no more than the last five digits of the credit card number and expiration date. If you are using a merchant processing machine check to make sure the program is not printing the entire number. If it is, call your provider and request the program be updated to comply with FACTA. Noncompliance could result in fines.

Take steps now to ensure that your merchant processing program will not print the entire credit/debit card number. This does not apply to merchants who only accept handwritten or imprinted card information. This method creates its own problem of securing the consumers card information at all times.

What all this boils down to is that we, as employers, business owners, managers, and supervisors need to make a greater effort to provide our customers with the peace of mind that their identities and their information are safe with us. All of our employees need to handle customer information with care and respect that is apparent to all customers. Without our help in the secure handling of the personal information of our customers and employees, the fight to stop identity theft and fraud will continue to rage. We need to be smarter than the crooks by eliminating their means of obtaining information.

Who knows, the next customer to have information stolen might just be you.

By Cindy Schroeter Graham

How to Choose the Right Bank for Your Online Business

You should thoroughly consider your business needs when selecting a financial institution or bank for your small/home business. You may want to consider the following points:

- The types of products and services that are offered.

- The bank's criteria for qualifying for a loan.

- The minimum balances for accounts, interest rates and charges for account services.

- Location and Access to ATMs

- Online Banking Services

One bank may specialize in home loans or auto loans while another may focus on commercial loans for businesses. Some banks may only offer basic deposit accounts while others have lock box services, sweep accounts, and even online banking! It's very important to evaluate your business needs before you select your banker.

Here are some of the things that your banker may be able to help you with:

- Help you with the cash management needs of your business.

- Offer investment products of varying maturities or risks.

- Provide advice regarding what it will take to qualify for the loan that best meets your needs.

- Provide special loan programs for small businesses, including SBA loan programs and other government-guaranteed or agency loans.

- Assist you with finding financial information on your industry.

So compare different banks in order to find the one that will serve your business's needs and will also provide support and assistance during the infancy stage of your business. Selecting a bank that you can work with will be especially important as your business grows.

Start shopping around by gathering information to help you make this important selection. Compare interest rates on deposit accounts and basic consumer loans (most business loans are negotiated, so the rates won't be posted at the banking center). Also, look carefully at the charges for services. Tell them about your business and the form of organization so that they can tell you what special products and services or restrictions might apply.

Before selecting a bank, be sure to have a good understanding of your own business needs, and what you need from your bank. If you know what you will need from a bank, it will be much easier to evaluate and compare between various services. Remember, it is a good idea to establish a relationship with a banker, before you need money. The right banker will be someone that understands the needs of emerging and growing businesses. They will be interested in your business dreams and will help you achieve them.

By Chileshe Mwape

What is ChexSystems?

Commonly referred to as the first of the three major "Check Systems" in the U.S., Chex Systems is an association of financial institutions that network together in order to develop a database that maintains the records of mutually unwanted customers. To make sure that only financially responsible individuals open up checking accounts at member institutions, these banks report on customers who demonstrate poor financial management skills. When a customer's checking account is closed due to demonstrated mismanagement, then he or she is reported to Chex Systems. Once done, the customer will have a very difficult time opening up an account at any other financial institution partnered with Chex Systems for the next five years.

Since the vast majority of financial institutions (banks) reject potential customers who are on file at Chex Systems, being reported to them can put an individual at an extreme disadvantage. But what, exactly, does it take to get a checking account closed and reported to Chex Systems in the first place? The answer the bank usually gives out is simply "closed for cause." Yet there are many ways that a customer can end up having his or her account terminated. These range from acts as serious as fraud to the simple irresponsibility that leads to excessive overdrafts. It is important to remember, however, that policy can vary greatly between financial institutions. Depending upon which bank is in question, instances in which accounts are "closed for cause" can involve customers:

? not reimbursing their bank for overdraft amounts

? misusing savings accounts, ATMs or debit cards

? offering information that is misleading at the time the account is opened

Yet while there are many factors that can lead to account closure, banks are not always forthcoming about the specific reason for terminating an account. This can lead to some confusion when one seeks the reason for being denied a new account. Fortunately, anyone who has been blocked from opening an account at a financial institution due to the involvement of Chex Systems can request a copy of their Chex Systems file and use the information provided on our website to begin banking again quickly.


