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Net-Worth Statement
Creating a Net-Worth Statement will help you to get an idea of the big financial
picture, as it pertains to your assets, your debt, and your overall net-worth.
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Monthly Income WorkSheet
Calculate your net monthly income – it’s a fairly easy and quick process. Your
net income is the amount of income that you 'take home' from each paycheck,
after taxes and other deductions. Your net monthly income is the total that you
take home each month.
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Here to Download Now!
Spending Accounts Worksheet
Identify the different type of spending accounts that you will need. There are
two types of spending accounts— monthly and periodic.
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Monthly Spending Plan Spreadsheet
Record your annual and monthly spending for each of your spending accounts. You
will likely need to make adjustments, so please be sure to use a pencil to
record this information.
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Debt Summary Worksheet
Before you can start to eliminate your debt, you need to first understand what
your debt load is. This worksheet will help you create a list of your debt
obligations.
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Now!
Debt Roll-Down Worksheet
The debt roll-down principle helps you quickly payoff your debts. This is done
by applying a small debt accelerator payment to the first debt you can pay off.
Once that debt is paid off you take the amount you had been paying on the first
debt and roll it down to accelerate the debt payoff of the second debt. You
continue to do this until all you debt is re-paid.
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Budget Spreadsheet
Download this customizable budget spreadsheet created in Microsoft Excel.
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Free Budgeting Software
AceMoney helps you organize and manage your personal
finances quickly and easily. With AceMoney, you can manage multiple accounts of
different types: checking, savings, credit cards, loans, debt accounts, etc. You
can even create your own specialized account types, such as cash allowances for
the kids!
AceMoney makes it a breeze to create and manage your budgets. The program has
more than 100 pre-defined spending categories, and you can define your own. You
can set up budget limits for every category and track the difference between
actual and budgeted values.
Track your spending habits and see where the money goes. Generate reports by
categories or payees, as tables or pie charts. Now you can really find out just
where last month's paychecks went! Find all your withdrawals and deposits by any
parameter.
Never miss a bill-payment date. AceMoney takes control of your finances and
shows you when bills and income are due. Account information can be shared or
password protected. Scheduled backup is automatic. Many other features are
instantly usable without prior experience in accounting.
Click Here to Download AceMoney Lite 3.8.3:
AceMoney Lite
Does it sometimes seem like the dollars are slipping through your fingers
while the bills just seem to keep mounting up? It's a familiar feeling for many
of us nowadays. Sometimes, though, like most things in life, taking a step back
from it all and starting to get some simple things right can make a huge
difference on the big picture.
If your debts have been getting you down recently, here are 10 great
ways to start slashing them today:
1. First off, consider going on a "cash diet" for the next few months. Lock
away some of those credit cards in a safe deposit box... or just cut them up
altogether! By all means keep a low interest rate card for emergencies, but
definitely rid yourself of any store cards. Why? Because they encourage you to
buy junk you don't need at exorbitant rates of interest!
2. If you're having difficulties with any of your lenders, approach and deal
with them personally. Not only will they appreciate your initiative, but will be
far more responsive down the line if you're having further repayment
difficulties. The one thing that irritates them most is someone ducking and
diving the problem.
3. If you think you can afford to pay off any of your loans in one go,
approach your lender and offer a reduced final settlement of anything between 25
and 75%. Try and get the best deal. They can only say no, and might just say yes
to get some money in. When I was deep in debt, I was fortunate to pay off a bank
overdraft in this way. In fact, they proposed straight off a settlement of
75%... not me!
4. Ask for a promotion at work. Believe it or not, it's estimated that one in
two people who actually do this get one.
5. Shop around to get the best deals on utilities like gas and electric... A
home energy audit can help save hundreds of dollars a year on heating bills. Ask
your supplier who may be able to this for free or at very low cost. Many
countries now have websites where you can make sure you're getting the best
deal. Try doing a web search for "energy savings" plus your country. A good US
site for this is:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/.
6. If you have a spare room, why not consider renting it out for a while.
7. Check to see you're paying the right amount of tax. You might possibly be
due a refund. Every year governments rake in hundreds of millions in unclaimed
tax. You can get free software
programs to help you with this.
