Personal Finance 101

You may be feeling that nothing is working. And there is no hope.

But there is hope. There is always hope. New things can bring in new experiences, so don’t give up.

Get a part time job. I am not asking you to work at McDonalds.

What are you good at? Can you create simple websites? Can you create simple programmes? Can you cook? Can you proof read documents?

If you can do these things, head over to Craigslist.org <http://www.craigslist.org/> or Elance.com and advertise your skill. Dont charge too high. Find your neighborhood in Craigslist and offer your service there. Charge low prices in the beginning in order to get some jobs. Jobs creates referrals. Do a good job and ask for a referral. And keep a list of jobs that you have done, this becomes your portfolio.

Work part time about 3 time per week. Work more if you really need the money. Eventually, you might earn more in your part time job than you do in your full time job. More importantly, the income from your part time job is the key to your financial freedom.

Every successful person stated in this way. When the going got tough, the tough started going!

A bad credit card history hinders you from getting good interest rates for everything – from  your house loan mortgage to your car loan, to everything.

Learn how to clear your bad credit card history in 37 days.

Here are some simple ways to save some money.

1. The best way to save is to build a LIST of specific bargains that you find over time. This will save you a lot of TIME and MONEY.

2.  Turn off the power of unused items in your house. Do let let your TV or VCR to lay idle in Sleep mode because their still consuming power. Contrary to what manufacturers say, your TV.VCR, cooker, Hi-fi do not stop consuming power when their idle. They still consume 2/10 of their usual power. Compound this over the whole night of 12 hours and you’re paying for a lot of wasted electricity. So take out the plug from the wall.

3. Drink water instead of soft drinks. Not only is water cheaper but it is also healthier and will not make you FAT.

4.  Learn to trade or share with friends. Borrow a toaster, car pool whenever possible, borrow and lend books – all these little things help save money.

5.  Make your own lunch. While this sounds like a lot of work, making your lunch is cheaper and much healthier.

6. Pay off your credit card debt in full every month. The interest every month on the carry over balance will kill you if you let them compound. Compounding interest is good, when it works for you, not against you.

7.  Look for opportunities to switch credit cards when possible. A 0.25% lower interest can result in hundreds of saved dollars in a year – enough for for a vacation!

8. Switch to debit cards. Then you wont end up over spending.

9. Do not use your credit card. BUT do not cancel them. Having a credit limit but not using it helps build credibility when its time to get a home or car loan.

10.  Cut down on drinking and smoking. I am not asking you to eliminate the habit completely. But cutting down by 10% saves you 10%.

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Welcome to the new, refurbished Personal Finance 101 web site.

Being an engineer, I was always good with numbers, designing subsea structures that bring oil back for us to use. But I was never good with my finances.

When I get my bills, I usually toss them aside. I pay my bills blindly, not realizing that slowly, but surely, I was eating into my savings.

It was when 3 of my credit cards bounced that it hit me that I needed to do somethin about my finance.

This is a record of my journey and also my learning experience.

Stay with me and learn how to manage your money and grow it one day at a time.

Thank you.

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