Information is one of the keys to profit. Naturally you have to
know what money is coming in. But if you track where your money
is going, you can more easily adjust or reduce your monthly
expenditures without changing your lifestyle.
All you need are four statements to determine how you are making
and spending your money: Your credit card bill
1. A monthly bank statement
2. Your income tax report
3. Your investment statement from your broker or mutual fund
company
Your credit card can become one of your most valuable tools in
your personal financial plan. The credit card provides you with
free credit on a short-term basis, if you pay the balance in
full every month. The many cards in the marketplace make it
appealing to make as many of your purchases as possible on
plastic, to collect the various air miles, cash rebates, or
other points that are available. Just as importantly, the
monthly statement will provider you with most of the information
you need to track your monthly spending.
The next important piece of paper is your bank statement. It
will fill in the holes that the credit card statement doesn't
answer. You can examine your bank statement to see how often you
used an ATM or how much you spent with direct and preauthorized
payments. It is a good idea to establish as many pre-authorized
payments as possible including the gas bill, the phone bill, and
your mortgage. You should try to pay for all your bills using
your credit card, pre-authorized payments, and debit card
transactions and then easily track all your expenses with the
exception of some spending money.
Your Tax report will provide a summary of your taxes and
credits.
Your last vital statement comes from your investment broker or
mutual fund company. This statement will provide you with
essential information such as how much money you have made from
your investments, what and where you have invested, what your
average purchase cost is, and whether you have unrealized gains
or losses.
Keep all these records in one place where you can access them
easily. At the end of each month you will be able to determine
how much money came in and how much money went out of your bank
account, and more importantly, where it all went. It is worth
your while to spend some
About the author:
You may freely publish this article online or in print so long
as the resource box and byline are in tact.
Daniel Reed is the author of "
How to profit from your record keeping" ,
please visit his website "
http://www.funinusa.com".
