I have been reading a lot about personal finances and investing at http://money.cnn.com the past few months. I’m convinced, educating yourself about money matters is the most important thing you can do to improve your financial situation. Since I started doing just casual reading a few hours a week here and there, I’ve saved up several hundred dollars, stopped charging, and also started contributing an extra 50 dollars a month to my Roth IRA. I’m not earning a dime more in income, but I’m not missing out on anything I used to think I enjoyed by overspending.
According to a news article at http://money.cnn.com, home prices fell worse than ever in 20 cities around the US in February. On top of that, foreclosures went up 112 percent in the first quarter. I live in a rural area where empty houses aren’t really uncommon, but it’s pretty strange to imagine them in places like Phoenix, LA and Atlanta. As supply continues to far outstrip demand, this is going to be the new reality for a while. When houses are no longer wise financial investments, where’s the incentive to not foreclose, never mind buy?
Do you freak out most months when your credit card bills come in? A lot of people don’t keep track of their credit card spending. I used to be one of them, but not anymore. I read a great article at http://www.forbes.com/finance that discusses managing credit card use. What the author suggested is, determine a financial budget for how much you can afford to charge monthly. Then, subtract your purchases from that amount throughout the month. When your balance hits zero, stop charging. You’ll eliminate over-spending and still avoid having to carry a lot of cash around.