September 2016 - WiseDollar

Archive for September 2016

5 Helpful Email Hacks To Help You Be More Productive

September 28, 2016 Wise Dollar Business No comments

If you’re an entrepreneur who has spent countless hours managing e-mail accounts, there is a good chance you have become fed up with the process and are in search of some useful hacks. It’s only natural as email can be a big distraction, preventing you from making progress in your business. Once you’ve made use of an e-mail verification system such as correct.email, you’ll need to follow these to ensure that you are getting the most out of your time.

Unsubscribe From Unnecessary E-Mail Chains

If you find yourself on a number of e-mail newsletter lists and these lists are not bringing any added value to your existence but are actually causing you to waste a great deal of time, there is nothing wrong with unsubscribing. Thanks to Unroll.me, you now have the ability to remove yourself from a number of different lists, quickly and easily. The less e-mails that you have to sift through each day, the more time you have at your disposal to take care of the things that are truly important to your company’s long term future!

Follow The One Click Rule

When you open a new e-mail, you need to institute the one click rule. Once the e-mail has been opened, you have three very simple choices: you can either reply or forward the e-mail, archive it for later usage or delete it entirely. If you are closing e-mails and coming back to them at a later date, you are only creating additional stress over the long haul.

Keep Your E-Mails Brief

Another great rule of thumb to follow is the “3 sentences rule“. When you are replying to an e-mail that is of importance, it is best to keep things brief and concise. If the response you are typing is going to be any longer than three sentences, take this as a sign that you need to be picking up the phone to call the person in question and speak with them directly.

Utilize a Project Management System

This software is a great addition to your company, as it allows you to remain focused on the projects that are truly important, instead of spending all of your time on e-mails. A project management system serves to remove the clutter from your inbox and ensures that you are able to remain fully focused and on point at all times. There are lots of project management systems out there, so find the one that works well for your business model. If one doesn’t suit you, there are others out there that might.

Keep Your To Do List Separate From Your Inbox

Combining your daily to do list with your inbox may seem like a smart idea to consolidate tasks, but in reality, you are simply adding more clutter to your schedule. Find a different method for successfully managing your workflow. It could be something as a notepad that is kept at your work station or even a mobile app that will be able to create the to do list on your behalf.

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5 Benefits of Making Extra Money

September 28, 2016 Wise Dollar Side Gigs 2 comments

Okay ? so the title of this article might seem a bit silly. I mean, do you really need a list of why it is good to make extra?money? Of course it is good to make extra?money!?After all, no one ever goes to their boss to negotiate a cut in pay.

However, it is important to cover some of the key benefits to making extra?money from a financial planning standpoint. Unfortunately, many people don?t really take advantage of their increased income when they do get a raise ? wasting it on meals out and fancy clothes, instead of planning for the future.

Here are?5 specific benefits of making extra?money. As you will see, each of these points is designed to point you toward a brighter financial future.

Pay Down Debt Faster

Paying off your debt as fast as possible is one of the keys to a healthy financial life. Spending money each month on interest is a game you are never going to win, as it can be tough to keep up with your minimum payments on things like credit cards. So, when extra income does make itself available, the first thing you should do is pay down the debts you have accrued. Only when you have paid off high interest debts should you worry about other financial planning steps.

Save for Retirement

There will be a time down the line when your working years are over, and you need to be as prepared for that point in time as possible. With any extra income that you may have available, be sure to develop a retirement savings plan that you can fund each month. Consider working with a professional who can help you craft a plan which will leave you in good shape when the day does come to walk away from your job.

College Fund

Do you have kids who will be heading off to college at some point? If so, work on saving some of your additional income to help them pay for higher education. College tuition seems to get more and more expensive each year, and helping your kids avoid student loan debt will be a big boost to their future prospects.

