Strengthen Your Emergency Fund

Dont fret if you dont have an emergency fund. You have a great opportunity to start with $1,000. if you already have it, add this amount to your fund. The best part about emergency fund is they can be used any time, any where during emergencies. You don’t have to liquidate it like other investments. Hence, having such a fund should be your priority.

Consult a Financial Planner

You can skip this step if your finances are in place. However, if you have accumulated enormous debt, and don’t know how to repay them, consult a financial consultant, who can help you get out of such situation. Often, we don’t visit a consultant because their hourly charges are around $200. But when you have $1,000, don’t bother about the fee.

Invest in Top Fund

Hire a portfolio manager and invest your money in top performing mutual funds. One of the best products you can invest in is a non-managed low cost mutual fund. There are many other funds you can invest in, which can provide you high returns as well as tax-breaks.

Home Appliances

If you have a computer at home that needs upgradation, spend few hundred bucks on it. You can spend the remaining amount on replacing existing, worn out items into more energy-efficient gadgets. Instead of using a simple bulb, you can replace them with CFL bulbs.

Help People

if you have enough money, you can spend this $1,000 to help people who are deprived of things that you are enjoying today. If you don’t want to give it all as charity, you can finance a business project on Kiva, plant some trees, or buy sheep for farmers. If you give it as charity, you can expect a good tax deduction in this financial year.

Join a Fitness Club

However, do not pay for the entire year if you are not sure about your commitment. But investing in your health is better than investing in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Find a good gym with all necessary equipments, join it, and visit regularly. You will be pleased with your decision once you notice changes in your body fitness.

Retirement Fund

If you have thought about your retirement fund yet, start planning it today. The earlier you start, the more benefits your will receive in future. Open an IRA account or invest regularly in your employer 401k plan. Any amount invested today will only help you to have a better life tomorrow.

Repay Your Credit Card Debt

This should have been on the top of the list. If you are still reading, and if you have debts to repay, put the entire amount toward repayment. This will also help you save additional dollars as you wouldn’t have to pay interest.

Sharpen Your Skills

You can use this $1,000 to learn new skills. Take up a crash course in computers, or learn to play a musical instrument. There is so much to learn, if you are ready to spend some time and money. You can also have financial magazine subscriptions that can help you make better investment or debt repayment decisions.

Invest For Your Kids

If you have kids, invest in their names, for their better future. You can have their portfolio designed, with investments in low risk products.

There are probably many other things you can do with unpredicted $1,000. However, spending it carelessly wouldn’t be a wise idea.

Habit 1: Working For Money

Don’t expect money to come to you, even if you have bought all the lottery tickets. To earn money you need to work. If you don’t have an intention to earn money from your work, you will end up working for charity. Work hard, earn more, be proud to be rich.

Habit 2: Spend It

The more you spend the more you want to spend. Hence, you work more and earn more to spend more. That’s life. You cannot sit idle and watch TV. There are many things you can do with money: buy new pair of shoes and clothes, go out with your family, buy a gift for your loved ones often, go on a vacation, and so on.

Habit 3: Don’t Borrow

If you borrow money to spend, you wouldn’t have the urge to earn it. You know it’s readily available when you need it. Besides, if you are late in repaying it, you pay more (with various penalties and fees). Why do you want to spend money on something that’s not worth it. Spend in cash, utilize every penny you have.

Habit 4: Save & Invest Money

Alright, spending will certainly want to you to earn more. However, if you don’t save, you will have to borrow some amount. Besides, saving is the only way to grow your money. You can deposit some amount every month in your savings account, and find suitable product to invest in. Only keeping money in your account can also help you earn some interest every month. There are several other products like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, certificate of deposits, and so on.

These habits are good, and can help you make rich. But it certainly doesn’t guarantee anything. Having the right attitude is what makes the difference.

That’s probably a very good idea. But until you don’t act on it, it would only be an idea. Besides, if you have a closer look, you will realize, more than passive income, you can earn money through your active income (current job) simply by sharpening your skills.

Having a passive income is a good way to earn extra money. However, not every idea can help you earn $500 per day. But job is a place where you can get significant hike. So, work on your skills instead of nurturing some passive ideas.

2.    I can save more money, if I try a bit harder

You can hear a similar statement by an obese person. They know they can reduce weight by consuming less calories per day, but they aren’t ready to reduce it. Besides, simply trying harder wouldn’t help you achieve your goals. You need to know the right tactics as well. If you want to save money, simply saying ‘I want to save money’ wouldn’t help. Know how you can do it.

