Don't just manage your money

Sometimes we only ask God when we pray to bless us with a lot of things. But we forget to ask Him to bless us so we can enjoy what we have too.

Does it really matter when you have a lot of money buy you're sick in bed? You have a nice car but you can't drive it. You have the best golf driver buy you can't go to the field.

I used to be someone who just think about earning money and never give enough attention to my health. But I've changed now. I think what money will bring if I can't enjoy it.

So I encourage all of you guys to start giving attention to you health. It's better to prevent it than curing it. =)

God bless you.

Avoid Money Management Mistakes

Below are some tips that may work for you:
1.NO SPENDING PLAN.
The "where does the money go?" question frequently comes up because of spending on a day-to-day basis, without any sort of plan for taking care of needs and wants.
Here's where a money management program can help you spend your money wisely, to reach your goals.

First, set up priorities: know your regular expenses; determine what your goals are in relation to short-and long-range aims. Take critical look at your expenses and weed out those that don't give real satisfaction.It's not how much you earn, it's what you do with your money.

2.NO CASH RESERVE. Financial experts recommend that every family have a cash reserve of at least 50 percent of their annual income. To acquire this means developing good saving habits and self-restraint in spending. There is a definite need to save so you have an emergency fund when unexpected expenses arise.
Knowing you have a safety margin of savings will also give you a feeling of security and greater peace of mind. And don't forget a savings account enhances your credit standing.

3.TOO MUCH USE OF CREDIT. Using credit can be a real help or a trouble spot. depending upon how you use credit. The biggest problem usually is that families overextend themselves and become committed to larger payments than they can meet.

Credit terms differ, too. Shop carefully for credit--as carefully as you do for goods and services. Be sure time installments fit into your budget and don't take on more than you can handle. Know the cost of credit terms. The real cost. Keep track of expenditures made with charge accounts or credit cards, so the bills won't come as a big surprise to you. And pay on time to keep your credit rating solid.

4.NON-CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF WINDFALLS. You receive a tax refund, a bonus or raise, perhaps an inheritance. Most families are inclined to spend the extra money on luxuries they wouldn't ordinarily consider. And poof, the money's gone.
There are many ways to put "windfalls" to constructive use. Add pay raises to your savings before you get in the habit of spending the extra money. Use refunds or bonuses for needed large purchases, such as major appliances. You'll also save paying out interest charges.

5.NO PROVISIONS FOR LARGE EXPENSES. We all have large, predictable obligations that come due at irregular intervals during the year. A large, forgotten insurance premium or tax bill can cause financial chaos if you've neglected to accumulate sufficient reserves.
Take all your big items and divide the total by 12. This 1/12th should be reserved every month against the time those bills will be due.

6.UNDERESTIMATING THE COST OF OWNERSHIP. The original cost is sometimes not the only cost of ownership. This is especially true of an automobile. Many of the costs are obvious but some get overlooked until we collide with them, head on. If a car is bought on an installment basis, monthly payments are just a small part of the cost of operating it. Figure on all the costs. Operating expenses are: gas and oil , repairs, maintenance, tires, insurance. Other costs include registration, license, parking, tolls, etc. In addition, a new car costing $11,000 depreciates in value by about $2,500 during the first year. While depreciation is not an out-of-pocket cost, it does become one when the car is traded on another one.

7.SPENDING LEAKS. Impulse buying--frittering away small amounts here and there on "little" things--can add up to a surprisingly big amount. Write down every cent you spend for a week and take a good hard look at your spending "leaks." Then try to control these trouble spots.
Avoid shopping for groceries when you are hungry. You'll buy more of those tempting goodies that can run up your bill.
Avoid "killing time" in department stores. (You're sure to come away with something you hadn't planned on buying.) Use an allowance and keep within it. Once you can resist the temptation of spending "small" amounts, you'll have more money for the things you really want.

8.CARELESS SHOPPING HABITS. There are always pressures on us to buy things. Our wants are greater than our needs. And advertisers help exert this pressure. This leads to purchasing things we don't really need and to buying without comparing values and prices.
Before you buy, know the dealer and the store's reputation. Read labels, understand warranties and contracts. Avoid pressure tactics by salespersons.

9.NOT SAVING SMALL AMOUNTS. Don't be discouraged if the amount you can save looks pitifully small. Believe that little acorns do make big oaks. Ten dollars saved every week will be more than $1,000 in less than two years. Does that seem a long time? It will go faster than you can imagine. Remember how quickly the past two years sped by?

