Foundations of Finance

• Don’t put off getting started. Even if you pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich once a week and save the $10 you would have spent on lunch that day, you will be saving $40 a month or $480 a year. (That should cover a trip to the dentist.)
  

  Unexpected expenses can be taken care of with an emergency savings fund.

• Trim nonessentials from your budget. Stop paying for premium cable, daily mocha lattes and brand name food and clothing and you could save as much as $1,600 in one year.

• Consider getting a part-time job. Even if it is three to four hours a week at night or on the weekend, the extra income could go a long way to creating that cushion you need.

• Give the $5 bill saving plan a try. For those folks who use cash regularly, this plan involves keeping any $5 bills that you receive throughout the day and week and placing them into savings rather than spending them. A conservative estimate of savings using this plan would be $20 a week or more than $1,000 a year.

• Save half of all ‘extra’ money. When you receive a raise in pay, place half of your new earnings into savings.Have the money deducted automatically from your payroll and placed into your savings account, and you will never miss it. Likewise, save half of any tax refunds or an inheritance.

• Continue to make your car or other loan payment after you have paid off the balance due.Put the money into savings each month just as if you are continuing to pay the note. It takes discipline to accomplish this, but I assure you, if you don’t put the money in savings, it will get spent. To convince yourself to stick to your savings plan, think how nice it will be when the car needs service and you have the funds to pay for it with no additional interest charges tacked on to the total.
  

  After the work is done, reward yourself!

• Include saving for something fun once you reach your goal. After you reach your emergency savings goal of three to six months of living expenses, you will have developed the habit of saving. Continue to save, only this time for something fun. The dream vacation to Disneyland you never could afford, a European vacation … you get the idea.

TRICK #7: Save regularly for recurring expenses, too.

This is a trick that can help you break the habit of relying on  credit cards or raiding your savings account whenever a big annual or semi-annual expense comes up. Set up several high-yield savings accounts with one online bank and arrange for automatic deposits into those accounts on a regular basis.

If you automatically save a little money on a regular basis, it doesn’t take much to build up a good stash for when your big expenses come due. For example, if you arrange for a mere $25 a month to transfer from your checking account into your holiday gift fund each month, that’s much easier to manage than coming up with $300 all at once come December.

TRICK #8: Set long-term goals with a buddy.

One of our biggest enemies when it comes to making financial decisions is our short-term memory. We get impatient when our investment balances don’t grow as quickly as we’d like, or our friends seem to be having more financial success than we are. Or we just get tired of scrimping and saving and get the overwhelming urge for a splurge.

Getting a buddy for setting goals makes you responsible financially to more than yourself.

Keep your long-term goals in focus. Define your goals early on — such as saving for a down payment, starting a retirement fund or taking an annual vacation. Then set up plans to reach them and be sure to discuss your progress regularly. Having that accountability with someone (a spouse, best friend, family member, etc.) helps motivate you to stay on track.

TRICK #9: Ignore your annual raise or year-end bonus.

Expecting a raise this year? Pretend you’re not. By keeping your standard of living the same and not increasing your spending with each bump in pay, you can pocket the extra money and use it to reach your goals. The same goes for that year-end bonus or tax refund.

It only takes a few extra bucks to start your emergency savings, begin investing or pay extra toward your credit card debt. You could even use the money for something fun. Start stashing it in a vacation savings fund so you can afford to have a real travel adventure next year instead of the old crash-on-Mom’s-couch getaway.

TRICK #10: Give yourself a raise.

Not getting a raise this year? Take matters into your own hands. You could get hundreds of dollars added to your take-home pay each year simply by telling Uncle Sam not to take so many taxes out. Most of us give the government too much upfront — that’s why we get tax refunds in the spring.

Take back your money and use it throughout the year instead to help you make ends meet, boost your emergency savings or start investing for your future. All you need to do is file a new W-4 form with your employer to adjust your “withholding.”

Trading options is a form of investing that can yield high returns but also is risky.  Options are very versatile, which can make them a great investment choice for some.  With options you can protect a position from a decline or even take a position on the movement of an index.

With this opportunity, comes risk.  Knowing when to buy and sell is complicated and a mistake can lead to significant losses.  For this reason Optioneer Trading has devised a system to help you know when to enter or exit the market. While no investment strategy can completely protect investors from the risk of loss, Optioneer’s risk management methodology helps disciplined investors mitigate losses.

Trading options is risky, and it is worth your time to be tutored by Optioneer.  Another great aspect of the Optioneer system is that it can take as little as a few minutes a day.

If you follow the guidelines set by Optioneer Trading you may see good returns. You can see some examples of people who have had success with this system online.

you can also look at:
Financial Accuracy

Disclaimer: “There is a risk of loss in trading futures & options. Following the Optioneer methodology is no guaranty that you will make money or avoid losses.”