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The 50/30/20 Budget Rule (Calculate My Budget)

50/30/20 Budget Rule The 50/30/20 Budget Rule A simple way to manage your finances Budget Calculator Your Monthly Take-Home Pay ($) Calculate My Budget Needs (50%) $0 Rent/mortgage, groceries, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments, childcare, basic transportation Wants (30%) $0 Dining out, entertainment, vacations, hobbies, subscriptions, shopping, tech upgrades, non-essential travel ...

10 Inspirational Quotes by Dave Ramsey

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  10 Inspirational Quotes by Dave Ramsey "You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you." This quote puts forth with emphasis how very important financial management is and taking charge of your finances. "Financial peace isn't the acquisition of stuff. It's learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest." Ramsey emphasizes that true financial peace is in living below your means and giving some back. "A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." What this quote underlines is the basic function of budgeting when it comes to maintaining or achieving a financial objective by means of retaining control over spending. "The only way to build wealth is to spend less than you make and invest the difference." Ramsey aptly summarizes the basis of building wealth by actually saving or investing money. "You can't out-earn stupid...

Smart Strategies to Cut Back on Discretionary Spending: A Guide for Financial Wellness

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  Smart Strategies to Cut Back on Discretionary Spending: A Guide for Financial Wellness brilliant ways to cut discretionary spending down the road to financial wellness Introduction Today's fast world can easily turn overwhelming when it comes to managing finances, especially those dealing with discretionary spending. Dining out, entertainment, and various subscription deals start piling up, blowing dents in your abilities to save and invest for life. The following article looks at some effective ways of reducing discretionary spending to put you in control of your financial future. Understanding Discretionary Spending Discretionary spending is what such things cost that are not necessary, and, as such, can be trimmed or even eliminated from your budget altogether. In contrast to fixed expenses, discretionary spending is flexible, and can be changed any time as your goals change. By trimming such expenses and identifying them, you will release more money for savings, investments, ...

How Your Perception of Wealth Changes as You Build It: Lessons in Success

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  How Your Perception of Wealth Changes as You Build It: Lessons in Success One could say that wealth is a very evolving concept with experience. When we are young, just starting out, it indeed seems like the ultimate thing one could strive for is indeed wealth. But the more wealth one builds, often the perspective changes: it's not about gathering money, but keeping work aligned with passion and pursuing that which truly fulfills them. This article examines how such a shift takes place and what we can learn from those who have experienced it firsthand. Following Passion Over Profit To one extent or another, we all think of ways by which we can make more money at the beginning of our careers. Let's face it, there is no shame in admitting such a thing. However, very seldom does pursuing wealth as an end completely result in long-term success. Political commenters are a very good example of people who do not start off or very rarely expect great wealth but thrive in that area, be...

The Elusive 10% Per Annum Return on Investment

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  The Elusive 10% Per Annum Return on Investment It goes without saying that investment is made for a reason: to achieve financial freedom and accumulate wealth. For most investors, the target appears to be the attainment of a 10% annual return on their investments. Ambitious it may sound, yet indeed it is not devoid of challenges. We shall look into the principal challenges that investors face in this quest for an elusive 10% return. Market Volatility: How to Understand Of all the issues that stand in confrontation to the realization of this consistent 10% return, perhaps the issue of market volatility heads the list. Financial markets, or more precisely stock markets, are considered volatile. Prices can be very volatile based on various economic indicators, geopolitical events, and investor sentiments. This can result in potential short-term losses that prevent investors from staying on track with their long-term strategies. For example, an investor who has a return requirement o...

How Much Money Do You Have Saved? Here’s How We Used ZinaSaver to Boost

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How Much Money Do You Have Saved? Here’s How We Used ZinaSaver to Boost I am 23 and married to a husband who is 24 years old. We are both in full-time employment, and later on, I will be reducing to part-time by attending nursing school. Currently, I am a CNA working at $18/hr while my husband makes $22/hour and works 40 hours/wk. We have tried to save our pennies; however, sometimes I just feel like we should have more put away. What follows is a summary of what things are looking like for us: My 401k: $6,500, 3% employer match; Hubby's 401k: $2,800, 3% employer match. We put combined savings of $10,200 in a high-yield account at 4.0% APR. Even with those numbers, I wasn't convinced that we were on the right track-or if we could do any better. That's when we decided to try ZinaSaver-an app created on a mission to help people like us save more wittily. With ZinaSaver, we have done the following: Tracked our expenses. Knowing just where exactly money was flying away to-from ...

Tracking Expenses - Why It's So Crucial for Stability and Growth-How to Guide

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Tracking Expenses: Why It's So Crucial for Stability and Growth-How to Guide Expenditure tracking is one indispensable practice for anyone desiring financial stability and growth in the long run. It gives one a clear picture of where his money is going and thus aids in making informed decisions on spending. Consistently tracking your expenditure, you identify patterns, and the spots where improvements need to be done come under your control and command for a better financial future. Understanding Spending Habits Other benefits associated with tracking your expenses include having full insights into one's habits of expenditure. To this end, you need to study each and every one of your financial statements, including your checking accounts and your credit cards, in order to identify your fixed and your variable expenses. Fixed expenses are those types of expenses that remain constant month after month, such as rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and insurance. Variable expenses...