Retrain your Brain -

If you deprive yourself of the things that bring you pleasure, you are going to have trouble saving money. Retrain your brain by visualizing a future that is more fulfilling, like credit card bills that are smaller, and higher savings account balances to give yourself a sense of purpose with your saving.

Choose Your Extravagances -

Choose the extravagances that you can do without, and the ones that you can occasionally take advantage of. Eat out once every week, but give up extended cable television and TiVo. Enjoy high speed internet at home, but give up your habit of eating out, for example.

Made Trade Offs Whenever Possible -

Substitute small pleasures for those that cost more. Have a fun movie night with your friends rather than going out for high cost entertainment, and give all of your friends a night to enjoy cost cutting entertainment.

Set Goals -

Make weekly goals to sit down and discuss your family spending plan for the months ahead, or even the years ahead. You may have to give up luxuries like family vacations and expensive dinners out, but saving cash for a rainy day is often more important than planning that summer trip to Disney World.

Enlist Help from Other People -

Many people are reluctant to talk about their worries regarding money, but since nearly everyone has them, you should not be afraid to open up. Tap into your allies and feed off of each other’s motivation to save money and enlist other people to help you get the motivation you need to save.

Post it -

Use post it notes or other reminders and tuck them in your wallet, tape them to your bathroom mirror and attach them to your dashboard to remind you of why you are saving and what you hope to achieve. If you see reminders of your interest in paying off credit card debt or vacationing in Hawaii everywhere you go, it will keep your mind on the prize and fuel your motivation to save without really having to scrimp.

Make it Automated -

Use direct deposit or another automated system to divert money from your checking account into your savings account on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. This will force you to budget based on whatever is left in your checking account without taking that savings-designated money into account.

Rethink Your Rewards -

What are some of the happiest memories from your past? Those are the true rewards in your life. Next time you are about to purchase something frivolous simply because you feel like you deserve it, ask yourself if maybe there is something that you would enjoy more or that you deserve more, such as taking the time to craft a home cooked meal with your child, or taking a long evening walk with your best friend or your husband. These are the real rewards in your life, not material things.

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Do you like to dream big or do you prefer to keep your financial dreams in check? The way that you answer this question may have a big impact on your future. If you’re consistently dreaming small, you may be shooting yourself in the foot before you ever take that first step on the road to financial independence. Sometimes, dreaming big is an absolute necessity and more often than not, those that do dare to dream of big financial rewards are the ones that are able to achieve those dreams.

If you limit yourself to small financial dreams, you may be automatically removing the potential to secure your financial future. This doesn’t mean entertaining pie-in-the-sky fantasies however, but it does mean that you should start thinking about expanding your financial horizons, even just a little bit, to help you achieve and exceed your financial goals.

In order to expand these horizons, it is helpful to come up with actual goals that you want to meet, and then find ways to build on those goals. For example, let’s say that in the next five years, you would like to be able to save up a 10% down payment on a $300k house. This means putting away approximately $6000 a year, which is easy enough to achieve. But, what if you were able to add an extra $100 to that savings every month. In five years, instead of having just $30k, you would now have $36k.

That’s money that could be used to pay off your closing costs, get some new furniture or even free up more equity. This is just one small example of how expanding your horizons a little can pay off, especially over the long term. If you start with small little changes like this, before long, expanding further will be easier than ever.

Using this example again, up the ante to $200 extra a month. Now, at the end of that five years you’d have $42k, a full $12k more than your original goal. Once again, small changes become bigger changes that in turn lead to greater expansion. After you have this formula down, you can begin trying it in new ways and in new fields.

For example, instead of focusing on just buying a house for yourself, consider getting a rental property as well. This is an investment that can pay off well, and you’ll always have the option of selling the property, especially if the real estate market in your area goes through an improvement. In many cases, this is how millionaires are made. They are willing to expand their financial horizons, leverage a bit of debt, and in turn, they enjoy a bigger payout at the end.

