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Priorities Bring Focus to the Family Budget

For many families the household budget can be an intense source of familial conflict. Not everyone always agrees with how the money should be spent or how it should be managed. More often then not the rest of the family reluctantly defers to whoever brings home the most pay when it comes to financial decision making, but many times this can cause resentment towards that person.

Money is an important part of any family's life and many times family peace and cohesiveness are threatened by the lack of a sound financial plan that has little or no direction. By including everyone in the decision making process and setting a list of priorities and goals that everyone agrees on you can bring peace and harmony to the family money situation.

Here are four steps to bringing peace to your family budget:

1. Set Priorities - Priorities and goals are not necessarily the same thing. These are things in your family's life that you want to focus on in the long term. This could be anything from purchasing a new home, college savings, or any other long term financial plan. The goals you set in step 2 are specific targets you need to hit in order to bring your priorities to fruition.

Do not set to many priorities. No more than 2 or 3 at the time. Remember these are long term plans that will have a positive impact on your family's life. As you and your family set your priorities write them down and keep them conspicuous. This will give your entire family the focus they need to meet these plans.

2. List Your Goals- Once your priorities are set you can start listing the goals that will support the priorities. Goals are specific and measurable conditions that are met in such a way that they bring you closer to fulfilling your priorities.

When you set a goal it should be a target that is achievable with a sound financial plan that starts with the family budget. A goal can be paying off a certain debt in a certain amount of time or saving a set sum of money in a year's time. If you set one to two goals per priority you will find yourself staying focused on the task at hand.

3. Meet Your Goals - Once you have set your priorities and goals it is time to start working towards them. The first step is the implementation of the family budget. This will allow you to track the family money, both income and expenses. It can be as simple as writing it down in a notebook or you can buy personal accounting software that helps you manage your family finances. Which ever method you use it is imperative that you track your family's money with a budget.

4. Periodic Evaluations - From time to time check to see how you are progressing towards your goals and priorities. This is something the whole family can do together. As you check off goals met it will give you and your family member a certain feeling of satisfaction. As you meet your goals and then your priorities re-evaluate your current situation and set new ones that can be met.

Andrew Bicknell researches and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more about building a family budget please visit his website Household Budgets by clicking here.

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Currency exchange rates 'war' a concern ahead of IMF meeting

The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) warned Thursday of the risk that "disorderly" shifts in exchange rates could harm a fragile global economy.

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The comment came as exchange rates have taken center stage in financial markets, with investors worried about the possibility of "currency wars," in which nations try devaluation as a way to bolster exports.

As ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet spoke, the euro touched an eight-month high of $1.40 per dollar.

IN PICTURES: Some of the world's most eye-catching currencies

The issue will also be a major one as global finance officials meet at Friday's annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.

Several forces are roiling currency markets and sending up the price of gold – a hedge against currency volatility.

The US Federal Reserve appears ready to embark on a policy of "quantitative easing," an effort to inject money into the economy by purchasing bond assets. That could fan investor worries about inflation and push the US dollar down.

Also in the US, political pressure to confront China over its closely controlled exchange rate has been rising.

Some emerging economies and Asian nations, meanwhile, are struggling to prevent a rise in their currencies in exchange markets. From Japan and South Korea to Brazil, actions by central banks amplify the "currency war" threat.

The hope, as Mr. Trichet hinted, is that these problems can be resolved in an orderly way.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn made a similar point Thursday. "I take very seriously the threat of a currency war, even a nascent one," he said in an interview published in Friday's edition of French newspaper Le Monde.

So far, some economists are skeptical that the threat will result in a 1930s-style crumbling of global commerce.

"It is all very unsettling," wrote economist Ed Yardeni in a report for investor clients last week. But "even during good times, there are protectionist flare-ups as domestic industries lobby their governments to protect them from unfair foreign competitors. I'm not convinced that we are seeing much more than is the norm."

Investors have been bidding up the price of emerging-market currencies, because many of those nations have been showing stronger economic growth than the US or Europe. Investment capital has been flowing into the emerging markets, yet they are wary of seeing the value of their currencies pushed too high.

