Tips And Hacks – Millennial Finance Guru https://millennialfinanceguru.com Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:44:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-LogoMakr-8J4yP1-32x32.png Tips And Hacks – Millennial Finance Guru https://millennialfinanceguru.com 32 32 Few Items To Cut From Your Budget https://millennialfinanceguru.com/few-items-to-cut-from-your-budget/ Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:42:15 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=295 Experiencing trouble in making ends meet. Don’t worry you’re not the only one facing it according to Forbes, nearly half of Americans are living a life of paycheck to paycheck. If you want to change your life you need to cut few items from your budget in order to save for future. If you are in need of extra money in the end of the month, try cutting off these expenses.

Out For Lunch

I love picking up lunch outside myself but I don’t make it a habit. Because spending $15-$20 spending every time lunch for even thrice a week can be expensive. You can save hundreds of dollars each month by simply bringing lunch from home to your work. Try making your lunch in advance like take Sunday to make lunch for the entire week. This is kind of easy thing to grab your lunch box and straight out to the work.

Cable

You can save up to $50 a month if you say good bye to the cable. I myself got rid of cable when Netflix arrived. People thought we were weird that we cut off cable and switched to Netflix soon many realized and did the same.

Entertainment

It’s much easy to spend on entertainment more likely if you have kids in the home. If you feel like to entertain your kids go for DVD’s rather than spending much more on movies. You can even make popcorn yourself at home and maybe cuddle on the couch. When it comes to another kind of entertainment checking festivals in your area or maybe explore a new area or go for hiking or fishing. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

You save save enough money on entertainment through Groupon. It is a website which provides vouchers. These vouchers can save you money through sales. These are although a good way of saving hundreds of dollars on local things you can do in your life.

]]>
Few Habits That Make You Broke https://millennialfinanceguru.com/few-habits-that-make-you-broke/ Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:10:40 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=292 Everyone of us posses good and bad habits when it comes on spending money. But few habits are worse than the others because they make you broke. I know I have been breaking all of these bad habits in past. To keep you living a life where you don’t become broke and has enough cash to face any sort of emergencies or maybe retire one day.  Make sure that you avoid these habits to stay wealthy.

You aren’t setting goals

Setting goals is very necessary for every person. Without a plan you wouldn’t know where to spend how much. Setting up financial goals helps you know what you’re towards and will have a track on money. They make it possible to achieve your dreams and they give you a clear vision of what you want to achieve and notify a dead end.

When you’re planning goals do mention long and short term goals as well. Short term goals ranges between a year to three years and long term goals ranges five years to ten years. You can set weekly and monthly goals as well. I know that I started from making weekly goals and then monthly and so on. I was focusing on my money more than ever.

Skipping budget and delaying for next month

Have frequently has you told yourself that you will that you will start writing budget from next month.  Every time you tell yourself that you will just start over from next month, every time you’re robbing yourself and delaying the golden opportunity to stay wealthy. You need to start thinking about the unexpected moments which means you go in the month knowing that something might occur.  When you will start thinking about it you will be better prepared to face that situation. When you start feeling the need of writing it next month. It’s the time to write a mini budget cause they also play an important role in changing lifestyle. They are the budgets that you write to last you from today to the next month.

]]>
How To Pay Off Debt While Living Paycheck To Paycheck https://millennialfinanceguru.com/how-to-pay-off-debt-while-living-paycheck-to-paycheck/ Sat, 26 Jun 2021 09:19:47 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=288 Are you fed up of sending all your money earned to debt while living paycheck to paycheck?

If you’ve taken the time to sit down and write how much money you’ve to pay towards your debt, you might get sick. I myself was in shock for the first time when I totaled the amount to pay my debt payments.

My minimum debt was more than my mortgage. I hated myself for living paycheck to paycheck taking care of other family members and all every single month. I had a very little savings and for God forbid any of emergency occurs I would have to borrow money from someone. Can you relate to his? The best news for now is that I’ll be telling few things to stop living a life of paycheck to paycheck.

If you’re sick of working 40 hours a week and paying all your money to your student loans or car loans, then it’s the right time to make a change and stop taking further loans.

What actually means by “Paycheck To Paycheck”?

It’s likely when someone says they live paycheck to paycheck which means that they are waiting for their next salary to arrive without it they have nothing to spend. They won’t be able to pay their bills or feed themselves or their family. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck you’re not only the one living the same life, but there are 75% of US workers currently living a life of paycheck to paycheck and the good news is that you don’t have to live a life like this forever.