When you are able to expand your financial horizons and start thinking and dreaming bigger, the sky can become your limit in no time at all. Dare to dream big and then take the steps necessary to achieve those dreams. Even if you fall a little bit short, you’ll still be ahead.

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Most of us think about retirement and panic. It can be tough trying to figure out how we’re going to survive and plan for our futures when we’re just trying to make ends meet right now. If you’re strapped for cash at the end of every month, chances are you are not saving anything for retirement or for that rainy day. Although many of us have 401k’s, we cannot rely on these for our sole source of retirement money.

It’s easy to think that your 401k will always be safe, but this is not always the case. Companies go under, investments go bad. Never rely on this, or your Social Security benefit as the sole source of your future income. The key to planning and financing your future is creating multiple streams of income right now.

80% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck right now. That means that millions of us are facing homelessness if we lose our jobs. This is a startling figure and it really drives home how important it is to have more than one stream of income coming in every month. If you are relying on your paycheck right now and it barely meets your needs, think about what would happen if that paycheck disappeared? How would you pay your bills?

Setting up multiple streams of income can be a bit daunting, especially if you have no capital right now to invest. There are many different ways that you can create multiple streams of income, even if you don’t have much money. First, let’s look at creating active streams of income, then we’ll move onto passive. Active income is something that pays you money for work that you do. This can mean getting a second job for a few hours every week, or channeling your talents into extra work.

For example, if you’re handy at fixing cars, consider setting up your own little shop in your garage. Only take on as much work as you have time for, and you’ll be bringing in extra money every month. If you’re good at something, and most of you are, there is a way to leverage that into more income.

Now, let’s look at passive income, or income that comes in requiring no extra work on your part. This is the best kind of income and it’s important to have at least one passive stream. Passive income includes returns from investments, or dividends that come in. If you don’t have any money right now, consider getting a small loan to invest in a proven stock or to put into a high interest bearing account. This is called leveraging debt and it is a concept used by millionaires across the world.

You can also get passive income from rental properties or from buying homes and selling them at a higher cost. Talk with a financial planner about your passive income options and take that step towards achieving your financial freedom. You don’t have to rely on one paycheck!

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There are numerous ways to end paycheck reliance in your life, however some are obviously more feasible than others in terms of implementation. For example, winning the lottery is an excellent way to overcome your reliance on a paycheck to paycheck way of living, but how much can you really rely upon a lottery ticket to change your way of living? If you are a savvy investor and know how to put money away for a rainy day, you can actually use the interest that you’re earning to get you out of this endless loop of paycheck to paycheck living. If you want to stop relying so hard on a biweekly paycheck to keep you alive, consider cobbling together an investment strategy that will build upon itself until it is allowing you to live comfortably without relying on a slip of paper.

The unique thing about investing is that different investment vehicles have different requirements, regulations, insurances and interest payouts. By doing your research, asking around, getting professional investment advice and weighing all of your different options, you can find some unique ways to invest that will give you a good return. You should mix your investment portfolio up, taking advantage of high reward investments with higher risk levels attached to them, as well as safer vehicles for investment that have smaller returns. This will balance your portfolio out well, so that if anything ever happens to one investment, the rest will be safe.

The main concept here is that when you are earning enough in a year just from the interest and growth alone, that is when you no longer rely on a paycheck. Learning how to end paycheck reliance, then, means learning how to become a savvy investor, and to find the investment vehicles that will pay out a decent amount of money every year without being too risky for you to handle. If you are serious about living based on your investments and no longer requiring a boring 9 to 5 job with a bi-weekly paycheck, then you need to learn how to choose the right investments, and how to live off of the interest payments that you receive on them. This is an excellent way to retire early and to escape the rat race, but only if you know how to invest wisely, and to get the most out of the investments that you do make.

The current state of the market is an excellent example of what happens when investments are not made wisely. You do not have to let this kind of thing happen to you, however, as long as you are smart about your investments and really weigh your options before you make any serious decisions regarding your money. It will take time and effort to build up your investment portfolio before you can quit your job and live off the interest, but it is well worth it in the end if you can accomplish this.