8. Buy cheaper insurance and investments. Shop around for the best deal on
all types of insurance, including life, home, health, travel and pet cover. This
could save you thousands over the coming years!
9. Consider shopping more online. Online stores often give a discount as they
don't have the same overheads involved when selling offline. Search for those
goods you want using a search engine or ask the retailers themselves if they
have an online store.
10. Have a direct debit set up so that your debt payments leave your account
the day your paycheck is paid in. That way, you'll be less tempted to spend it.
And when you do get out of debt, charge a direct debit to another account and
pay in a regular monthly amount (as much as you can afford.) Call this your own
personal wealth insurance. You'll never regret it. By adopting the above
strategies, the light at the end of the tunnel will start shining that little
bit brighter. Instead of spending more than you earn, you'll soon be earning
more than you spend!
One of the first things you have to do before any debt can be eliminated is
to STOP USING CHARGE ACCOUNTS. If you continue to use the accounts, you
are only continuing the problem, and building on it, not solving it. So, make a
resolution now to stop charging anything and to get financially stable. If you
can't pay cash for it, you don't need it, make it just that simple and you will
find yourself out of debt in no time at all.
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Home Budgeting Tips
Tips to get out of debt start with one that is absolutely essential to payoff
debt. And that is to set up a budget you can live with, then follow it. Keep a
diary of all money spent, whether it is by cash, check, credit card, etc. Once
you know where your money is going, then, and only then, can you take the steps
needed to prepare a good budget that you can live with and make huge strides to
budgeting your debt away.
Comb through your budget and cut out the waste. This is essential to getting
your financial life back on track. Some of those things you thought you couldn't
live without are draining your money, and may only be conveniences you don't
really need. You have to be ruthless in deciding what stays in your budget and
what gets eliminated. But the time and effort you spend here, will determine the
success or failure of your money saving endeavors.
Once you have established a budget you can live with, determine how much
extra you can spare to apply to your bills on a monthly basis. But don't forget
to pay yourself first! Set aside money for savings, and rainy days, every payday
and stick to it. Use this money for emergencies, and special things for your
family. This will help keep those credit cards in your wallet, and out of the
cashier's hands.
Earmark larger payments to the higher interest accounts first. Once these are
reduced, or gone, then apply that extra money to the next highest interest
accounts. Stay with one bill until it is paid off, don't try to "spread" the
extra money to extra payments on several bills at the same time. You need the
emotional reinforcement of seeing your debt reducing quickly in order to stay
focused on debt reduction and living within your budget.
Creditors use home budgeting guidelines when reviewing and approving credit.
If your debt exceeds the financial communities recommended guidelines, then you
have a higher risk of credit applications being denied. Plus, you will pay more
interest since you will be perceived as a higher risk.
Getting, and keeping, your debt in line with recommended guidelines, is an
important step in debt relief and debt recovery. Use the following guidelines to
review the items in your budget, and make special note of expenses that are out
of line:
- Housing 35% - Mortgage or rent, taxes, repairs, improvements,
insurance, and utilities
- Transportation 20% - Monthly payments, gas, oil, repairs,
insurance, parking & public transportation
- Debt Budget 15% - Credit cards, personal loans, student loans &
other debt payments
- All other expenses 20% - Food, insurance, prescriptions, doctor &
dentist bills, clothing & personal
- Investments & Savings Budget 10% - Stocks, bonds, cash reserves,
art, etc.
Next to each item that is out of line, make notes as to why you think they
are out of line with recommended guidelines. Be honest, be brutal, but write it
down. It is the only way to ensure that you consciously accept the reasons for
your debt problem so that you can fix it permanently. Remember, debt relief is a
temporary solution, only you can make debt problems disappear for good.
If you find one home budgeting guideline percentage to be more than you need,
or less than you need for your personal situation, feel free to take from one to
give to another. Keep in mind though, you want to eventually get your debt
budget down to, or below, that 15% recommended guideline. That has to be your
primary goal if you are using Home Budgeting Guidelines for debt relief.
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