My 5 Personal Finance Tips

Here are 5 personal finance tips that I have used and are providing noticeable benefits in my finances:

1) Create and monitor a monthly budget. You should include reserves for future expenses -- The first time I did this it got me to think about expenses 6 months ahead. When I have some time, I am going to post the format for my excel spreadsheet. Leave a comment if this is something you would have an interest in.

2) Cancel credit cards -- this is a no brainer. 2+ months with no credit cards and I haven't missed them at all.

3) Put $500-$1000 in savings for emergencies or urgent needs. Doing this eliminates the need for a credit card.

4) Carry cash for personal expenses. This personal finance tip was the hardest change for me. I budget $600 per month for personal expenses and start the month with $600 cash. I have noticed since making this change I am very careful about what I will spend my cash on. So far, I have about $400 left for the last week of September. This is the best I have ever done managing my money.

5) Just say no, I could make a list of things I normally would have bought this month that I just passed on. For example, last night I was looking over photo slideshow software and was ready to buy a $60 program. I cooled myself off a little and decided to head home and check prices on the internet. I started reading the reviews on the product I was considering and there were numerous bad comments about it being buggy. I searched around a little and found a demo. Sure enough, after installing the demo, it was very difficult to use and crashed constantly. I saved myself $60 by having a little self-control. Two months ago, I would have bought it at the store and had $60 less.

Well, that's my 5 personal finance tips. If you have any that I missed, please be sure to post a comment.

Better Personal Finance - The Start of My Journey

This is my first post to Financial Wisdom 101 about personal finance issues and ideas that are important to me.

For the first 37 years and 7 months of my life, my spending habits have been financially irresponsible. If I wanted something, I bought or charged it. I never gave a lot of thought to whether I needed it or was it a good price.

In the last couple of months, I have changed my personal finance ways. I have become more aware of the cost of items. I now go to the grocery store and compare products and prices. A couple of months ago, I would have the most expensive can of whole tomatoes figuring they were the best. Now, I buy the non-name brand for a dollar less. I have yet to notice a difference between the two except I have an extra dollar in my pocket.

Last year, I bought 4 different digital cameras trying to get the best one and probably lost $2,000. At the time, I never gave it a thought. Now, I wonder what the heck I was thinking. Unfortunately, I have many more personal finance nightmare stories like this.

I have cancelled my credit cards. My credit card debt is not too significant ($10K) and I can pay it off in a year.

I still have temptation. When the Ipod Nano came out my first reaction was to go and buy it. Armed with my new ways, I thought it through and came to the conclusion I didn't really need it. I have a Ipod Shuffle that works fine.

What caused my change?

A lot of things but I think the most likely reason was I got tired of feeling behind in my personal finances. I am tired of feeling like I am never in control of my personal finances.

This blog will be about the financial wisdom I discover during my journey. Hopefully I will share something with you and you will share something with me.