6 Ways To Manage Your Finances As A Responsible Couple

After walking the isle and the sound of wedding bells the journey begins...

Getting married is exciting as a whole thing, but it brings many challenges. One such challenge that you and your spouse will have to face is how to handle your finances. Planning carefully and communicating clearly are important, because the financial decisions that you make now can have a lasting impact on your household.

1. DISCUSS YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS

- The first step in mapping out your financial future together is to discuss your financial goals right away. Start by making a list of your short-term goals (e.g., paying off wedding debt, new car, vacation) and long-term goals (e.g., having children, your children's college education, retirement), be realistic and accurate as possible. Then, determine which goals are most important to both of you. Once you've identified the goals that are a priority, you can focus your energy on achieving them.

2. PREPARE A BUDGET

- Next, you should prepare a budget that lists all of your income and expenses over a certain time period (e.g., monthly, annually), mandatory. You can designate one spouse to be in charge of managing the budget, or you can take turns keeping records and paying the bills. If both you and your spouse are going to be involved, make sure that you develop a record-keeping journal that both of you understand the different terminologies or legends. And remember to keep your records in a joint filing system so that both of you can easily locate important documents.

Begin by listing your sources of income (e.g., salaries and wages, interest, dividends). Then, list your expenses (it may be helpful to review several months of entries in your checkbook and credit card bills). Add them up and compare the two totals. Hopefully, you get a positive number, meaning that you spend less than you earn. If not, review your expenses and see where you can cut down on your spending, as necessary.

3. BANK ACCOUNTS--SEPARATE OR JOINT?

- At some point, you and your spouse will have to decide whether to combine your bank accounts or keep them separate. Maintaining a joint account does have advantages, such as easier record keeping and lower maintenance fees. However, it's sometimes more difficult to keep track of how much money is in a joint account when two individuals have access to it. Of course, you could avoid this problem by making sure that you tell each other every time you write a check or withdraw funds from the account. Or, you could always decide to maintain separate accounts. Talk what would be a convenient method for your household and implement a strict monitoring.

4. CREDIT CARDS

- If you're thinking about adding your name to your spouse's credit card accounts, think again. When you and your spouse have joint credit, both of you will become responsible for 100 percent of the credit card debt. In addition, if one of you has poor credit, it will negatively impact the credit rating of the other. -- not a wise move in my opinion.

If you or your spouse does not qualify for a card because of poor credit, and you are willing to give your spouse account privileges anyway, you can make your spouse an authorized user of your credit card. An authorized user is not a joint cardholder and is therefore not liable for any amounts charged to the account. Also, the account activity won't show up on the authorized user's credit record. But remember, you remain responsible for the account 100%.

5. INSURANCE

- If you and your spouse have separate health insurance coverage, you'll want to do a cost/benefit analysis of each plan to see if you should continue to keep your health coverage separate. For example, if your spouse's health plan has a higher deductible and/or co-payments or fewer benefits than those offered by your plan, he or she may want to join your health plan instead. You'll also want to compare the rate for one family plan against the cost of two single plans. Same goes with your life insurance coverage.

It's a good idea to examine your auto insurance coverage, too. If you and your spouse own separate cars, you may have different auto insurance carriers. Consider pooling your auto insurance policies with one company; many insurance companies will give you a discount if you insure more than one car with them. If one of you has a poor driving record, however, make sure that changing companies won't mean paying a higher premium.

6. EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS

If both of your participates in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you should be aware of each plan's characteristics. Review each plan together carefully and determine which plan provides the best benefits. If you can afford it, you should each participate to the maximum in your own plan. If your current cash flow is limited, you can make one plan the focus of your retirement strategy. 

Here are some helpful tips:

·         If both plans match contributions, determine which plan offers the best match and take full advantage of it

·         Compare the vesting schedules for the employer's matching contributions

·         Compare the investment options offered by each plan--the more options you have, the more likely you are to find an investment mix that suits your needs

·         Find out whether the plans offer loans--if you plan to use any of your contributions for certain expenses (e.g., your children's college education, a down payment on a house), you may want to participate in the plan that has a loan provision

Take charge of your finances and start asap.

 The information is provided by a third party and has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. While the publisher has been diligent in attempting to provide accurate information, the accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed. Laws and regulations change frequently, and are subject to differing legal interpretations.

How to help those you care about maintain their quality of life?