Pay Cash

Instead of putting purchases on a credit card, which might not get paid off at the end of each month, get into the habit of paying cash as often as possible for day to day purchases. By paying cash, you will see the money come out of your account as soon as you run your card, meaning you will see the consequences of your buying habits. Once you should have enough money in the back to not need credit to buy most items, try using a debit card whenever possible.

Get Better Deals

When financing bigger purchases, such as buying a car, you should be able to get a better interest rate by making a larger down payment and having your credit in good condition. Be smart with the extra money that you are making and you will find that you can benefit even further in the long run by getting better deals.

How do you use extra money? Do you have a side hustle for making extra money?

Photo courtesy of: 401(K) 2012

3 Reasons You Should Set Up a Bill Paying Schedule

September 26, 2016 Wise Dollar Money Management No comments

The worst part about becoming an adult is having to pay your bills.

Not only do you need to pay them, but they need to be paid on time and in full or you could face penalties in the form of fees or hits to your credit score.

It?s a pain, but you pay them on time and move on.

There are several ways to monitor how you pay your bills and make sure that you do pay them. The easiest way I’ve found is to set up a bill paying schedule.

A bill paying schedule is where you schedule out your bills to not only remind you to pay them, but also to help you manage what you owe and to help you plan for?paying off debt if you have any.

Here are three reasons why it’s a good idea to set up a bill paying schedule.

To Help You Remember to Pay Your Bills On Time

As mentioned, one of the biggest benefits of a bill paying schedule is to help you get your bills paid on time. This is probably the number one reason setting a bill paying schedule is important.

It?s okay to pay bills as they come in, but if you let them sit, they can get lost?in your mail pile or end up in the junk drawer. By setting a schedule of when bills?come and when you pay them every month, you can avoid this scenario. Plus you may also be able to designate a certain?area where bills go until they are paid on your assigned bill pay schedule. This will help you to know where they are so nothing gets lost. Another way to accomplish this same idea is using a tool like Personal Capital. Personal Capital is free to use and allows you to monitor all your accounts in one place so you can easily keep track of expense.

You?Can Break the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle

By planning a schedule of when your bills are paid and which paycheck the money is coming out of, you’ll be able to manage your budget and money better. You might even be able to start saving money, even if your budget is limited.

Instead of spending too much on other things, only to find out you don’t have enough funds to pay bills, you’ll know what needs to come out of your account and when. This way you can make sure you have the funds you need to pay the bills. This system takes effort and constant diligence, especially at first, but it pays off in the long run.

You Know When Online Bills Are Paid

Online bill pay is a great way to manage your bills. Unfortunately, it?s also a great way to forget when and what comes out of your checking account. With a bill schedule, you’ll know what is coming out and can plan your expenses around that?schedule. This way there is no last minute panic of ?there?s not enough here to cover my dinner.” You’ll be smarter, and know when it?s time to pop open that can of beanie weenies instead of having a steak dinner.

Setting up a bill paying schedule?is not hard and it doesn?t take that much time. Take an evening a week or every two weeks to sit down and write those checks or pay online.

Knowing where your money is going is the key to saving, getting out of debt, and watching for fraudulent charges. Once you get in the groove of actively managing your money and bills, it?s not hard to keep it up and smartly manage your finances.

Do you have a bill paying schedule? Have you ever lost track of a bill and ended up with extra fees?

Photo courtesy of: kizzzbeth

5 Tips to Help You Afford Christmas This Year

September 26, 2016 Wise Dollar Lifestyle One comment

Now that fall has arrived, Christmas season is much closer. While this festive time of year can bring many new family memories and jolly seasonal fun, it can also be stressful due to the cost of buying gifts for your family. It?s important to pace yourself when buying gifts and to also look for ways to cut back on your other expenses. Here are several ways you can afford the magic of Christmas this year.

Adjust Your Withholding Allowances

One easy way to bring home more money in your paycheck each month is to take a closer look at your withholding allowances. Many employees declare their exemptions only when they are first hired. As your life changes, like getting married and having children, you may not have?realized that you could have adjusted your withholding. Making this simple change could potentially help you get more money in your wallet this month.