10.CAN'T WAIT ATTITUDE. This money management mistake hits young people the hardest. And is the cause of much unhappiness. They often want to start off at a level that it may have taken their parents twenty-five years to reach.
The "great American dream," as portrayed by movies, television, and magazines, is beyond the financial reach of most families and is never reached by overusing credit.
What is needed is more of a "save now and buy later" approach. Plus, a money management plan to help get the things wanted as soon as possible.

Forex Money Management Fundamental to Trading Success

It is important to remember that the aim of trading forex is to make money. Therefore irrespective of how good your currency trading strategies are, if you don't have any money management skills, you are not going to succeed in the long term.

Learning how to manage your money is an important lesson that you must be familiar because it will effect your level of trading risk. To reduce the financial risk you are exposed to you must use a stop loss on every trade. Position size and the number of open positions will also effect the amount of your risk. Although brokers may offer 200:1 and 100:1 leverage doesn't mean you are required to use it.

You must also learn how to control yourself on instances that you are profiting and avoid over investing. You must learn when to exit in a losing trade especially when you are about to reach your loss limit. Forex traders with effective money management skills can live through bad trades without losing all of their capital.

Determining your money managment rules will depend on your risk profile, trading capital and financial goals. It's up to you to determine how much you are willing to risk. Conservative traders risk between 1% and 2% of their trading capital in any one trade.

There are various money management techniques that traders can formulate to allocate and protect their trading capital. A simple and common money management method that is widely used is explained as follows:

1. Determine what percentage of your trading capital you are willing to lose in any one trade. For example if you are willing to lose 2% and your trading capital is $25,000 then you will limit your loss to $500 for any one trade.

2. Determine where you will set your stop loss order, this is normally a set price in pips away from your entry point. For example a stop loss of 25 pips is about $250 per regular sized contracts of $100,000

3. Determine how many contracts you will purchase. As from step 2 above you are willing to risk $500 and from step 3 your stop loss is $250, therefore dividing $500 by $250 means you can purchase 2 contracts. With a standard account and with 100:1 leverage, 2 contracts will require $2,000 of margin deposit.
A good money management principle is never to leverage more than 1/5th of your trading capital at any one time. For example, with $25,000 of trading capital, you should never use more than $5000 of your margin deposit at any one time, which is about 5 regular sized contracts.

An important concept of forex money management is the application of the risk/reward ratio. Before you enter a trade, you need to work out how much you intend to make from that trade and how much you are willing to risk. Generally a risk/reward ratio of about 1:1.5 or greater is necessary. For instance, if your risk/reward ratio is 1:3 and you set your stop loss at 25 pips away from your entry point, then your profit target would be 75 pips. As the trade progresses, suppose you are in profit by 25 pips, you could move your stop loss order to the entry point. This ensures you will not lose any money on that trade, you would 'break even' if you were stopped out. You could also move the stop loss order to lock in some profit, for example when you are 25 pips in profit you can move your stop loss to 15 pips above your entry point. This will ensure that you will exit with a 15 pip profit if your stop loss order is triggered. Therefore good forex money management requires monitoring of your open positions and making adjustments to your risk parameters. You must never move your stop loss order except to lock in existing profits

It is important to continually exercise discipline when trading forex. Good traders have taken the time and energy to build up their skills and confidence in the market. A successful forex trader always adheres to their money management rules. Consistent application of effective money management is crucial to surviving in the long term.

Tips to Help You Save Money

There are literally thousands of ways you can save money but as many things related to personal finances, not all will work for you. Saving money isn’t top-ten-goldsomething you can do easily.
To be really successful at it, you need to work at it by coming up with you own ideas and be more proactive about saving cash. But there are some good general rules of thumb that can get you started to savings. Here are 10 good starts:
1.Budget Your Income
This is one of the most important, most widely discussed step towards saving money. While it may seem as though people are beating a proverbial dead horse, the reality is budgeting is a necessity. You can only know how much money to save if you know how much money you make. Knowing exactly how your money is managed will allow you to make important financial decisions, thus saving you cash.

