Home finances can be a daunting subject for most couples (even singles). The logistics of creating a budget while making sure that each bill is paid on time, and at the same, ensuring that you and your family don’t go hungry is enough to make your head spin. A lot of us who manage the finances of our family are trained handle this type of responsibilities. However, it doesn’t mean we are unable to create a budget that will ensure that we meet all of our obligations, at the same time, allowing extra money for fun. It all boils down to organization. If paying your mortgage is part of the picture, then using a mortgage interest calculator can be of great help.

Here are a few tips to help you organise your finances at home:

1. Make a list

This list should include all your monthly bills and the days they are due. Also include a reasonable monthly budget for food and grocery items. You also have to set aside an amount to pay your utilities and other expenses. Add the total amount of your expenses and less this to your monthly income. This will give you an idea how much extra money you have that you can save or use to buy some of the things you or your family need. This budget planner is probably the best example I have used to date. It really is excellent.

2. Set up a savings system
   

Saving is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your family. At bare minimum you should have a savings account for emergencies and one for extras. Emergencies include things like a broken water pipe or anyone in the family getting sick. Extras are for buying a gift for your mother’s birthday. You can have these savings build up either in separate bank accounts or in a safe place in your home. It is wiser to keep your emergency account at a bank for safekeeping.

3. Make a plan for paying off debts

Most people have several credit cards, car loans, mortgages, and other types of debt. The best thing you can do for yourself is to get rid of it! Start with the smallest debt and pay it off. Once you do that, you can then focus on the bigger and longer term debts like your car loan or mortgage payments. In case you come up with a substantial amount, try to pay off the bigger debts. If you have good credit, check out a balance transfer deal as these can save you a lot of money. They’re relatively easy to set up when you apply for a credit card online. Use the money saved to repay debt and keep this up until you are debt free!

4. Never take out a payday loan

A payday loan may seem like a good idea because you get cash quickly; however, it also comes with high interest rates. Paying a loan with high interest rates will only put you in a deeper hole than you started in. When emergency crops up, and you don’t have the savings to cover it, instead of going for these types of high interest rate loans, consider selling some things or swallowing your pride and call your mum for financial assistance.

5. Know how you will pay each bill before you get it

Since you have made a list of the bills to pay, you already know when they are due and how much they will be for (with a few exceptions). It’s time to decide where the money is coming from. If you are paid monthly, this is easy. If not, then you will need to decide which week you will pay which bills. Make sure to get them paid a few days early, so you are never worried about late fees.

6. Budget your leftover money

After you have figured out how much you need for bills, groceries, transportation, and savings, you can start looking at your “extra” money. If you like to take vacations, then you will need to set aside some to save for that. Other than that, you might want to budget a certain amount of weekly fun money for each family member.

7. Files

A good way to keep track of all of your bills, receipts, and payments is to keep a file folder. Have a separate folder for each bill and bank account. To keep them organized, keep all the relevant information in the file. For example: electric bill for January – keep a copy of the bill, a copy of the check you paid, and the receipt of payment. If necessary, keep any other correspondence about the bill in that file as well. Shoeboxed is about as good as it gets for this.

8. Balance your account daily

Save all the receipts you get in a given day in your wallet. At the end of your day take five minutes to get them out and write them down or check them against your online account statement. This has the added benefit of making you consider what you buy because balancing the books isn’t exactly fun.

9. Cut corners where you can

Groceries don’t have to be your most expensive bill. Most local brands taste about the same as the branded ones. Also, you don’t have to cook a gourmet meal every night. Most kids and men like Mac ‘n cheese just fine. Also if money is tight, you don’t have to go to the salon to get your nails done. Make a one-time manicure kit purchase and do your own. Learn to paint your own house. Seriously, your budget will thank you.

10. Relax

Money does not have to be a constant source of aggravation and worry. Once you have a system set up, then you can just run through the system each month without a lot of thought.

Managing your finances need not be an overwhelming task. There are many resources, methods and tools like the mortgage insurance calculator that help in manage your home finances. You can do it!

If you can learn how to save money, then you will know how to spend wisely. It is an art of knowing on what you need to spend necessarily and not on what you want. Many a times, we spend a lot of money on different things that are not practical and are bought on impulse. There are some practical tips that will help you to avoid such unnecessary spending.

        1. Going for second hand items – There are some items like furniture or curtains that can always be bought second hand. As long as your personal hygiene is not in question, you can always go for used items. It will save you a lot of money.

