McJobNews: McJobNews: Hark! Its Time to Brand Your Resume.

McJobNews: McJobNews: Hark! Its Time to Brand Your Resume.

Do these things to achieve financial success

Strapped for cash and overhwelmed by debt? Try this plan to find financial freedom

Write down goals

Writing your goals trains your mind to focus on what is most important to you. Visit these goals regularly as a kind of affirmation of what you want to do next in life. Break each goal into steps and implement a simple plan for achieving them,

Live below your means

Become a saver instead of a spender to pay off all your debt.

Keep accurate financial records

Buy the latest version of Quicken or some other financial program to track your spending, saving, and stock marker transactions

 Learn how to negotiate

Investigate negotiating techniques which can be found at bookstores, the library or on-line to become savvy about how to negotiate salary, cars, real estate and cash.

 If employed save with pretax dollars

Decide what medical or dental procedures are necessary during the next year and arrange to save pretax dollars from your paycheck with a special plan supported by some corporations that will allow you to save money since you will be able to deduct the cost of these procedures from your taxes.

 Have no a car payment

Purchase a car that is six years old and pay in cash to avoid paying top dollar for a new automobile. Avoid the hefty interest payment on a new vehicle and the constant loss of value that you are still paying on for a new car that depreciates several thousand dollars after you drive off the lot. Raise your credit rating.

  Get rid of credit cards keep debit card

Credit card companies charge endless fees upon fees that are not worth the risk for a measly two percent savings. Instead get a home equity loan so that the interest you end up paying on a loan is lower and can be deducted as an expense for doing business from your income tax.

  Read bios of successful people

Biographies of successful people are inspirational and give you confidence to take calculated risks.

Setup bill payment through the bank giving the bank extra time so you are never late.

Are you sick of buying stamps and being late on payments for utilities and department stores? If so eliminate half of your problem by depositing your check automatically in your checking account and relying on the bank to pay your bills. You can setup fixed payments for credit card debt, mortgages and other expenses. Make sure the payment is sent out earlier in the month to provide a grace period to counter act the unexpected when the bank is late or the mortgage company accidently forgets to pay your property tax on time.

  Save $1000 as a starter fund and keep adding to it.

Fund it three to six months in advance for emergencies so you can borrow from yourself.

List your debts and pay off the smallest debt first

Then make minimum payments on the rest until you’re debt free. Using this technique will always give you a feeling of accomplishment no matter how small the debt is that you have paid off. Resolve not to incur other ones

Save for a house down payment.

Working on this goal will give you personal satisfaction and the feeling you are making a positive contribution to your future.

Do not buy a house with an adjustable rate mortgage.

Just a few years ago thousands of home buyers bought this type of mortgage and when the rates went up they lost their house and down payment. Although, the bankers bitterly complained about their losses the government supplied them with stimulus money that allowed them to survive, while the home owner lost everything. Programs to bail out the little guy were ignored by most bankers who got money to cover the cost of the mortgages from the government and refused to refinance the debt of the home owner which resulted in massive foreclosures. In the end the mortgage company was able to sell the property.

 Buy at least one rental property.

Buying one rental property and paying it down supplies you with a monthly income as well as an income deduction. The tax code favors landowners. When you retire and you own the second property free and clear you have another income stream available for life.

Pay off all real estate when you’re about to retire.

Owning property free and clear allows you to rent or live in your property with the main expense being your property tax. This reduces your over all expenses.

Invest as much as you can for retirement in a Roth IRA.

If you convert your IRA to a Roth, you must pay the tax you owe the government. But after that is accomplished, it will grow tax free after a five year holding period. Consult your accountant for the latest rules.

 Save for your children’s college fund.

Putting your money in a college fund for your children allow you to trade your money directly while it grows tax free until you take it out.