2. Cut Out Un-Necessities
To save money, you need to start at home. Humans need three basic things: food, clothing, and shelter. There is no law that says you have to have the premium cable package, a Gucci bag, or lobsters in the freezer. Chances are good that if you looked around your own home, you will likely find a lot of things you can cut out of your life. Not only are you reducing the amount of money you are spending each month, you are de-cluttering your life and your living space, which can be both healthy and freeing.

3. Shop Loyally
While they may seem like a pain, those shopper rewards cards can save you a pretty penny. By coordinating your shopping with the weekly specials flier at your local grocery store, you can be sure to save on and stock up on your needed pantry staples.

4. Shop With a List
Do not go window shopping out of boredom. It can lead to many unnecessary impulse buys. Shop only when you need to and buy only what is on your list, to help avoid your wandering eye. Keep your shopping list available for you to write down items you know you need at home throughout the week. Go to the store only once a week and keep your refrigerator stocked so you don’t have to run to the convenience store several times a week.

5. Wait on Big Buys
Want something that costs a lot? Well, if you want to save money, practice waiting. If after a week or two you still want to make the buy, go for it but not before you check out competing prices and find the best deal. You might be surprised to find that after the waiting period, you may not want to make the purchase at all, saving you the most money of all.

6. Use Coupons
There are so many more resources now for coupons than ever before thanks to the internet. There are several sites that send you automatic alerts to let you know when and where the sales are based on your preferences. You can still use the newspaper and the store sales fliers to find the typical coupons but don’t be afraid to expand your search online. It is also advisable that you take the coupons and store them in your vehicle so you can never leave them behind when you shop. Regularly clean out the expired coupons and keep them organized in a manner that will allow you to easily find the ones you are looking for when you need them.

7. Buy Used
There are many quality items you can buy used and save a fortune. Furniture, clothing, books, and other items can be found at yard sales, auctions, second-hand and consignment stores, estate sales, and online for far cheaper than in any store. Many times, especially with furniture, you will find it is of much higher quality than today’s pieces.

8. Skip the Trends
When you work too hard to keep up with the proverbial ‘Jones’, you can end up spending more money than you even have in reality. While it may be nice to have the top of the line car, designer clothing, and other trendy items, if you can’t afford them, you’ll find yourself undeniably in debt fast. Instead of buying what’s in now, buy quality items that will last for a long time to come. Keep it basic and avoid having to replace things simply because the style or color or functionality is no longer cool.

9. Quit Your Bad Habits
If you smoke, drug, or use drugs recreationally, you are essentially flushing good money down the toilet while jeopardizing your health. Now is a great time and money can be a great motivator for giving up expensive habits and addictions. When you spend money on such things, you are wasting money that could be put towards your future and that of your family’s. Additionally, the costs of medical treatments as the result of bad habits can cost you big time for a long time.

10. Start from Scratch and Recycle
When you continue to buy processed, pre-packaged foods and other items, you end up over time spending much more than you would if you bought the basic staples and stretch the capacity of their use. Food is just one of the items you can make up from scratch that will save you money. You also need to learn how to find other uses for stuff you may no longer need. Recycling items into other uses can take some creativity but it will definitely make you and your money more self-sufficient

Budget Help Your Personal Money Management

For many families, the whole idea of managing money seems bothersome and almost hopeless. They believe that
money managementmeans living by a rigid set of do's and don'ts, pinching pennies, and keeping a lot of records.

Actually, managing your money has three simple aspects: deciding what you want your money to do for you; creating a workable spending plan, and following your plan with determination.
The first step means making choices--deciding which of the things money can buy are more important to you than others. Most of the money we make has to be spent on essentials such as food, shelter, and clothing. Nevertheless, there are many choices we can make. For example, we can economize on food and housing in order to afford a better vacation or pursue a hobby. Your family may enjoy sports or the theatre more than a fancy automobile. Every family is different. Remember, the idea is to make your money do what you want it to do.

Creating a workable spending plan means translating your goals into a budget. How much for food, shelter, and other expenses each month. How much you need to put into a reserve fund for infrequent expenses such as car repairs or insurance. How much goes into savings. You need not compute these amounts down to the last penny. But you do need some kind of spending plan.

The last step is obvious but important. You must follow the plan you've created and avoid financial detours. You shouldn't be completely inflexible because unexpected money needs--or changes in your overall plan--may arise. But you should be consistent and reasonably faithful to your budget.

While some pencil and paper work will be required in any money management plan,the bookkeeping needn't be complicated at all. It can be as simple or as detailed as you wish to make it. You can start with rough estimates and refine your figures later on. The important thing is to have some records that show you're following your plan.