      2. Stop doing unnecessary expenses – Many people like eating out in fancy restaurants or going to their favorite coffee shop. You can save a lot of money if you can skip going to these places. This will also enhance your culinary skills that you never thought you had.

       3. Stop going to places where you feel tempted to spend – Many people like going to the malls and see all kinds of fancy items that will tempt you to spend. Before you can realize anything, you might have purchased many items that were not at all necessary because the saleslady sounded so convincing. If you want to save money, then you need to stop going to such places where you feel tempted to spend.

      4. Finding out ways for practical entertainment – Many people like watching movies or listening to their favorite song, but that does not mean that you have to spend every time on the matinee shows or go to see a concert only to see the artist singing your favorite song. Many movie studios do free advanced screening to promote their film. You can also try to get free tickets for night shows and watch your favorite movie. And if you want to hear your favorite song, go online and download it free of cost.

It is not at all tough to find ways of saving money. Instead of going to the store, you can try online shopping where you get good discounts and other items at a cheaper price. When you are able to buy things online, it means that you don’t have to drive and burn fuel. If you are a student or you go to work every day, then you can talk with your colleagues and arrange a carpool. This is another good way of saving money in gas and parking fees.

There are many other ways of saving money in your everyday life. No matter, how much you save, always remember that a penny saved is a penny earned.

Many people have talked about many types of income oriented funds and in many cases, they do not have a bright future ahead, there are some income based mutual funds that are even better than lower risk equity funds. Though some people have written about the risks in income investments like bonds and other high yield investments, it definitely makes sense if you want to own these high income funds.

There are many people who have no choice but to own high income funds, yielding high interest rate, and threatening the recent, strong performance, that a lot of these funds enjoyed. Not all the high income funds are bad. There are many that will perform better for a lot of investors. You just have to find the right one according to your portfolio.

There are some considerations that all investors should keep in mind while investing in High income funds.

Good yield: Even with an above average yield, investors who have invested their money in income funds will continue to earn considerable income. They are not very much affected even if the market value of their income investment drops. It also means investing in higher yielding corporate issues that involves a little bit of risk because corporate issues will not drop as much while rates increase overall. The risk premium that has previously been priced into a lot of these types of investments will diminish. This means that the rates of high yield corporate bonds will rise less than they will for government issues which can and will rise considerably. Hence corporate bonds will have fewer risks than government bonds.

Good track record: There are many investors who either lack the resources or funds to create their own bond portfolios. Hence they want to invest their money in mutual funds mainly comprising of bonds. Hence the investment process becomes a lot easier because finding historical, risk-adjusted performance records are simple. An income fund having a strong track record and solid returns will be good for a safer income based investment.

Positive inflows and/or high capitalization: Funds having a steady stream of inflows or those with a large capital base will have greater liquidity. This is possible with any type of investment because it allows investors to draw on them. And when the investment is funded properly, the risk of having the fund closed is reduced considerably.

While investing in high income funds, it involves some risks, the income asset class is a must for all investment portfolios. Excel Funds Management Inc may guide you to take the right decision. If you choose the right one, it will make a big difference and the investors will get a lot of success and satisfaction.

Naturally, if you are shopping for a home loan, you will want to find a good mortgage broker, but there are a variety of services that mortgage brokers in Saskatoon can provide you.

• Consolidate your debts

 One overlooked service is debt consolidation. Loans are available to pay off all of your debts, leaving you with a single payment each month. Debt becomes manageable, and only one payment needs to be paid. In addition, the payment will be less than the total of your monthly payments you are currently making for your credit cards and other miscellaneous loans.

• Refinancing

If you have equity in your home, you may want to refinance your mortgage. This can result in lower monthly payments as well as cashing out some of the equity, so you can use it for whatever you desire. Another purpose of refinancing is to convert your current adjustable rate mortgage into a fixed rate mortgage. If you believe interest rates will be higher in the future, this is a smart move for your personal finances. A mortgage company can advise you about whether this type of refinancing is right for you.

• Builder finance loans

A good mortgage company is diverse and will offer lending services to construction companies. These services will extend to projects that are in process to allow you the cash advance you need for your company. In addition, you will not be chard front end or back end fees for these loans.

There are several examples of mortgage Saskatoon brokers that have the services outlined above. One example of this is the Sky Financial Corporation.