3.    I will have a budget very soon

Yeah right. You have been saying this since decades. And you even tried it many times. But you relize:

• It’s very hard living with a budget
• We don’t like limiting ourselves to anything
• It’s painful

So, what’s the solution? Forget about the conventional budgeting method you have always heard about. Spend extravagantly on the things you like, and cut down expenses mercilessly on other expenses.

4.    I Will Start Investing in Stocks

That’s a very good idea, but here is fact that you must know: Less than 5% of people who say this actually invest in stocks. Besides, investing does not only mean picking up stocks. There are several things you can start with: 401k, IRA, Savings Account, Mutual Funds, and so on. If you have more money to invest, buy a property.

5.    Greedy Think About Money, I Want to Stay Away From It

Then why don’t you give up using money. The fact is, you cannot stay without money, even if you are a monk (with or without Ferrari). So, why not make efficient use of it? Rich people get richer because they plan their finances well.

These probably lame excuses to stay away from managing your finances. The more you have them, the more you will suffer. It’s better you accept it the way it is and start making good use of your money.

1.    Don’t Eat Out Often

If both the spouses are working, this is probably a difficult task. They can start with cooking food at home once a week.

2.    Take Lunch at Work

Again, you don’t have to do it everyday. Carry your lunch 2-3 times a week. For the remaining days, join your colleagues.

3.    Limit Shopping

I promised I wouldn’t deprive you of anything. But you don’t really use every thing you buy. So why do you buy it in the first place?

4.    Buy in Bulk

Of course you cannot do this every time you go out to buy something. But few things like tinned goods, toilet paper, shampoo, body wash, and so on, that can be beneficial if you buy in bulk.

5.    Pay Bills on Time

This can be done only if you become organized. Paying bills on time could save you late fee every month. Besides, it would also help you to improve your credit score. This is probably the easiest one among given 10 ways to save money.

6.    Save Money at ATM’s

Not every bank allows you unlimited transactions at any ATM. Some do, some charge fee after few initial withdrawals. Simply taking care of this thing can save you few bucks every month.

7.    Don’t Use Credit Cards that Charge Annual Fee

Why do you want to pay annual fees, when there are companies that provide cards without such fees?

8.    Don’t Buy New Car Often

Maybe this rule wouldn’t be applicable to everyone. However, few people buy cars every year or two. Simply using a car for a longer time can save you considerable amount.

9.    Don’t Buy on Impulse

Impulsive buying is probably the costliest habit we can ever have. Stop buying on impulse. Wait till you get the best deal.

10.    Buy Used Items Whenever Possible

No, you don’t have to be embarrassed about it. You can buy a used book instead of getting a new one. It wouldn’t affect the content quality.

Most of the knowledge I have gained over time, is through reading these books. They are a great source of knowledge and it keeps you motivated, always. I have read thousands of such books and have hundreds in my shelf. I wouldn’t, however, ask you to read them all. But there are few you shouldn’t miss, if you wish to take charge of you finances and do it efficiently. Here is a list of ten best personal finance books of all time.

10. 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich – By Bo Sanchez

09. Multiple Streams of Income – By Robert Allen

08. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind – By T. Harv Eker

07. The 4 Hour WorkWeek – By Timothy Ferriss

06. The Richest Man in Babylon – By George Clason

05. The #1 Rule – By Phil Town

04. The Millionaire Next Door – By Thomas Stanley & William Danko

03. Your Money or Your Life – By Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez

02. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – By Robert Kiyosaki

01. Think and Grow Rich – By Napoleon Hill

These are some of my favorites, and I am sure these personal finance books would be tremendously useful to everyone who picks it up. Once you are done with these books, you can pick up any written by these writers.

We all know the significance of money in our lives, yet we are too careless about it. I have seen most people start to focus on their finances only when they are left with little of it. It has now become a norm.

Although cash is an important element of our life today, cash in form of credit is given more importance. This is because credit can be availed easily than earning cash. Isn’t it? However, I have a better plan. Just manage your personal finance properly. But for most, this is one of the dreaded tasks of their lives.

Even the ones with lots of money owe some or the other loan. They opt to live their life in most luxurious way, and don’t really give it a second thought before digging their own grave.