I was in the wake of my Uncle when I first realized the importance of protecting your loved ones in times of untimely death that was in 2001. Basically I'm in my early twenties and still innocent/ignorant when it comes to financial planning.

The decedent was 46 years old and quite healthy because he was an active member of local cyclist group,  the cause of death was car accident. It was a tragedy for his family because he was the bread winner and worst of all no insurance coverage at all even personal accident.  Now going back to our main topic the only viable solution for this sad event is to have a counter strategy to offset the incurred expenses and that is possible if you have extra funds in your bank account earning huge interest. Other way of doing this is to have a life insurance - many will argue and show discernment on this but do you have any other options? or maybe an alternative to cover all the expenses once the bread winner passed away?

Life insurance creates a way to help those you care about to maintain their quality of life in the event of untimely death and may provide retirement and other benefits.

Why Life insurance?
- A life insurance policy can provide protection based on your current situation, goals and needs.

*Permanent Life Insurance: Provides lifelong coverage while building cash value.
*Term Life Insurance:  Often costs less, but covers only a set period of time and does not build cash value.

Key Points
- Life insurance provides funds to your family or an organization after your passing.
- Term life insurance provides protection at a low cost, but doesn't build cash value.
- Permanent life insurance provides protection while serving as an investment opportunity with potential for growth and can serve as your retirement.

If you already took steps to financially protect your family, remember to periodically assess your situation. Changes in your income, financial obligation and long-term goals mean the type and amount of life insurance you need may have changed, too.

When you discuss life insurance with your financial advisor, you’ll need to review information about your financial situation. For example, you’ll likely cover your:

• Current life insurance and savings
• Current income and monthly expenses
• Other family commitments, such as college funding
• Survivor's basic needs
• Survivors' expected income vs. income needed to cover expenses for life

After assessing your coverage needs, your advisor can recommend the right life insurance policy for you.

Term insurance	Permanent insurance
Choose for a specific time period (term)	Choose for long-term protection
Provides coverage for a selected time period such as 10, 15 or 20 years Your beneficiaries collect the proceeds of the policy if you pass away during the selected years A term policy does not build cash value	Provides coverage until death, as long as premiums are paid on time A permanent policy may build cash value You can borrow from the cash value income tax-free to meet other financial needs 

I will add a financial calculator soon so don't forget to subscribe in my blog.

How to Create Unlimited Eye Popping Graphics?

Nowadays it really stands out if you have a quality logo for your business simple yet eye catching but this will also cost you hundred of dollars or even a thousands.

Worry no more and thanks to Marc Sylvester the man behind this awesome software "The Logo Creator". This tool is a must for wanna-be graphic designers and as well to those who wish to start their venture into graphics designing.

The Logo Creator is more than just a logo design software - you can create so many cool graphics. Check out this few templates...

The Logo Creator is the ultimate software for creating powerful logos, blog images, podcast covers, eBook images, Facebook timeline images and SO much more! No Photoshop, Nothing to Draw. 

The Next Evolution in Content Creation has finally arrived!

One of the common obstacles that many internet marketers and bloggers especially the newbies (new ones) face is having a good quality content and indeed you need lot's of  it to draw traffic to your website.

The new generation bloggers will no longer encounter the same worries as before because the next evolution in content creation has finally arrived. Yes that's true if you will have this product you will definitely gain confidence and much more you will increase the profit.

Introducing Rapid Content Wizard - unlimited ranking & traffic with the Power of Content Fusion.

Rapid Content Wizard is a software that helps you:

-- build unlimted content saving you lots of time and money
-- gets you unlimited ranking and traffic
-- get high quality results

and much much more...

Rapid Content Wizard was created by Alan Brown, but is being marketed by Sean Donahue who has also released some incredible software.

Pls. check this video for review and some demo.

Ciao!

Points2Shop

After a hectic week finally I have the time to add some content to my blog. As promised I will honor my avid readers (if there's any hahaha ) by providing them sites that will benefit them in any way.

I wish to introduce points2shop to be first on the list. A site where you find offers, surveys and tasks in exchange for points. All points earned can be redeem for any special showcase or prizes.

Here's some more information:

Earn points or cash then spend them!

