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Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Personal Accounts – Clever Ways To Manage Your Account

Summary:
Once you’ve found the right bank and the right account, you may be tempted to rest on your laurels. However, if you want to make the most of your money, you need to give it regular attention. The world of finance is changing continually, with new offers and opportunities cropping up every season. To take advantage of them, you need to keep your finger on the pulse.

Not only should you keep a flexible approach, but be prepared to do a bit of research to keep abreast of the...

Article Body:
Once you’ve found the right bank and the right account, you may be tempted to rest on your laurels. However, if you want to make the most of your money, you need to give it regular attention. The world of finance is changing continually, with new offers and opportunities cropping up every season. To take advantage of them, you need to keep your finger on the pulse.

Not only should you keep a flexible approach, but be prepared to do a bit of research to keep abreast of the latest financial news. You don’t need to be a stockbroker to read the money pages - most of the Sunday papers carry a finance section aimed at the average person. The internet can also be a good source of up-to-the-minute articles – check Yahoo or the BBC in their ‘personal finance’ sections.

As well as keeping an eye on the money market, you should have a clear idea of how your accounts work. Stay abreast of any direct debits and standing orders – paying bills by monthly instalments can save the hassle of posting cheques, spread the cost of services, and you will often gain from special discounts if you pay this way. However, monthly payments can cause problems if you don’t have enough cash in your account – charges for going over your agreed overdraft can be nasty and are money down the drain. Try to arrange for direct debits to come off around the same time – a few days after pay day is usually a good time, and you’ll often be able to choose which date. When budgeting, aim to plan for the whole year rather than just from month-to-month.

Credit card companies will offer introductory rates to new customers – if you don’t mind changing cards every six months or so you can avoid paying high rates of interest. Look for 0% APR offers on balance transfers and especially those that do not charge a balance transfer fee.

If you have debts, (and these days almost everybody does to some degree) make sure that you are on top of them. The worst thing you can do is ignore them – make sure you know what you owe, and how much interest you are paying. It might be a good idea to consolidate debts – for example converting credit card balances into a low-interest loan or second mortgage. Allocate as much as you can comfortably afford to pay each month, and stick to it. If you are struggling with debt, contact your debtors. They will often be able to help you plan your repayments, and will certainly be more understanding if you keep in touch.

Citizen’s Advice Bureau (http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/macnn/) can offer support and advice, as can National Debtline (http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/): Freephone 0808 808 4000.


All About Personal Accounting

Summary:
If you have a checking account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in your statement and what you wrote down for checks and deposits.

Article Body:
If you have a checking account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in your statement and what you wrote down for checks and deposits.

Many people do it once a month when their statement is mailed to them, but with the advent of online banking, you can do it daily if you're the sort whose banking tends to get away from them.

You balance your checkbook to note any charges in your checking account that you haven't recorded in your checkbook. Some of these can include ATM fees, overdraft fees, special transaction fees or low balance fees, if you're required to keep a minimum balance in your account.

You also balance your checkbook to record any credits that you haven't noted previously. They might include automatic deposits, or refunds or other electronic deposits. Your checking account might be an interest-bearing account and you want to record any interest that it's earned.

You also need to discover if you've made any errors in your recordkeeping or if the bank has made any errors.

Another form of accounting that we all dread is the filing of annual federal income tax returns. Many people use a CPA to do their returns; others do it themselves. Most forms include the following items:

Income:
Any money you've earned from working or owning assets, unless there are specific exemptions from income tax.

Personal Exemptions:
This is a certain amount of income that is excused from tax.

Standard Deduction:
Some personal expenditures or business expenses can be deducted from your income to reduce the taxable amount of income. These expenses include items such as interest paid on your home mortgage, charitable contributions and property taxes.

Taxable Income:
This is the balance of income that's subject to taxes after personal exemptions and deductions are factored in.