By Scott Felix

Budgeting Made Easy

Well, dang! From what I've heard and read, it looks like we've reached an all-time world-class new record in the amount of personal debt on the books. Now it's probably not quite as bad as we've been led to believe, however many of us have managed to tromp further than we should have into the financial swamp. How well we'll be able to find our way back out to dry ground will depend on our knowing just where the heck we are in the first place. And that takes us right to the "B" word.

"Budgets"

For some of us, the word immediately congers up visions of frowning accountant-type folks, complicated computer programs and mountains of wadded up balls of scratch paper piling up around the kitchen table. For those of us who are fiscally challenged and would prefer to place our faith entirely in the benevolence of the Saints of the Oblivious Shopper, even the mention of the "B" word is enough to drive us to the emotional security of watching the latest TV reality shows.

I really hate to be the one to break the news to you, but just stuffing the bills behind the rooster cookie jar on the counter until you get around to paying some of them is not a real good start toward financial security. Nor is the technique of paying what you can until you run out of whatever money you think you have in the checking account. Both of these will have about the same effect as the time-honored technique of tossing the bills at the wall to see if they stick. You know what I'm talking about, right? If they stick, they get paid. If not - oh well, better luck next month!

Here's a suggestion for a fairly painless step toward controlling your personal cash flow. (That's like making a budget but I didn't want to scare anyone off here?) Get a spiral binder, pick a page and draw in a bunch of columns. No, it doesn't make any difference how many. At least five would be good.

In the first column, write down the names of your expenses. You know, like food, house payment or rent, gas, car payment, electricity, phone, child care, credit cards - that kind of stuff. Put one expense name on each line as you go down the column. Don't forget the clothes, entertainment and insurance entries. Even if you pay your insurance quarterly or semi-annually, you need to break this down into a monthly "expense" so you can save for it or at least see where you stand. If you'd like, it's not a bad idea to list the expenses in payday groups. List the bills you'll need to pay from the first pay day of the month in one section of the column and create a separate group for the bills that should get your attention on the second payday. Whatever works best for you.

In the second column, write down how much you normally spend each month for each of the expense entries in the first column. If you're not sure, take your best guess and write it in pencil. You can always make adjustments later.

At the top of the remaining columns, write in the names of the months that are coming up. You'll use these columns to record your actual payments as you make them.

Now, just for the heck of it, add up your estimated expenses and compare the total to your projected monthly income. If what's going out is more than what's coming in, you know right from the get-go that you'll need to make some adjustments. If the figures show that you should have money left over at the end of the month but it never seems to work out that way, there are obviously some expenses you've forgotten about - or maybe weren't really aware of in the first place. How about maintenance on the house or car? Medical expenses? Birthday and Christmas gifts? Or how about eating out? Was this included in the food expense - or the entertainment expense? And yeah, going out for lunch and the quick snacks or drinks at your favorite convenience store need to be included somewhere.

Next - instead of shoving the bills behind the cookie jar when they come in, just toss them into the spiral binder on your current budget page. That way you'll always know exactly where they are. When you pay them, be sure to remember to write down the amount in the appropriate column.

Here are a couple of hints on bill-paying. Do it first, right after payday before you spend the money on anything else. Plan ahead. Allow at least a week for the check to travel to your lender and be credited to your account. Two weeks is even better. The last thing you want to see is a series of late payments on your credit report. If you haven't gotten a bill yet and you know it needs to be paid out of this week's paycheck, hold the money and don't spend it on other stuff.