Importance of personal finance management can be known by just looking at the recent global crisis. Until few years ago, it only affected at a lower level. But the recent downturn was a proof of mishandling personal finance considerably. It was like a natural calamity that hit our country, which left us with bruises all over.

Banks started collapsing, business started winding up, and lots of people lost their jobs. The whole unemployment period added more to the situation. With no money to spend or make monthly payments, life started becoming miserable.

Experts blame government and financial institutions, who compelled us to acquire loans and create this mess. I agree with them to certain extent. However, it’s their job to convince us to take credit. The ultimate decision is ours. If we all had a budget, proper financial management, we wouldn’t have defaulted on any payments.

The economy is improving gradually, and new job offers have started budding. We can either keep blaming the government and face similar situation over and over again, or understand the importance of personal finance management and take charge of our situation.

Though I cannot promise all these things, there are few ways to get rich quick.

1. Inheritance
   You don’t really have to do anything except being born in a super-rich family like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. You will live like a rich brat during your teens. And as soon as your adults pass away, you are the king. Think about it. You get millions of dollars overnight. All you have to do is pay inheritance tax and forget about frugal living, IRA limits, and blah, blah, blah.
2. Marriage
   I know it’s quite difficult for all of us to inherit such a huge amount. After all Bill gates cannot have hundreds and thousands of children. So, here is another way to get rich quick – find a wealthy spouse. If the person is not hot, kind, lovable, and whatever it takes to lead a happy life, divorce can do the trick.
3. Steal
   By steal I don’t really mean rob a bank. That’s a good way to get rich quick though. There are other options like cook account books, fool people, fraud, etc. The important part is, however, don’t get caught. There is a lot off opportunity in heroin, meth, and crack space as well. Try your luck.
4. Gamble
   If you don’t get caught dealing heroin, chances are you may succeed gambling. More than 50 million people all over the world play poker everyday, and few make millions. Though the success ratio is not quite high, you can give it a try; aren’t you trying everything to get rich quick. Lotteries, too, is a good option to earn millions overnight.
5. Invest
   You can invest money in real estate or stock market, if none of the above seems to be a viable option. It would, however, take years to make money this way. Hardly a way to get rich quick. But of none of the above methods work, you can try this. At least you would be rich, if not quick.

1. Retirement planning
   By saving few hundred dollars every year, we pretend to believe we have a strong financial back-up for our retirement. However, considering inflation, increasing necessities, and no income sources, we would definitely need more than what we are spending now. Let’s say, you current expense for the year is $50,000. So, after your retire, you would need more than $50,000 per year. We cannot predict the number of years we would live. People, however, plan for at least 20 years after retirement. So, you total amount should be much more than $50,000 x 20.Do you think the income earned from your current job is enough to accumulate this amount? Having another source of income would help you to reach this amount quicker than your anticipation. Moreover, if the amount is in properly invested, you can earn much more than just the retirement amount.
2. Downsizing comes unannounced
   The economy is pretending to be improving. We are, however, leading to another bubble that would soon burst. One of the immediate effects of economic downturn is downsizing. Even if there wouldn’t any immediate economic crisis, very few jobs come with a life long security.If you are completely depended on the income of your job to pay off your bills and meet other expenses, you are not much far from disaster, just a paycheck away. The earlier you accept this reality, the better it will be for you and your family. Having secondary sources of income ensures you have enough even if you lose your job. There are actually many ways to generate such source, many of them doesn’t even require investment.
3. Emergencies are inevitable
   If you meet with an accident tomorrow, your medial bills would be taken care of by insurance companies. But what about you job? You wouldn’t be able to work for at least a couple of months now. How would you pay all your bills? No, I am not making up a story. This is happening to hundreds of people every day, and it could happen to you as well. Instead of being a victim of such dilemma, why don’t you guard yourself against such emergencies?

That’s when passive income comes into play. You can create a machine that will keep making money for you while you are sleeping, enjoying with your kids, or working in your office.

When I talk about passive income, first thing that pops up in your mind is earning money online. No, I am not talking about it, at least for a little while now. No one can predict how much you can earn online. If you are fortunate enough, you can earn millions. And if you are amongst the majority, you wouldn’t earn much. So, we cannot really term it as a reliable source of passive income.

And before you actually start an online business, determine the competition you are about to face. There are millions of blogs on the web today and every one of them intends to be like Pro Blogger. There is always going to be a leader. So mathematically, your chances of succeeding are one in millions. And blogging cannot really be termed as passive income. To be on the top (to make real money that is) you have to spend many hours preparing the content, doing SEO, and many other things. It’s is kind of a full time job.