The advertisers on Points2Shop reward you for taking the time to view their ads, sign up for newsletters, take quizzes, and participate in surveys. You're paid from the advertising budget of the company sponsoring each offer. The rewards are easy to earn and yours to keep! Extra earnings are available by winning games and contests, as well as by bringing new users to Points2Shop with your referral link.

When you earn cash, it can be paid out to a cheque or free payment account such as PayPal and AlertPay. Points can be spent in our reward gallery, where you can find any prize available from the Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.ca marketplaces. Amazon prizes are available for residents of the United States, UK, and Canada. Read more about Ordering your prize.

How to earn cash and prizes

It's easy to use your free time to earn cash and prizes. While you certainly won't get rich quick or instantly win prizes, if you put in a bit of effort you can earn whatever you want!

Offers

Get paid to learn about new products, share information about yourself, or sign up for online services. While most offers are free, you will also find cash back shopping and paid/trial offers - a great way to get a deal on your online purchases!

Referrals

Getting people to sign up through your referral link takes some work and determination but once you get good at spreading the word about Points2Shop, your referrals will really pay off! You can earn $1 for each plus a 15% bonus for any offers they complete.

Referring new users

Games

Compete in paid games where your practice and skill can earn up to 150 points per game! All games are available for free play as well, so be sure to practice before playing to avoid losing too many hard-earned points.

Playing games

Weekly Lottery

The lottery is a game of chance with no guaranteed winner. However, with a jackpot that grows by $10 every week the winner can win well over $100! Lottery tickets are free and everyone has the same chance to win.

The Points2Shop lottery

Monthly Contests

Points2Shop holds various contests with cash prizes up to $15. Anyone can claim a place in the monthly contests by getting a lot of new referrals or earning a lot from offers.

Individual contests

Real People, Real Reviews

It's been a while since I last updated my blog but don't worry I have another information worth sharing to all of you. By the way, I've been inactive for quite few days because my wife gave birth last April 26, 2013 at around 11:58pm to our wonderful daughter and I will make a separate post on that.

Going back to our main topic as promised I will give you load of information on how to choose or start a home based business so in addition I want you to check this company called IMRC or simply internet marketing report card.

It gives updated, efficient and better insights or reviews on different internet marketing businesses in global scale.

I believe this will help you greatly before jumping yourself into mud.

Network Marketing for Idiots

First and Foremost Network Marketing is a legit business model (source: Better Business Bureau) and a successful industry. As a matter of fact we all do networking in our daily lives these we haven't realized. The reputation of the industry was stained due to some unscrupulous companies and greedy individuals who took advantage of the said opportunity. I agree that many were victimized and suffered greatly but many lives were changed as well because they attained financial security.

NM or MLM is not that bad after all it's like you are choosing a company to work for - there's good and bad companies out there right and that's the truth. We can't generalize all things...like I will say that all men are born polygamous of course there will be gentlemen here that will contradict to that statement - it's the same logic.

For those who are already into NM be humble with your words and responsible in every aspect, after all the essence of NM is to help others - help the industry. Also for those who plan to join any NM companies do your part first investigate the management capacity, the product if it's unique - it should be! if not better not join that company will not last for 5 years and the compensation plan should reward the members by moving the product not focus on referrals only. For those who are negative and ever skeptical I can't blame all of you because we all have different experiences, upbringings and mentality - Most of our parents instill to us the employee mind setting - the traditional way and we can't either blame them since there's no opportunity yet like NM during that time.

All their lives they run the "Marathon of Life" which they worked for 40 years and they pass along that mentality to their offspring. It's still happening nowadays worked for 40 years and some die broke.

Before I put a closure to this long post of mine I want to end this with a question.

So are you in or out?

Success is always a matter of choice!

To be or not to be in Network Marketing

There are basic ways to determine if you will be in the right company.

1. PEOPLE / MANAGEMENT: first and foremost you need to know the person behind the company because their track records will speak for itself. These people will be your gauge if the company will last more than five years or not. They must be active within the company and always keep in touch with the members or better if they can visit your area / place. Since we don't have an institution who regulate the Network Marketing industry, DSAP (DSAP | Direct Selling Association of the Philippines - DSAP | Direct Selling of the Philippines) is the one monitoring the activities of such companies but to me Direct Selling is totally different from Network Marketing so it wil lbe ok if the company is not a member of DSAP so long it has Code of Ethics and do pays out.