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One of the hardest things for many of us to do is to manage our finances properly. It can be hard if you’ve had no training and you’re used to just spending freely, whenever you want. There are thousands of people out there that can’t balance their checkbooks let alone plan for their future, but there is no shame in that. You just need to take that first step towards learning about how to start managing your finances and getting ready for the future.

For some, this may just not be possible, and again, there is no shame in that. If you simply cannot make sense of your money, you will need to get some help before you get into trouble. An accountant can really make a difference if you’re struggling and they usually do not cost that much money. You’ll actually be saving money in the long term and you’ll be able to spend less time worrying about your money.

But for most of us, it’s important to learn how to do this on our own. Unless you are incredibly bad at math, there is no reason that you cannot manage your finances. It’s really just basic addition and subtraction and anyone can do it. It takes a little bit of focus and you may need to learn a few terms along the way. However, you’re investing in your future when you learn how to manage your finances and it will pay off.

Let’s start off with basic financial planning. A lot of people hear that term and simply turn off. However, it’s actually pretty easy. Here’s an example - You need to ask yourself, how much money do I want to have saved five years from now. Now, divide that number by five. This is how much money you’re going to need to put aside every year to meet that goal.

If your goal isn’t reasonable, you may need to fine-tune it a little bit to bring it line with your income. Now, you’ll need to take that yearly figure and divide it by twelve. This is the amount you’ll need to put aside every single month. Set up an interest bearing savings account and make that deposit every single month. You may need to discipline yourself for the first few months, but it will get easier. If you find that your finances are a little tight, try revisiting a few of your expenses to free up some cash.

Lastly, it is important to understand how debt works. There is bad debt – which most of us are in, and then there is good debt. A simple formula to tell the difference is:

Bad debt = money spent on consumables and things that will never give you a return

Good debt = money spent on something that will create new income streams or pay off in the future.

By using good debt, you can reach your savings goals a lot faster and it won’t be so difficult.

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For many of us, spending comes all too easily and before long, we find ourselves at the bottom of a very big debt hole. However, there are ways that anyone can make a budget and start planning for their future. You may not even need to make drastic changes right now, but the more you put away, the less you’re going to have to work later in your life. That is really the best way to look at budgeting. Sure, it may be a little tough right now, but you may be allowing yourself the ability to retire happily at 60, instead of having to slave away well into your 70’s, just to make ends meet.

So, let’s look at some easy ways to make a budget that won’t hit too hard at first. You’ll need to add up all of the income that you’re bringing in each month. Make sure that you don’t include the money you pay for taxes – just take the amount that your paycheck is for each month. This is what you have to work with.

Now, add up what you spend on rent or a house payment. It should not be more than 30% of your monthly income. Ideally, it should be around 10%, but that is not always possible. If you are spending more than 30%, you may need to look at getting a cheaper place, or even getting roommates to bring that amount back into the accepted range. Your car payment is next – if it’s too high, consider getting a cheaper car.

After this, add up all of your other essentials, such as your utility and phone bills. If you’re spending too much, look into other companies that may have lower rates. However, with the exception of long distance fees, most of us can’t really do much about our utility bills. Next up, groceries and other essentials. Figure out how much you spend every month on these. If it’s high, try substituting with other brands or visit a store that is not so expensive.

Now that you’ve gone over the essentials, it’s time to look at your non essentials. This is where many of us easily spend a few hundred every month without even thinking about it. How much money do you spend on dining out, drinking, or having fun? We’re not saying hole up in your house and never leave, but you may need to cut back a bit. Try to find ways to cut your non essentials by around $200 to $500 a month.

This frees up quite a bit of money that should be deposited into a savings account every month. If you can do more than $500, great, but many of us just don’t have that kind of cash. At the end of the year, you’ll end up with more than $6000 in savings – and that is significant for many people. You’ll also need to work on finding ways to increase your income so that you have more freedom to save and spend.