Debit cards are great but they can quickly cause problems if we're not careful. If you like to make purchases with a debit card, be sure to tuck the receipt in your wallet and then remember to write the amount in your checkbook as soon as you get home. Then either write that amount in the appropriate column in your budget or simply toss it in the spiral binder for entry later. If you normally make several trips to the grocery store in a month, just paper clip the receipts together and enter the totals into your "ledger" a couple times a month. Weekly if you wish. If you like to pay your bills on-line, remember to enter the amount in both your checkbook and ledger.

All-in-one stores - those that carry groceries and a variety of other items - tend to complicate the budgeting process because we really should separate the purchases so we can see where we're spending our money. Make it easy on yourself. If your basket is filled mostly with groceries and the "other item" purchases are small, just enter everything in the food column. If you normally purchase a significant quantity of "other stuff" along with the groceries, you should think about either separating the expenses yourself (a pain in the rear) or having them rung up separately as you check out (also a pain in the backside). Or maybe a separate trip through the store would work better for you. Your choice?

Credit card payments. If at all possible, pay more than the minimum amount. There's no reason to keep forking over your money in the form of interest payments to big corporations for the next umpteen years if you can avoid it. It's best of course, if you can pay any credit card debt off monthly. If that's not possible, then concentrate first on the high-interest cards to get them out of the way as soon as possible. Pick one and do everything you can to get it paid off. Then go to the next one on the list and take care of it. I don't need to remind you that it's not a real good idea to charge more on these cards while you working so hard to pay them off, do I? Nah, I didn't think so. While you're at it, once a card is paid off, seriously consider canceling it. There's no good reason to have more than a couple of credit cards - of any type - in any one household. So remove the plastic temptations from your wallet and take one more step away from the swamp.

One more thing on credit cards. OK, maybe a couple more. Credit cards are for convenience and maybe emergencies. They're not to live on. Convenience for those individuals who find it advantageous to accumulate their expenditures so they can make a single payment once a month. Uh folks, that's not a good approach for most of us. We can too easily slip into believing that whatever limit is showing on the card is really our money and spend accordingly. A direct path into the swamp. As far as emergencies are concerned, it's better to have a stash of cash set aside to handle those unforeseen events, however sometimes that just isn't possible. So OK, use the cards for emergencies if necessary, but your budgeting still needs to include a potential emergency repayment amount. And let's face it, if you're stashing cash for emergency repayment it won't be long until you'll really have the money available to cover most situations and you won't need to use the card anyway. By the way, if your credit is in good shape, it's far better to snag a bank or credit union loan at a much better interest rate to handle those emergency expenses. One last thing on credit cards. If you can't pay the bill in full each month then don't use them to eat out. That creates some very expensive meals that will provide you with just enough energy to lead you even further into the swamp.

So where is this leading us? Well, after tracking all - I repeat, all - your expenditures for two or three months, you should have a real good idea of where you stand. If your monthly expenses - including allowances for maintenance, entertainment and emergencies - is greater than your income, you only have a couple of options. Either increase your income in some way such as through a part-time job or reduce your expenses. That's about it. And sure, if you're facing a major financial crisis, credit counseling may be the way to go. If that's the case, be careful of the organization you choose to help you out. Articles in MSN Money indicate that you'll be safe if you stick with either Consumer Credit Counseling Services or Myvesta (a non-profit financial crisis center).

The bottom line? By using the spiral binder budgeting technique, you'll be able to quickly get a better grasp on where your money is going - and you'll be able to see at a glance where you stand at any time during the month. Hopefully, you'll be able to also set aside some coins not only for emergencies but also for the more fun things like vacations. And if you're not doing it already, work toward being able to slide a portion of your earnings into a long-term savings account. By paying off the old credit cards, you're already taking major steps in that direction but as soon as possible, establish a real savings account where you can earn at least a little interest on your money. Consider having this direct deposited into the account from the amount you earn at your job. If you don't see it, you won't miss it as much.

One last thing. Be sure to tell your kids that the secret to a really comfortable retirement is to save just ten percent of everything they earn. Nah, they probably won't listen but it's good advice anyway?

By Gene Simmons