Write A Budget

Writing a budget is the initial step to stop living a life of paycheck to paycheck. People who write a weekly or monthly budget are more likely to be successful with their life. It’s because they are taking care of their expenses and the truth is that you’re giving a direction to your money while writing a budget. You’re not in the charge of money although the money is in your charge. You want to plan a vacation? No issues, add a vacation fund to your budget as well. I know writing a budget can be tricky in the first but when you’re write and follow the budget for the first few months you will be expert enough to write a budget that matches your lifestyle.

]]>
Multiple Ways To Save Money For Christmas https://millennialfinanceguru.com/multiple-ways-to-save-money-for-christmas/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 12:23:02 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=285 If you are thinking to start saving for Christmas, It’s never too late just start doing it by today. You must financially prepared to Christmas in order to avoid experiencing a stressful Christmas. Here are few tips to save money for Christmas.

Create a Christmas Savings account.

Calculate the amount you want to save for Christmas

Christmas should be enjoyed with happiness and joy. As studies shows that more than 50% people are in stress over Christmas due to financial problems. Many years ago I didn’t saved a single penny for Christmas. Rest of the months of year something always popped up seeming more urgent. We had medical bills, credit card bills and school fees. No part of me was able to save money for Christmas. I couldn’t afford gifts and I knew I didn’t want to make the same mistake again! Christmas should never be stressful. As long as you plan in advance to save money for December all kind of stress must fade away.

The moment you start saving for Christmas, the first thing you should do is set up a Christmas savings account for the holidays. Having a specific savings account for holiday spending will more likely save you enough money. Moreover, you can easily track how much amount of money you have saved yet for the holidays. Many banks allow you to have multiple savings accounts connected to your paycheck account. You should be easily able to transfer funds to your savings account just through a click of a button and when it’s Christmas time you can transfer funds back to your main account by just a click.

You must calculate your money because it’s easy to just overspend when you don’t know how much you should be spending on an each gift. I know this because I’ve been through this. Before you start shopping for Christmas, you should make a Christmas budget to not overspend on any gift. To do so make a list of every person you want to buy gift for and set a budget for how much you want to spend for their gift. Sum up all the amount you will be spending on the overall gifts and then set aside the money you will be spending on the decorations and other activities.

]]>
Few Items That Will Save Your Money https://millennialfinanceguru.com/few-items-that-will-save-your-money/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 12:00:23 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=282 When we bought a house, I was very much worried about the expense that we had to purchase for the new house. Everything related to yard, new furniture and all to set our new house. As a newly married couple we always lived in small apartments, so yard was my first experience to take care of. I was so upset with the price of lawnmower when we first went to buy it, it was quite expensive anyways, we ended buying a cheap one though. Well, that backfired, we bought an expensive one the next summer.

I am glad that the lawnmower we bought last for more than five years and still counting. I have learned in my life that sometimes you have to buy something expensive that will actually last long and help you save your money rather than buying same item again and again on cheap price. Here are few things that you might want to buy in order to save your money.

Lunchbox

Having a lunchbox daily means that you will not eat your lunch out. Image just eating once or twice out in a week will help you save around $50-$60 each week. Not only it will save your money but home food will make you healthier.

Netflix

If you’re a TV lover, you might want to subscribe for Netflix since I don’t have any cable channels. I don’t like feel I’m missing something out I can watch everything on Netflix though. It barely costs me $15 each month for the Netflix services.

Water bottle

There’s no hidden fact that a water bottle can save you lot of bucks over time. If you’re buying one pack of water bottles for each week it will cost you around $150. It doesn’t sound much for a time being but if you calculate it for 4 or 5 years it will cost you around $650-$700. Imagine just buying reusable water bottles twice a year it would save money and much better for the environment as well.

]]>
How To Avoid Living Paycheck To Paycheck https://millennialfinanceguru.com/how-to-avoid-living-paycheck-to-paycheck/ Thu, 24 Jun 2021 09:46:59 +0000 https://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=278 If you are living a life of paycheck to paycheck then you must be frustated waiting for paycheck to come desperately. I have experienced the same back my whole life till I managed stop living paycheck to paycheck. There comes a day when you don’t have a single penny in your current around and still there’s a week for paycheck to come. The anxiety game begins at that time. What if something unexpected happens how would I manage? I felt like any emergency would just happen at any time when I’m broke. I used to keep checking my account for paycheck to arrive.

Can you relate to this as well? Don’t hesitate to follow these steps to make yourself out of this paycheck to paycheck life. Here are few things you can follow to change your best financial life.

