FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR.

The New Year is a great time to overhaul your financial life for the better, and one excellent place to start is by making good financial resolutions that can help get you closer to your money goals. Here are a few you might consider adding to your own personal agenda.

1.Know What You Want

Have a clear, concise financial goal for the year. It isn’t good enough to say, “I want to have my credit card paid down and more money in the bank.” Instead, you should write a financial resolution that is clear and actionable like, “I have the balance on my credit card paid down to $0, over  Rs  5000 or   $5,000 in my savings account.

2. Prioritize Your Debts

Not all debt is equal. Make a list of your liabilities and organize them by the annual interest rate. Those with the highest rates (most likely your credit card debt) should be paid off immediately. It does no good to invest money while you are paying 19 percent or more in interest each year. In a lot of cases, the wisest course of action is to sell any certificate of deposits, savings bonds or other cash holdings and use them to pay the balance. Why? If you owe Rs 10,000 or $10,000 on your credit card and pay 19 percent interest annually (Rs1,900 or $1,900 per year), while at the same time, own a Rs10,000or$10,000 certificate of deposit at a bank, paying you 4 percent interest (Rs4000or$400 a year), you would actually save yourself $1,500 a year by making a resolution to paid the debt

3. Enroll in an Automatic Savings Plan

Automatic savings plans are now offered for everything from brokerage accounts to government bonds. Simply call your broker and tell them you want a certain amount of money withdrawn from your checking or savings account each month, on a certain date, and deposited into your investment account.
 If you made a financial resolution to save, using automated savings force you to follow through because the cash is drawn directly from your bank before you can get your hands on it. Investors can often sign up for ASP's through a company's direct stock purchase plan. In these instances, the money is withdrawn and used to purchase additional shares of stock in the particular company.

4.. Close Unnecessary Accounts

Banks and financial institutions charge fees for everything under the sun. Is it really necessary to have several credit or checking accounts? Although there are exceptions, in the vast majority of cases the answer is  no.

5. Collect Your Change

Any time you make purchases with cash, only spend whole dollar amounts. If you go to the grocery store and your ticket comes to Rs 69.39 $67.39, pay Rs 70or $70 in cash and pocket the change. The first thing you should do when you go home is to throw the money in a large container . If you adhere to this policy and don’t spend any of the change, you are likely to save several thousand Rupees  or dollars over the course of a year. Use the money to pay down debt, buy stocks and bonds, or go on vacation.

6. Give Money

 One of the most effective ways to realize the value of money is to give it. The next time you get your paycheck, take 5 percent of your salary in cash   If you found  poor   child or a poor man , take out your wallet and buy  something   for  them . In both cases, the recipients are sure to remember your kindness for years to come. It is a powerful and effective way to change other people’s lives for the better while giving you a better sense of freedom financially.

7. Begin Using Personal Finance Software

Knowledge is power. If   you  want  to  know   how much you  spent last year on books or movie tickets, you   probably couldn’t answer. With a few keystrokes, however,  using personal finance software such as Microsoft Money or Quicken can find out how  much  you  spent  on    petty   things.

8. Read a Financial Book Each Month

If you want to learn to cook, you read cookbooks. If you want to learn to fix an engine, you ask someone to show you. The printed word is amazing in that it allows you to communicate directly with the most brilliant financial minds of the past century. By picking up a copy of The Intelligent Investor, One Up on Wall Street, or Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, you can be taught how to value investments, set up your portfolio, and spot the characteristics of a classic growth stock directly from the men who did it most successfully. Through the written word,  their ideas, philosophies, and techniques live on. Consistently applying yourself to learn as much as you can about the financial markets, the nature of money, and investments in general, is absolutely essential to creating long-term wealth.
 

  9Make Money Doing What You Love

Most people can name at least one thing they are truly passionate about.

One of the ways to enjoy your work is to only do the things you enjoy. Find a way to turn your passions and hobbies into profit.