Comments on: Money in, Money out…. http://blog.sabasearch.com/money-in-money-out/ Houston's South Asian Community Blog Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:41:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: H.Sharma http://blog.sabasearch.com/money-in-money-out/#comment-707 H.Sharma 02 May 2008 20:51:10 http://blog.sabasearch.com/?p=102#comment-707 Another good card to have is Ameican Express. Charge it and pay the whole thing at the end of the month and no interest. Buy only what you can pay off except for the big investments such as car etc. Another good card to have is Ameican Express. Charge it and pay the whole thing at the end of the month and no interest. Buy only what you can pay off except for the big investments such as car etc.

]]> By: Credit Card No No http://blog.sabasearch.com/money-in-money-out/#comment-704 Credit Card No No 02 May 2008 17:56:44 http://blog.sabasearch.com/?p=102#comment-704 Stay away from credit cards! Its the easiest thing to turn to when you need a quick monetary fix and can quickly turn into a big problem. I say if you get one, stick to one credit card with Zero fees and ALWAYS pay the balance off each month. I would stick to the IRA that your workplaces provide and not sink any additional money into it outside of that. Do the maximum percentage to whatever your employer offers. You can't touch that money til your 65. I try to stick to the 80/10/10 rule. 80% for bills and spending. 10% for tithing to churches and charities and 10% for savings. Your first year is gonna be tight with all the furniture/electronic payments. The key is once those things are paid off to stay disciplined. Once your purchases are paid for...store the money you would of used as a furniture payment into savings or investments. Stay away from credit cards! Its the easiest thing to turn to when you need a quick monetary fix and can quickly turn into a big problem. I say if you get one, stick to one credit card with Zero fees and ALWAYS pay the balance off each month.

I would stick to the IRA that your workplaces provide and not sink any additional money into it outside of that. Do the maximum percentage to whatever your employer offers. You can’t touch that money til your 65.

I try to stick to the 80/10/10 rule. 80% for bills and spending. 10% for tithing to churches and charities and 10% for savings.

Your first year is gonna be tight with all the furniture/electronic payments. The key is once those things are paid off to stay disciplined. Once your purchases are paid for…store the money you would of used as a furniture payment into savings or investments.

]]> By: Sudha http://blog.sabasearch.com/money-in-money-out/#comment-697 Sudha 02 May 2008 13:22:50 http://blog.sabasearch.com/?p=102#comment-697 I'm not sure that getting multiple credit cards is the answer. There are lots of folks who try to play the "game" with credit cards, but its quite risky, especially since you have many other finances that you are dealing with and have to manage. My suggestion is that you definitely continue to throw money into your 401K. I also suggest you set aside some money for a ROTH IRA, as its a good retirement investment. As far as managing your expenses, i say that you create a monthly budget on an excel spreadsheet and track your DAILY expenses (you can find some budget templates online). On the 20th day of every month, you will get a good sense of what you have remaining within your budget for leisure items. Even better, you can save this money and put it away. If you have extra money, it's not always good to throw it away just because you have extra. Save it for a rainy day. Hope this helps. I’m not sure that getting multiple credit cards is the answer. There are lots of folks who try to play the “game” with credit cards, but its quite risky, especially since you have many other finances that you are dealing with and have to manage.

My suggestion is that you definitely continue to throw money into your 401K. I also suggest you set aside some money for a ROTH IRA, as its a good retirement investment.

As far as managing your expenses, i say that you create a monthly budget on an excel spreadsheet and track your DAILY expenses (you can find some budget templates online). On the 20th day of every month, you will get a good sense of what you have remaining within your budget for leisure items. Even better, you can save this money and put it away. If you have extra money, it’s not always good to throw it away just because you have extra. Save it for a rainy day.

Hope this helps.

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