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Over the past decade, an insane amount of debt has been wracked up. Household debt has significantly eaten up a slice of personal income since around the mid 90s. Here are four clues that you are carrying too much debt:

Clue 1 - Your debt to income ratio is too high. Your debt to income ratio is calculated by dividing your debt on a monthly basis by your monthly income. If your debt to income ratio is 15 percent, 20 percent or worse, you are definitely in trouble according to most credit counselors.

Clue 2 - You have no savings to speak of. If you have no savings to speak of, then your money is stretched too thin. You need a savings account and you need to start meeting your debt obligations and your savings obligations.

Clue 3 - You are over the limit on your credit cards. Straying over isn’t bad unless you’re not paying it off right away. If you are carrying a significant balance from month to month, you have a problem that needs to be stopped now.

Clue 4 - You find yourself worrying about your debt. If you are stressing about your bills or your debt, then it is clear that you have a problem, plain and simple.

Here are four tips that will help you get out from under your debt.

Tip 1 - Prioritize your Bills and your Debts. Write down how much you owe to each of your monthly bills and prioritize this list. Give priority to health, food and shelter, because these are the bills that need to be paid first and foremost.

Tip 2 - Stop using your credit cards and pay with cash instead. Cut them up, freeze them in ice or feed them right into a wood chipper. Stop relying on credit to solve your problems because it is not going to help you, but rather will only make things worse. Limit yourself to cash if you want to control your spending.

Tip 3 - Set up a plan that will allow you to pare down your debt. Call creditors to find out if you can get lower rates, or to have fees waived. Try to set up a better payment plan if you can. Most creditors are more than willing to work with you but you absolutely have to work the courage up to ask if you want to get results. When you pay down your credit card debt, target the highest interest rates first and then work to the next highest, and so on and so forth.

Tip 4 - Get help as soon as you know you need it. There are credit counseling services out there that can sit down with you and counsel you on your spending habits, helping you create a repayment plan for your debt that is affordable and workable. Choose a service that is free or inexpensive if you need help, and formulate a plan that will make paying your debts down easy and affordable without bogging you down with more bills or more debt.

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This fascinating book by a popular financial journalist and a college professor may not be the newest book on the shelf, and it may not have the most hype, but by far, it is one of the most interesting personal finance books we have ever read. This book goes where not many do – into the human psyche – to determine why we develop certain spending habits, and how to break them before they break us.

The main premise of this book is that even the smartest people, the ones that should know better, really don’t when it comes to money. By taking a look at behavioral studies, the two authors came to the conclusion that some of our spending habits are so ingrained that unless you get to the root of the behavior, you’ll never be able to make much of a difference in your personal finances.

This was an interesting take on a subject that has been beaten to death. Why do we spend so much? Because in many cases, we have trained ourselves to do it. By breaking free of this behavioral cycle, the authors assert that we can start to manage our money more effectively and begin to see real changes in how we look at money, and how we treat it.

Truly a fascinating read that offers some hard hitting advice. Every single chapter contains a wealth of information, from how mental accounting can trip you up, to how overconfidence can bring about your financial ruin. Read this book more than once, and take the time to really think about each chapter and the lessons contained herein. Most will be able to spot similar behaviors and the results may be pretty shocking. Even if you thought you were a personal finance whiz, you may change your mind after reading this book.

We recommend this book to anyone interested about personal finance and particularly to those that haven’t yet been able to figure out where they are going wrong with their finances. The little case studies make it easy to spot where you may be tripping up, and the action plans are very easy to follow. While some beginners may get a little lost, overall, the book is simple to read and offers some truly remarkable advice that hits home, regardless of your financial situation.

Whether you are rich or poor, financial stable or drowning in debt, this book is a very beneficial read. Unlike many in the genre, it is not terribly dry and uninteresting. Instead, it produces stories, case studies and real world examples of money mistakes and then provides the reader with the solution they need to preempt that bad behavior and change things. By far, in our opinion, one of the best books written on personal finance and one that should be read by anyone that needs to start managing their finances properly.