Behind this near-term trend, though, are deep trade tensions – especially over China and allegations that it has kept the yuan artificially weak.

The US and Europe say this is costing them exports and jobs, and now high unemployment is fueling a new push for concessions from China. Earlier this year, Beijing pledged to allow the yuan to rise somewhat.

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to penalize China with countervailing duties on its exports to America unless it lets the yuan rise faster. Senate action on the bill is uncertain, but at a minimum the House vote sends a symbolic warning to China regarding American public opinion.

For its part, China has recently clamped down on exports of valuable "rare earth" commodities, which are sensitive because of their use in high-tech and defense-industry products.

During the 1930s, currency devaluations and protectionist trade barriers took a heavy toll on the global economy, deepening the Great Depression. In the financial crisis that erupted in 2008, world leaders largely avoided the protectionist path.

Now, despite a nascent economic recovery, the threat of currency or trade wars appears stronger. High unemployment is one driving factor, along with the goal of "rebalancing" the world economy with more exports for the US (a trade-deficit nation). That would be complemented by more emphasis on domestic consumption by export-focused nations such as China.

Economists at Morgan Stanley, in a report Wednesday, argue that a damaging "currency war" is not under way – at least not yet. They say emerging-market nations are focused in-part on domestic monetary concerns, such as watching against inflation, while also trying to rebuild depleted foreign-currency reserves.

Even a mini-war over currencies wouldn't be so bad, they add, if it serves as a subsitute for a trade war involving rising tariffs and quotas on the shipment of goods. The big danger would be if nations escalated fights on both those fronts.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

IN PICTURES: Some of the world's most eye-catching currencies

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Foreclosure - How to Manage Personal Budgeting in an Emergency Situation

With a record number of homes entering the foreclosure arena, many homeowners are now facing the need for serious management of personal budgeting in an emergency situation.

The first step is always your spending priorities. Cutting cable television is a good example. Cut all non-necessity items. You need to concentrate on only paying for food, shelter, utilities, and transportation at this point. Clothing can usually wait. Your insurance should be kept current if possible, and if you are using child-care to earn your income, that would fall under a necessity.

Ignore the phone. If you are getting calls from creditors you will have to ignore them for now. Focusing solely on the payments outlined above is critical. It does not matter who is calling you. Taking money from the list of absolute necessities to pay the people who are calling to stop their collection efforts could be a grave error.

The painful step that most people ignore is making your list of household income and expenses. This step cannot be overlooked, and you may be surprised at the amount of spending going to an item that you can certainly live without, at least in the short-term.

Desist on saving by temporarily putting a stop on retirement saving, college savings, or the like.

You will need a concrete plan on how to approach your foreclosure based on becoming well informed as to your options, and deciding which strategy will work best for you and your circumstances.

Credit card bills, medical bills, any personal loans or any other type of credit payment will need to be delayed at this point. Remember - ignore the phone.

You can contact your creditors, and for the best results, rather than giving them an emotion-based story, you'll be more apt to get the desired results if you tell them your current situation, what you are planning on doing about it, and roughly when you will be able to pay them. Not paying your credit cards for instance will damage your credit rating, but this is more of a survival situation and your credit rating is not a priority.

For extra income you can sell items around the house you don't need on craigslist.org for instance at no charge. Other really viable additional income options can include working more hours, take on side jobs, or get out from under those large car payments by trading down. You can also always try to get some kind of bank loan to tide you over.

Successful results in an emergency financial crisis will require focus and extreme measures in cutting your spending.

If you need help with your home foreclosure, you can find it here:

http://Information-you-need.com

Household Money Management is Essential to Get That Ship Sailing

When it comes to running a tight ship at home that includes taming the budget. Household money management is the way to make that ship have smooth sailing. While it can be difficult to look at debt and monthly budgeting, finding answers helps make for a brighter future. When working with a financial counselor you will find that there are options to how to best manage household spending. This is essential to be able to turn things around. There really is hope and light at the end of the tunnel. It is now time to go to that light and shine.