Keep in mind that you're not keeping books for a company. It's not important that you account for every penny spent but that you control your spending and saving. The most important factor in any money management program is your determination to control your money so that you get the most out of your income.
HOW TO SET UP YOUR PLAN

Money management should be a joint family effort. Every one old enough to spend money should be involved in the basic decisions of how the money will be spent. Who will do the bill paying, and who will keep the records. this is a good time to discuss personal allowances and other individual expenses. Let all family members participate, and they will be more inclined to cooperate.

You know that certain expenses are essential and others optional. You also know that some of your income should be set aside for savings. With this in mind, establish some priorities.

Set up a reserve fund for those once- or twice-a-year expenses so that you can budget for them throughout the year. For example, if you make two $300 life insurance payments each year, you should set aside $50 a month for insurance in your reserve fund.

Use the budget worksheet as a guide in setting up your budget. You know that by spending according to the amounts you've established, your money will go where you want it to go.
WHEN ALL DOESN'T GO ACCORDING TO PLAN

Don't be surprised if your budget doesn't work out perfectly all of the time. Expect the unexpected. Maybe this is the year you'll be hit with an unusually large dental expense. Or next month an unexpected auto repair bill. Don't let these emergencies shake your faith in your spending plan. Here's where your savings can come to the rescue. Or, perhaps you'll have a readjust your budget for the future. Maybe you'll have to cut down on entertainment for awhile to spend more on something more essential. These adjustments are perfectly normal and should be expected. Make the adjustment and continue on from there. But stick to some kind of plan

MONEY MANAGEMENT HELPERS

You'll find the job of managing your money a whole lot easier if you make use of these helpers:

Checking Account. Paying bills by check gives you a permanent record of the payments. You can simply go back over your check register or statement to find out how much you spent for various items in your budget. To make the job even easier, write a budget classification number or letter (for example. "F" for food) on the check register. Your records from previous years can be used in setting up your trial budget. They'll tell you how much you have spent in the past for budgeted items.

Savings Account. Use one or more savings accounts for your regular savings program and for putting money in reserve for future expenses. Many people prefer to put monthly contributions toward vacations, Christmas gifts, and other once-a-year expenses into separate savings accounts earmarked for these purposes.

As far as your regular savings program is concerned, there is one rule to follow which will ensure success. PAY YOURSELF FIRST. Deposit whatever amount you budget for savings into your savings account every payday--before you have a chance to spend the money on other things. You'll be amazed at how quickly your savings grow--and how little you miss not having the money to spend.

Record Book. The forms in the back of Personal Money Management, provide you with a record keeping system that will be extremely helpful. First write in the budgeted amount for each category. Later on, with the help of your checkbook, write down the actual expenditures. You'll be able to see at a glance how your actual expenditures compare with the amounts you budgeted.

Techniques of investment-boosting and portfolio-multiplying

Money management is a strategic technique employed at making money yield the highest of interest-yielding
value for any amount of it spent.Spending money to provide answers to all cravings(regardless of whether they are justifiable or not to be included in budget basket)is a natural human phenomenon.The idea of money management techniques is developed to plummet the amount individual,firm and institutions spends on items that add no significant value to its living standard,long-term portfolios and asset-basins.Warren Buffet,in one of his documentaries,admonished prospective investors to embrace his highly-esteemed "frugality" ideology.This is the basis of every sound money management formulas.The following are powerful techniques that can be employed in making every expense made to be worth it: 1.cutting your budget on social needs 2.avoid any snob-appealing expense 3.always go for the most cost-efective alternative(establishing small quality-variance bench-mark, if any) 4.increase expenses more on interest bearing item than any other thing 5.establish the expected benefits of every desired expense using the canon of plus/minus/nil to standard of living value system.These techniques are investment-boosting and portfolio-multiplying.

Introduction to Money Management

Money management is used in Investment management and deals with the question of how much risk a decision
maker should take in situations where uncertainty is present. More precisely what percentage or what part of the decision maker's wealth should be put into risk in order to maximize the decision maker's utility function.

Money management gives practical advice among others for gambling and for stock trading as well.

Money management can mean gaining greater control over outgoings and incomings, both in personal and business perspective. Greater money management can be achieved by establishing budgets and analysing costs and income etc.