Never give up on a budget

Without mentioning about a budget in this article would have left the article incomplete. I used to think budgets were for those people who were just boring and didn’t had a social life but then I realized setting a budget is mandatory for an individual for living a happy life. It’s a great way to having control on your money.

I know sticking to a budget is kind of difficult task but the good thing is you’re capable of doing difficult things. You will make mistakes as no one is perfect but you will learn by time. But if you want to stop living paycheck to paycheck life you need to set a budget and follow it. It is the main key to control your spending.

Avoid using credit cards

Are you using credit card at the end of the month when you’re out of money? Maybe you’re a week out till your next paycheck arrives and you need to buy groceries, fuel up your vehicle or maybe buy something else so you put everything on the credit card thinking will pay it off when the paycheck arrives and yet you pay the minimum amount of credit card bill. The problem arrives at the end is you don’t have money to wipe all your credit card amount. This happens month after month and you wake up some day with thousands of dollars in credit card debt.

It’s time to avoid using credit cards as your safety net. It’s time to stop using it for other expenses at the end of the month. Try to stop the cycle. Try making a plan so that you no longer cover the normal expenses through credit card at the end of the month. You may have to go for side hustling to manage your expenses but trust me that’s worth it.

]]>
21 Items To Cut From Your Budget Right Away https://millennialfinanceguru.com/21-items-to-cut-from-your-budget-right-away/ Sun, 21 Mar 2021 20:41:39 +0000 http://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=213 On the off chance that you need additional cash every month, consider downsizing (or cut out totally) on these 21 costs.

1. Cable

We saved $70 every month when we at last bid farewell to cable! We disposed of cable before it was common to live off of Netflix and Hulu. Individuals thought we were weird. In any case, we saved an extra $70 every month, except we additionally had the TV on less.

On the off chance that you have cable, I’m an immense advocate of saying your goodbyes. Your wallet (and family time) will much oblige!

Well known Alternatives to Cable:

2. Phones

Quite a while back, you needed to utilize one of the big-name phone organizations if you needed to have great service. Fortunately, things are diverse nowadays!

There are numerous cell organizations, for example, Mint Mobile and Republic Wireless that have gotten high ratings recently. Indeed, changing to a more modest wireless organization might actually save you hundreds every month, and thousands every year.

3. Home and Auto Insurance

Sit down and get a statement from 3-4 insurance agencies. Now and again you can even save more if you group your home and auto insurance together. By essentially looking for insurance or utilizing a bill negotiation service every year, you will undoubtedly scale back your financial plan.

4. Going out for Lunch

Lunch out is one of my guilty pleasures. Be that as it may, I don’t make it a propensity. Why? Because spending $5-10 for lunch even three times each week can be really expensive. You could save hundreds every month by just carrying your lunch to work.

5. Enrollments and Subscriptions

Quite a while back, our family saved $65 every month when we dropped our exercise center enrollment. For quite a long time we just worked out at home. Our family put resources into a couple of sets of hand weights, a chin-up bar, and a couple of exercise DVDs to use at home.

Basic Memberships to check:

  • Club Memberships 
  • Magazines
  • Razors
  • Beauty boxes or some other monthly membership boxes
  • Amazon
  • Monthly online participations

To discover all the more month to month charges, pull out your latest bank statement and search over it. You’re probably going to discover areas where you can scale back immediately.

6. Entertainment

It’s not difficult to go through a great deal of additional cash every month on amusement. Instead of spending $40 on the films, remain at home and watch a film that you acquired free of charge! You can even make popcorn, purchase sweets, and nestle on the sofa.

With regards to other free amusement thoughts, check your town for any processions, celebrations, or free classes. Investigate another park or go climbing outside. Fly a kite or go looking for a couple of hours. Entertainment doesn’t need to cost a ton of cash (or any cash whatsoever)!

You can get a good deal of entertainment with Groupon. Groupon is a site where you can purchase vouchers (sort of like gift vouchers) to a business for a discount.

7. Garments

I love purchasing new garments yet throughout the long term I have needed to figure out how to control my shopping binges. It is difficult and I’m not incredible at it, but rather I certainly don’t spend as much cash on attire as I used to.

8. Additional Groceries

Plunk down, work out a meal plan, and purchase just the food you need. You have no clue about the amount you can save if you adhere to your plan!

9. Getting takeout for supper

Food is one of the biggest variable costs for most families. A group of four can drop $50 in a café quicker than you can squint. If you eat out a couple of times each week, you can go through more than $400 every month on cafés.

On the off chance that you love getting takeout to get a break from cooking, you don’t need to completely remove cafés. All things considered, you can simply downsize it to once every week.

