Personal Finance News Friday 2/8

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Signs You’re Living Beyond Your Means

By Lisa Scherzer | The Exchange – Wed, Feb 6, 2013

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means." — Calvin Coolidge

Living within one’s means is the bedrock of financial stability. But for consumers still facing the lingering effects of years of frenzied borrowing and spending that preceded the recession, the sage counsel of our 30th president remains a lofty aspiration — and one out of many people’s grasp.

Financial difficulties rose last month for middle-income households, according to the Consumer Reports Index, an overall measure of Americans' personal financial health. The Trouble Tracker, a measure of financial difficulties, climbed to 37.5 from 32.7 for middle-income Americans. The areas that saw the greatest increase were missed payments on a major bill (other than mortgage) and the inability to afford medical bills or medications.

Whether the trouble stems from the increase in the Social Security payroll tax that hit paychecks in January or a holiday spending hangover, it doesn’t bode well for consumers trying to get their finances under control in 2013.

So how do you know if you’re living above your means — in other words, spending more than you’re bringing in? Not being able to cover the bare necessities is an obvious red flag. But there are some other tell-tale signs you’re in over your head.

To read the entire article from Lisa Scherzer | The Exchange
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/signs-living-beyond-means-165333552.html

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today. -Mike Krzyzewski

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Thursday 2/7

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Huge airfare sale for spring travel

By Clark Howard

There are great bargain opportunities in the world of travel today that I want to share with you.

SouthWest and AirTran have both launched big sales that I expect will be matched by pretty much everyone across the industry within hours.

In general, the deals are good for travel during April and May all the way through June 8. You'll find limited blackout dates right around the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

To read the entire article from Clark Howard.com

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clarkhoward/travel/huge-zoned-airfare-sale-fall-travel/nPTR4/

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Wednesday 2/6

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

10-Minute Money Tune-Ups

Get on track to better money management with these ten tips.

Real Simple.com
This article originally appeared on Learnvest.com.

Stop Procrastinating

We call it “put-off-ability.”

The longer we put something off, the more we continue to put it off. And those small tasks that will help our financial lives can sometimes be the ones that we put off the longest.

If you have a spare ten minutes and wonder what you can accomplish in them, stop wondering–here are ten things you can get done.

To read the entire article from Real Simple.com:
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/quick-money-tips-00100000078956/index.html

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Tuesday 2/5

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Money Tips From God

 

If God gave out advice about money would you listen? Here are a few ideas you may want to add to your tip sheet.

by Lynne Thompson/Focus on the Family

If God gave out financial advice, would you listen? After all, who better to predict market forecasts? Instructions on how to ride out a down market? Protect us from bad trades? Teach us how to best live in a bull market?

Fortunately, God offers a plethora of financial advice that extends beyond tomorrow's closing bell on Wall Street. His lessons are tucked away within the pages of Scripture. Here are few that you may want to add to your tip sheet.

• Prepare for leaner times. The poster child for this one is Joseph. Through God's revelations, he forecasted Egypt's deadly famine—seven years before it happened. Knowing that it's pretty much impossible to grow crops without rain, he persuaded Pharaoh to tell the Egyptians to, first, cut down on how much they ate, and second, build storage bins so they would have enough food.
  What is the modern-day application? Live modestly today in case of lean times ahead. Joseph understood this concept of going from feast to famine. In today's volatile economy, we'd all benefit from adopting this model.
• Seek financial advice. Proverbs 28:26 emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with wise counsel; a greedy spirit, after all, can cloud the vision of even the most level-headed investor. Remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5? They relied on their own intuition instead of consulting other church members; then they fabricated a story about how much they really donated to the church. Consumed by their greedy impulses, God struck them down.
  When seeking financial advice, approach a friend, mentor or someone else you trust; ask them to help you answer these two questions, “Why would I not want to do this?” and “What is the worst thing that could happen?” When you and your advisor have anticipated possible outcomes—and have decided you can live with the risk—then you've made your financial decision intelligently.

To read the entire article from Lynne Thompson/Focus on the Family:
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/managing_money/achieving_financial_harmony/money_tips_from_god.aspx

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Monday 2/4

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Budgeting by the Month: February

Common (and not-so-common) February money gotchas that may getcha if you’re not careful

From Dave Ramsey.com

There is no month like February.

We don’t mean that in a romantic, it’s-the-month-of-Valentine’s-Day-so-everyone-tells-you-that-you-must-spend-a-bunch-of-money-to-convince-your-man-or-woman-that-you-love-him-or-her way. We mean that to say that February, like any other month, is unique. It has its own expenses. And since we only see February once a year, you may forget some of the costs that come up during the month of Cupid. That’s where we come in.

Here are some common (and not-so-common) February money gotchas that may getcha if you’re not careful:

• Winter clothes going on sale. Everyone loves a bargain, right? Discounts and clearances happen a lot this time of year, so if you budget for clothes that are going out of season, you can score some big buys.
• Hiring a tax accountant. You may elect to do your taxes yourself, which means the only thing you’ll pay for is the software you use. However you choose to prepare your taxes, at least know that you’re going to spend some money on it.
• Higher utility bills. It’s not surprising to see snow falling in February. Remember that when the temperature drops, your heating bill rises. Be ready to pay more by putting it into your budget.

To read the entire article from Dave Ramsey.com:
http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/budgeting-month-february?ectid=fb.20130204

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. -Winston Churchill

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Saturday 2/2

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Career advice from the masters

By Harvey Mackay

Napoleon Hill, one of my favorite authors, devoted twenty years of his life to study what made people successful.  His mentor, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, helped Hill by giving him introductions to some of the most successful people in business, including Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Schwab, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Clarence Darrow and many others.

What Hill discovered is that all these individuals realized the importance of surrounding themselves with people smarter than themselves.

I couldn’t agree more.  All of us together are a lot smarter than any one of us.  Which leads to some of the best career advice I can give you:  Networking is a skill you must develop.

If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met over a lifetime, I’d say it is the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.  A network replaces the weakness of the individual with the strength of your network.  You don’t have to know everything as long as you know the people who do.

A network can enrich your life.  It can help you help others.  A network improves your job security.  If you build a network, you will have a bridge to wherever you want to go.  So if you are ever up the proverbial creek, if you have a network, you always have a paddle.

Just remember, the more you exercise your networking muscles, the stronger they get and the easier networking becomes.

What other career advice can you benefit from? 

To read the entire article from Harvey Mackay.com:
http://harveymackay.com/column/career-advice-from-the-masters/

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com

Personal Finance News Friday 2/1

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Cheap internet service for light web surfers

From Clark Howard.com

Light volume users of high speed Internet can reduce their monthly service bill to around $7 a month. Clark explains how.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/videos/clark-howard/technology/cheap-internet-service-for-light-web-surfers/vpfXX/

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. -Helen Keller

  

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com