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While no one can look into a crystal ball and determine where they will be financially in twenty, thirty or forty years, there are some early warning signs that may indicate that the future might be a bit gloomy. The key to successfully preparing for your future is to avoid known behaviors that can be disastrous to your finances. Here are some of the warning signs that you need to look out for if you want to make sure that your financial future is safe, secure and happy.

1. How willing to go into debt are you?

There are two answers to this question, and only one of them is correct. If you are willing to use your credit card for any old thing, or you have a problem keeping your balances down, this is a sign that you may be overly willing to go into bad debt. Bad debt can take many forms, from getting a house that is too expensive to maintain, to buying a car that is over priced. Anytime you are willing to go into debt for something that will never end up paying you back, you are running a financial risk.

On the flip side of this equation, if you are willing to go into good debt, then your financial future may look quite different. Put simply, good debt is the kind of investment that will produce a return for you, whether it is in monthly payments, such as with a rental property, or long term benefits such as a regular investment. Being willing to go into good debt, and taking the time to make sure you are making a solid investment with that debt can have a very big impact on your financial future.

2. You consistently overspend.

This is a major warning sign that may indicate severe trouble in the future. If you simply cannot hold back and find yourself spending more than you earn month after month, it will add up. Whether it’s overspending on credit cards, or simply failing to notice your cash flow problem, this is a problem that has lasting consequences.

3. You have no financial goals.

This is a sign that you may not be taking your financial future as serious as you could be. Having short term and long term financial goals can help you create a better mindset about your finances. When you are working towards that goal, it’s a lot more edifying to reach it. People that take the time to actively set financial goals and actively work towards achieving them will usually have a much brighter financial future than those that do not.

Your financial future doesn’t have to be gloomy, and it doesn’t have to be set in stone. By taking the time to review your spending habits, and how you view money, you can put into action the events that will change the course of your financial future and may even fix what went wrong in your financial past.

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Now that the Olympics are over, many people have been inspired to try harder, to live their dreams and to focus on their futures. These same feelings and motivation can be carried over to your financial life as well. There is no better time than right now to get your personal finances in order, and sometimes, looking at them in a different light can be very beneficial.

While you may not be able to win a gold medal for the best balanced checkbook, by looking at financial security as a race to glory, you may be able to reshape your financial outlook. In fact, you can even get some inspiration for developing a financial plan right from some of these Olympic events.

The key is figuring out whether you want to go for the gold, or whether you are happy to settle for silver, bronze, or even not placing at all. By developing a winning mindset, you can greatly impact your financial future. Sometimes, all it takes is looking at your personal finances a bit differently to get a better outcome. Let’s start with determining what “going for the gold” means to you.

1. Financial stability – For most people, going for the gold means being able to retire comfortably and not worry about money. In many cases, it will take an athletic-style push to get there, but with perseverance, the right training and a good effort, it can be achieved. When you look at financial stability as an event that you need to win, it may be easier to reach your long term goals.

2. The ability to buy whatever you want - For others, going for the gold may mean the ability to purchase anything their heart desires, without having to worry about it. If you are not already to that point, it will take a lot of hard work and financial effort to get there. If this is your goal however, you need to start training to make it. Decide how you will reach this point, whether it is through leveraging debt for a bigger return, or finally starting that side business you’ve always dreamt about, or any other means.

Whatever going for the gold means to you, write it down and begin to formulate how you plan to reach that goal. This will be your training program. Learn all that you can about personal finance, and take the time to be cognizant of your spending, how you budget and what paths you will be taking to get to your gold “medal.”

Just like the Olympics, going for gold financially may not be simple, but it is incredibly worthwhile. Even if you don’t have the world cheering you on, you can still reap the benefits that focusing on your finances can have for your entire future. If you want to be able to achieve those goals, it may mean going for the gold – even if that does require hard work and extra effort.

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