10. Purchasing drinks at eateries

Getting water at cafés is a brisk and simple approach to set aside cash. You can in any case go out to eat, yet you will save $10-$12 each an ideal opportunity for a group of 4. If you go out once per week, you can set aside $48 every month just by getting water.

11. Vehicle Washes

Vehicle washes can cost around $9 or more relying upon which bundle you buy. If you do that once per week that approaches $36 per month or $72 per month if you and your mate do week after week vehicle washes.

You can buy a vehicle wash cleaning unit from Amazon or Target for under $15 and it will last you a few washes. You can set aside a huge load of cash by washing your vehicle at home.

12. Hair and Nail Care

Completing your nails and hair can add up rapidly as well. The uplifting news is you can do your nails at home. There are a lot of incredible nail shines and acrylic nail sets accessible for at-home nail treatment/pedicures now.

Getting your hair can pile up as well. You can color your hair at home and additionally go longer in the middle of trims if you need to set aside some cash.

13. Cut Every Category Down a Small Amount

On the off chance that you truly need to cut your budget, you can simply knock off 10% on the entirety of your variable spending classifications. That way, you’re simply taking a smidgen off everyone.

It’s simpler to chop your staple goods somewhere around 10% than by a higher number like half. Also, the 10% adds up rapidly. You can truly set aside a huge load of cash by doing this stunt.

14. Pay with Cash for Categories Where You’re Prone to Overspending

On the off chance that you end up overspending in one specific class (or more), begin utilizing money envelopes

Here are some normal spending classes for money envelopes:

  • Groceries
  • Restaurants
  • Personal spending
  • Christmas
  • Entertainment
  • Gifts

If you’ve never utilized money envelopes, don’t go over the edge initially. Start with a couple of envelopes and develop from that point. You are changing a propensity and that requires some investment.

15. Impulse Purchases

It’s so natural to become involved with impulse spending. It’s difficult to quit spending cash. I get it. If you had the determination to quit spending cash, you would have done that all around, correct?

That is actually why you should use Stop the Swipe. Stop the Swipe is an extraordinary snappy success course equipped towards assisting you with recognizing your awful cash propensities and change them for great. It permits you to deal with your cash rather than the opposite way around. I trust it’s absolutely workable for you to win with cash!

16. Bottled water

Filtered water doesn’t actually appear to be big deal to a great many people. It just costs like $1.50 a bottle for the most costly brand at the store, isn’t that so? In any case, when you purchase bottled water each day or week, it can truly add up.

17. Costly Coffee

There’s no compelling reason to go through $7 every day for espresso. You can in any case make extraordinary tasting espresso from home. The following are a couple of tips on the best way to set aside cash while as yet making a tasty espresso from home.

•             Use flavored espresso from the supermarket to mix at home.

•             Sprinkle cinnamon on top of your espresso.

•             Add cream or whipped cream to your espresso.

•             Buy a charming espresso cup that you anticipate drinking out of.

•             Buy a superior espresso producer – this could set aside your cash over the long haul!

•             Stock up on your number one coffee beans when they go discounted.

18. Lower Your Bills (Negotiate)

Here are some bill arrangement tips:

•             Make yourself look great.

Remind them how long you’ve been a client, you’ve never been late, you’ve alluded business to them, and so forth

•             Be quite emphatic

Be extremely pleasant to the individual you’re talking with, yet also confident. At the point when you help them how extraordinary to remember a client you are, don’t make it sound like an inquiry. Sound certain when you say you’re a decent client.

•             Ask for a bigger rate decline than you truly need

This gives you some space for exchange and eventually, everybody wins! You’ll diminish your rate and they will keep you as a client.

•             Know the rate of their rivals.

Know the rate of their rivals. 

19. Monthly Bank Fees

You shouldn’t need to pay a monthly administration expense only for having a checking account at your bank. On the off chance that you are paying a month to month expense, inquire as to whether there are some other choices for you. Most banks have a few sorts of financial accounts. Another kind of financial accounts may be more qualified for you and not charge a month to month expense.

20. Paper and Other Disposable Products

If you truly need to get a good deal on food supplies, you can remove paper towels, napkins, paper plates, and disposable utensils. Essentially supplant them with reusable supplies.

21. Change to Generic Brands

Changing to generic brands is an extraordinary method to save. Your family may scarcely perceive the change as well. You can set aside $1,000 every year by changing to generic brands at the supermarket.