Stay at Home More Often

Next, you need to look to reduce the cost on some items. As Christmas gets closer, you may want to elect to stay home more often. Instead of going out to the movies with your family every Friday night, stay in and rent a movie. That way, you can save hundreds of dollars over the course of a few weeks. Choose to stay in and play a round of board games with your family over other costly entertainment options as well.

Walk, Bike, or Carpool to Work

The next thing to cut back on is gas. Although the end of summer season means gas prices may go down slightly, you can still make better choices when it comes to your commute to save more money this time of year. If your workplace is close, try walking to work a few days a week. If you want some exercise, it may be a great idea to bike there. For workplaces that are located far away, team up with other coworkers and set up a carpool club to save on transportation costs.

Get Help With Monthly Expenses

When you?re trying to reduce monthly costs, take a look at a variety of places where you can get some discounts or make some cuts. One option to try is to reduce your monthly insurance expenses. Most insurance companies allow their customers to bundle their products together to qualify for a discount, making car insurance in San Diego much easier to pay for.

Reduce Your Energy Usage

The last tip this time of year is to look for ways to reduce the increasing cost of energy. As it gets closer to Christmas, you may be getting worried about the higher costs of heating your home. Make some small adjustments to the way you use your thermostat, like turning it down at night, and you may be able to see a slight decrease on your monthly utility bill.

Getting ready for Christmas may take a little more out of your wallet than you feel comfortable with. If you have a large Christmas gift recipient list this year, you can handle the pressure if you take some smart steps this fall to save more money.

How to Start an Emergency Fund with a Low Income

September 21, 2016 Wise Dollar Budgeting 2 comments

Everyone knows that it is a good idea to have an emergency fund available for those costs that sometimes pop up in life.

You can?t always predict when you are going to need to spend some money, so having an emergency fund put off to the side for just such occasions is a good idea. However, it can be very difficult to build such a fund when you are only working with a relatively low income.

So, how can you build up your fund while still making ends meet each month? Here are some tips to?point you in the right?direction to start an?emergency fund.

Add It to Your Budget

The first thing you need to do is make this kind of saving a priority. If you don?t emphasize building up your emergency fund with at least one monthly deposit/transfer, you are never going to sufficiently pad your account.

As you are working on putting together a monthly budget, be sure to include at least a little bit for adding to your emergency fund. It would be great to add a significant amount, but even a small deposit can put you on the right track over the long run.

Pick Up Side Work

If you would like to quickly create an emergency fund, you could try to pick up work on the side as a separate income stream from your main form of employment.?Think of this money as “bonus” money that is going to exclusively be put into your emergency fund.

Since you should already have a budget sorted out for your month-to-month expenses based on your standard income, you can set aside the extra money you earn through your other work for the express purpose of building the emergency account. When you have your emergency account at a sufficient level, you can either quit working extra or divert that additional income toward other bills or debt.

Cut One Bill

Even adding something like $50 per month to your emergency fund is a great way to grow it over the long run, but you might not currently have room for that in your budget. You will, however, if you can cut out one bill for a similar amount.

Look through all of your monthly bills to determine whether or not you can reasonably cut out any of them. If you find a spot you can save, take the money that is no longer being spent on that former bill and use it to grow your emergency fund.

Give Up One Habit

Do you go for an expensive coffee each morning on your way to work? Do you go out to eat multiple times per week rather than cooking at home? Think about your day-to-day habits, like the latte factor, and try to cut on out (or at least cut back) in order to free up money that can be used for an emergency fund. You might be surprised to find that you wind up feeling better about saving the money than you did about indulging yourself in your habit.

How did you start an emergency fund? Can you think of other ways to find money to put in an emergency fund?

Photo courtesy of: trenttsd

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