First, for your Quick Lesson #3 (on Financial Success), it is as simple as this: Understand your expenses, manage your funds, pay your bills and don't use your credit cards to your disadvantage.
Second, if you would like to see a more detailed plan - then consider the following that was shared across the web recently. Here are some good basics to consider and where beneficial, to pursue.
Don't do these things anymore if you want to make extra money, you might consider getting a second job or paring back your budget. Both are smart strategies, but first consider whether you have any bad money habits you need to curb. After all, if you’re always paying bills late and getting hammered with late fees, that may be what's draining your bank account. So if you're the reason your money never seems to stick around, here are some questions to help break five bad financial habits, culled from research and interviews with members of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission.
R U Paying bills late? Late fees can be as much as 10 to 15 percent of your monthly bill. If you're frequently late with most bills, you're probably spending 10 percent more each year on bills than you should. And if you're constantly late with some bills, like credit card payments, the credit bureaus are probably taking note and dinging your credit score. How to break the habit: It sounds so easy: Pay on time. But it isn't easy if you're living paycheck to paycheck, and you never have enough money on hand.If that's the case, being more organized will help. Experts recommend setting up calendar reminders through your email or phone to alert you when bills are due. If you have ample money but are just forgetful, consider setting up auto pay so the bills are paid automatically from your bank account each month.
R U Getting hit with bank fees? Every fee you pay your bank for having insufficient funds in your account is money you could have spent on yourself or your household. If you get hit with multiple bank fees a month at $36 or so, that's over $1,000 a year you could save by ending the overdraft fee madness. How to break the habit: If you're constantly collecting bank fees, it’s probably due to a lot of reasons, from not making enough money to overspending. If it's a joint account, you may be communicating badly with your spouse about how the money should be managed.Analyze everything you're doing to pinpoint the culprit. And don't be afraid to consult your bank manager, who might go easy on you and reverse some recent fees. The manager might also have some practical suggestions for curbing your fees, like opening a savings account so if your checking account goes into overdraft, money would be pulled out of savings.There are often fees to that approach, too, but smaller fees – and there's also the matter of funding the savings account.
R U Taking out a loan for everything? If you're putting daily purchases on credit cards and not paying them off every month, or if you're taking out payday loans or drawing on a home equity loan, you're collecting more interest every month and digging a financial hole. How to break the habit: Like collecting bank fees, you need to do a financial exam to see exactly where you're going wrong. But you would help yourself a lot if whenever you get paid, pay yourself first. You can set aside an amount, automatically deducted from your pay, to set up an emergency fund. Start with a small amount and build from there (if you could put away $10 a week, you'd have $520 by the end of the year for emergencies).
R U Overspending? This leads to just about every financial problem and bad habit, from mounting debt to feeling like you need to take out a loan – to pay for the loans you already have. How to break the habit: Your overspending problem may be due to a lack of clarity on how much money you have to spend. If you start tracking your expenses (so that you know all that you are spending your moneu on), as well as work to delay your purchases for when your finances are better positioned, you will start to control your spending and making better decisions. This is not easy but be committed to getting your spending under control.
R U Spending money as soon as you get it? Spend your paycheck without thinking things through and putting savings aside, and you'll never have money on hand when you need it. How to break the habit: Break all of the other habits first. You're probably spending money quickly because a bill is due, or overdue, and hanging onto it isn't an option.Or perhaps you've been going without something for so long that you're grateful to have a little money in the bank, and you can't help but spend it. But if that's the case, it's quite possibly because you're paying bills late, collecting bank fees, taking out a loan for virtually everything and doing a lot of overspending. In other words, break your worst financial habits, and you'll stop breaking the bank. Find a way to start making progress, Have a budget and make it work.
We hope the above gives you a lot of ideas to consider - and remember, if you are doing well - then share your successes on this with others or forward the above on to those that it could help.