The fact is, passive income is not easy to generate. If it would have been that easy, every other person in the world would have had millions under their pillow. Initial few months is a very difficult as you don’t get much returns. If you are, however, very consistent and passionate about it, you will definitely reap benefits.

So, here are few ways to make passive income

1. Real Estate

   No other type of passive income can earn you as much as hot property can. For me, it is certainly a part of my plan on my way to becoming a millionaire. Dealing in real estate, however, isn’t as easy as it sounds. But I still believe it is one of the most beneficial way to earn passive income.

   Having a house to earn passive income by reselling or by renting is like a business. And banks love tangible assets. So, in case you need funds, financial institutions will be readily lending you money to own a house. But they may not lend you a dollar to start an online business.

   However, it is important to consider all possible downsides before dealing in real estate to avoid future glitches. One such problem is investment. You may get a loan, what about huge down payments? Secondly, you will have to incur lots of maintenance cost. And lastly, you will have to deal with those annoying renters.

2. Income from Investments

   You can have money coming in your bank account every month in form of interest and dividend. However, to earn a decent amount every month, you will have to buy many stocks and put huge money in your saving accounts. You also face a potential risk of losing your money in stock market, if money is not invested properly.

3. Setting up a Company

   No online company, I am talking about a real, tangible one. If you think you are good at something and can manage to earn a living (or passive income) out of it, you can start up your own company. But, you will have to think about something where you are not required. Remember, it’s passive income?

I will come up with few more  passive income ideas. Meanwhile, I would really appreciate if you could contribute your thoughts about it.

If you are an avid investor striving to get high returns on your investment, but never experienced trading in Forex market, you will be glad to know the fact that this market is a chief, non-stop, and a global financial market which spawns trillions of dollars everyday and is the most liquid market today.

Dealing in Forex market is quite distinguishing from the markets as it facilitates opportunists and tenders the option to perform on the market movement, irrespective of their location. In simple words, the traders in Forex market face no constrictions at all. Anyone can trade in the market from anywhere, at anytime.

For many years, the ease of trading in this liquid market was available only for major currency dealers, multinational conglomerates, and financial institutions like banks, trading firms, and insurance companies. Penetrating the Forex market to play with forign currencies was quite complex due to the stern guidelines. It was impossible for small sized corporations and sole trades to infiltrate the market.

Propitiously, after mid 90’s, with persistent improvement in the communication sector, small business owners and individuals were authorized to access the Forex market. Synchronized monitoring along with unlimited and uninterrupted internet access facilitated the Forex market to be more accessible. People involved in home business also participated in the trade.

Today, Forex market is gaining more impetus and recognition than any other type of market. It is being perceived to be a wealth earning market with reduced efforts and parameter. However, it significant to study and remember the risk involved while trading in this market. It has been proved that Forex can help you earn a fortune, but we cannot negate that countless people have lost their shirts.

This elucidates how important is it for a novice to learn and comprehend the functioning of Forex market before entering it. There are several websites offering Forex market tutoring without cost, hence it’s no more a challenging task. Many such sites offer a demo trading account where one can learn real-time Forex trading without the usage of real currency. Trading through such demo accounts for some weeks or months gives you a first hand knowledge about the working of Forex market.

You will need few tools before you actually start operating in Forex market. These tools would involve a Forex Trading Account, a Forex Software, limitless access to high-speed internet, and most importantly, finances to trade in the market. It is also essential to have a basic understanding of the Forex charts. These charts is vital source of information for the trades displaying buy-sell trends and changes in the currency rates, which influences the trading decisions.

There are numerous Forex charts which helps trader to arrive at a decision. However, all these charts display nothing but currency rates, the only difference being time. “Daily Forex Chart” displays the changes in the currency rate since past 24 hours aiding the speculators to anticipate the rates in the coming 24 hours. Similarly, there is an hourly chart and 15-minutes chart to access the hourly and 15-minutes information respectively. There is also, sometimes, a ‘5-minute chart’ that offers magnified view of the fluctuations taking place every minute.

This is a general overview of the Forex market’s current trends for the beginners. The most important decisive factor to enter this market must be the knowledge and exposure of risk involved. Beginners often underrate this exposure and incur huge loss.