What if you knew you could take your money and work a budget to actually makes future dreams come true? The first step in household money management is writing up goals. Working with a private financial counselor, together you can learn how to make the best use of your money. It will be possible to take funds from your budget and use them for goals. You may even want to learn more about investments to make some of your money work for you. Imagine how wonderful it will feel to watch and help that metamorphosis of piled up bills turn into an avenue to future opportunities.

There is no need to keep feeling overwhelmed. Here is a little tip. Just sit down and start listing all the things you would like to do if money were not an issue. Once you are done with that list then circle your favorite three items. You will have in front of you a start in goal setting. Now that you have come to this point it is time to gather up financial records and do the next step in household money management. The good news is that you don't have to do this alone. This is where we can help. We partner with you to make those checks and balances turn into something meaningful to work with.

Unless you really want to miss out on the money making industry what have you got to lose? Household money management is a skill. Skills are best learned from a professional. Would you know how to do any number of things you do if you has to teach yourself everything? Perhaps you would but there may be other options that make something work better. In order to go forward it is wise to know the best investments for a great financial future. Your ship will sail in still waters.

Peter O. Justin writes about money management at MoneyManagementTips.biz.

Do your magazines help you?

As I’ve mentioned before, my wife and I subscribe to a handful of magazines of various kinds.

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The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds – we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

What I’ve found is that these magazines (aside from a couple of freebies that we won’t pay to renew) fall into one of two categories. Our magazines either are a source of long-form essays that are hard to read in an online context (like The New Yorker or The Atlantic) or they’re what I like to call “project” magazines.

Simply put, “project” magazines are publications that directly instruct you or encourage you to do something in your own life. Cooking magazines fall directly into this category, as does any sort of do-it-yourself home improvement magazines. Ones we subscribe to include Make, Cooks Illustrated, and Bon Appetit.

For our dollar, these magazines have made a tremendous positive impact in our lives. They’ve encouraged us to cook at home instead of going out (saving us money and also increasing our kitchen skills), take on home improvement projects, and experiment with countless other little things, too.

Along the way, though, we’ve learned a few things about how to really put such “project” magazines to good use.

Use them as a resource, not as an archive. It isn’t long before a new issue of a cooking magazine is splotched with stains from our kitchen. Rather than worrying about perfect archival condition, we often take them right out in the kitchen with us to use them for ideas while cooking.

Be willing to not follow the instructions to the letter. Most of the time, the ideas and projects in such magazines don’t perfectly match what we’re doing at home. A home improvement project doesn’t quite match up with what’s in our home. A recipe doesn’t line up well with our tastes or with what assets we have in our pantry. Use such ideas as a starting point and a reference and do your own thing – it’s incredibly rewarding and builds up your ability to improvise.

Save what has value – toss the rest. We don’t keep archives of most of these magazines. Instead, when a new issue comes in, I go through the previous issue, pull out ideas I might actually use in the future, and toss the rest. I often scan these pages and keep them electronically for future use, but you can just as easily keep them in a folder or two. It’s a lot easier to browse through 50 intriguing recipes than a thousand uninteresting ones with a few needles in the haystack.

Don’t just read – do. I wrote about mirror neurons a while back, but the basic principle holds here, too. Just reading about something can often feel a bit fulfilling and subtly convince you to not do it. Don’t fall into that. When you see something intriguing, do it.

Pick “project” magazines that align with things you do already. We like to cook, so we subscribe to a few cooking magazines. I like to tinker with electronics, so I subscribe to Make. There are lots of hobbies that we don’t engage in (even if they seem interesting), so we don’t waste our money subscribing to “project” magazines in those areas.

Don’t believe that magazines will change your behavior – they won’t. Carrying on with that previous thought, simply subscribing to a hobby magazine won’t convince you to start actually doing it. The desire to actually start doing something comes from within – external motivators and ideas only channel it in an interesting way. If you’re not already doing something, a magazine won’t help you start.

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