Most generic foods don’t taste that much different in contrast to the name brand. A few stores even have a strategy that they will give you a full discount for the nonexclusive item on the off chance that you don’t think it tastes as great as the name-brand. You in a real sense don’t have anything to lose by attempting it.

The Bottom Line

Take the time and pick what costs you will live without. What would you be able to dispose of? Which of these things are not as significant as your monetary peace? Include the costs (even the little ones) and see exactly how much cash you can save!

]]>
Is Investing $25 per Month Worth It? https://millennialfinanceguru.com/is-investing-25-per-month-worth-it/ Sun, 21 Mar 2021 20:40:58 +0000 http://millennialfinanceguru.com/?p=222 At whatever point you move cash from your checking accounts to another account, regardless of whether it’s an individual retirement account (IRA), or opening a mutual fund, or a bank account, you’re making a fundamental step toward a monetarily secure future.

In any case, imagine a scenario in which you just have $25 every month to contribute. Would you be able to in any case secure your monetary future? Or then again is it better to place it into a savings account until it’s huge enough to check charges?

Here’s how to assess the costs engaged with little ventures.

Convert Fees Into a Percentage

Saving $25 a month will add up to $300 in a year, excluding any interest. A $40 expense on an investment account rises to over 13.33% of your investment. Subsequently, this $25 investment would need to procure more than $40 in a year only for you to equal the initial investment—that is, if account charges were taken out at year’s end, you would need to bring in a 27% profit for your cash. Why 27% rather than 13%? Since your money develops consistently, and you acquire revenue on the sum you have in your account.

For instance, following one month, you’ve contributed $25, following two months, you’ve contributed $50, etc. As your record develops, the head on which the investment acquires interest develops.

Subsequently, regardless of whether an expense is charged for purchasing stocks or mutual funds, keeping up or opening an IRA, or a bank account where your savings aren’t higher than the minimum balance, you need to consider whether the expense counterbalances the advantages of your investment.

Step by step instructions to Calculate a Fee’s Impact

To figure out if your fee is excessively high for your investment, calculate how much cash is fundamental in interest or profit procured to balance fees.

For example, if you contribute $25 each month, $3 rises to 1% of your yearly complete of $300 invested. Divide the fee by $3 to sort out the rate you would need to acquire to conquer the expense of having the account.

If you are investing an alternate sum, multiple your month to month investment by 12. Then divide it by 100. This computation mentions to you what 1% of your venture is.

Investing Directly With Mutual Fund Companies

Cut the fee incurred by setting up an investment account straightforwardly with a mutual fund organization. You can contact mutual fund organizations through their sites or by telephone and maintain a strategic distance from the expenses charged by business firms or monetary counselors. This is a decent decision when you don’t have a lot of cash to oversee.

An entanglement of contributing modest quantities through this investment road is that you are subject to losses—like putting resources into stocks.

At the point when you do this, your principal can diminish, or even be lost, given how the stocks or securities in your diversified fund rising and fall.

Ensure the sum you put away consistently isn’t cash you will require in the following few years.

Taking care of Debt

An option in contrast to customary investment roads is to put resources into diminishing your debt load. For example, you could add $25 to the base regularly scheduled installments you presently make on your credit card, which charges you a 12.9% interest rate. By doing this, you save generally $3.23 each year for each $25 you pay off.

At the point when your obligation is gone, you’ll have the option to place more cash into long haul investments, and you will not need to stress over a little expense gobbling up the entirety of your benefits because your profit will more than compensate for the charge charged by the institution.

Diminishing Your Mortgage Balance

On the off chance that your house is attached to a 30-year, $150,000 contract advance with a fixed interest rate of 6%, sending in an extra $25 each month with your home loan installment will cut roughly two years off your home loan reimbursement term. There are two purposes behind this:

  • You’re paying your principal. Each $25 you pay off, is $25 less you owe on your home loan.
  • The interest amount you pay on the principle you pay off is dispensed with for the remainder of the term of the loan.

For instance, if you began a 30-year credit at 6% with 150,000 and made a one-time extra installment of $25 in the second month of the home loan, you would save 107.25 in revenue over the existence of the advance.

As a little something extra, you’re basically putting something aside for retirement by assisting to ensure that you will not need to make contract installments after you retire on the off chance that you stay in a similar home.

The Bottom Line

Setting aside $25 per month to put resources into a bank account, mutual fund, or individual retirement account is an advantageous endeavor. Notwithstanding, give additional consideration to ensure benefits balance the expenses.

Additionally, think about other options, for example, reducing your credit card obligation or sum owed on your home loan, which will permit you to put bigger sums later on.

]]>