2. PRODUCT: again the product should be "UNIQUE" because this will be the driving factor to increase your sales and membership. It should also be a business trend or trending for example during GOLD RUSH who became rich that time? gold diggers or those fellow who sell the tools? Another key factor on these one would be the baby boomers (A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964) they are the industry movers. They dictate what would be the next trend but right now since most baby movers are in their 50's - 60's if you noticed the latest fad are health products from supplements to yoga and etc, It's all on health industry. With the help of internet we can now tap larger market share GLOBAL business potential but some NM companies are still doing the traditional way of Sales and Marketing.

3. PAYPLAN: now this aspect is quite tricky for some because different companies are using different compensation packages which could be label as Unilevel, Binary, Powerline, Force Matrices, Spillover and etc. You will basically know how many ways you can earn and how you can maximize your profit as well. There must be no "FLUSH OUT" meaning that company will not limit their monthly or yearly pay out or the company cannot take away your earning for the certain period. Payplan should be balance between the members and the company there must be a safety net for longevity and survival.

4. SUPPORT: the conviction and sincerity of the company can be seen here. After joining what kind of support does a new member will get? - that's must be the common question. Trainings, Marketing Materials, Perks, Money back guarantee and etc will fall under this category and not only that team participation is also beneficial for new members. The company must be all out supportive from management down to NM leaders.

5. YOU: the most important aspect will be yourself. You must do your due diligence before indulgence. The decision is now yours to take and your action will determine the end result.

Here's a simple presentation about the industry: The Truth About Network Marketing? Is MLM a Pyramid Scheme?

To our mutual success!

Cheers!

Finding a Home-based Business

Nowadays most people are looking for ways to save as much as they can - from being a car owner to being a daily commuter will give them advantage on fuel consumption. It's actually depends on individual preferences how to handle cost cutting in their certain households. Thus many dreamed to have a better access to their office which is right in their backyard or in any part of the house. The advancement of technology such as the internet fulfill their dreams - this is where the new era came to exist.

The birth of home-based business came unexpectedly with many corporations in the US and globally have been affected by this sudden shift in business arena. Also the industry really helped a lot of global netizens attained their dreamed lifestyles - meaning more quality time with the family. It has its pros and cons but that's the normal cycle of every industries. It's always a matter of survival and frankly the business trend will be on the internet. 

We are crossing a technology threshold that will forever change the way we learn, work, socialize and shop. It will affect all of us, and business of every type, in ways far more pervasive than most people realize.

 ~Bill Gates, Comdex 1994

If you are the type of person who is open for change then this will greatly benefit you in many ways but how about those people who have less expertise what will happen to them? forever be a slave of corporate tyranny? Not a good choice at all.

Do not worry at all this article is intended to help you decide what's gonna be suitable for you or what home-based business program will be best for you. All you need to do is to get out of your comfort zone and need to take an action.

I've found a site where you will have access to different home-based business companies, reviews, news and more. This will somehow help you decide in a way and also will open a new opportunity if you are still aiming for a corporate ladder of success which there was only few who made it at the top.

Anyway if you are ready to take a new leap click here and I'm wishing you all the best that life may offer.

P.S. I've been involved in the industry for more than 5 years now and I can say there's really a big difference when it comes to time and money but you must have a right mindset to make it all workout. If you are curious what companies I work with you can always contact me and I'm happy to share it with you all. I made this article to be fair and not bias at all.

Note: This is the longest running and most comprehensive resource and index of home based business opportunities on the Internet. For over 10 years, the company has been providing information and resources on home-based business opportunities, products, and the executives behind each company.

Blog Updates

After 5 hours of sound sleep had my late lunch and after that back to business. Also I decided to add a "Disclaimer" section to make sure that everything will be in order and the legal aspect is not likely taken for granted because as you know people nowadays can easily sue you for nonsense stuff.

What to expect for the coming days? I will be delivering my first ever content on this site later tonight...hopefully because as of the time of writing my wife is already 1 cm. and yes she's by the way  pregnant for our second live (crossing my fingers) child - a baby girl because our supposed 2nd child departed unexpectedly during her last pregnancy. It's tragic but somehow at peace and confident that the baby was now in good hands. Oh by the way the name of our first blessing is Mateo Ishmiel, he's turning 3 years old this coming June 2013 and he's really adorable. We love him so much!

Anyway going back to our main topic as you know I'm not really sure WHERE and HOW to begin all this. It's kind of awkward but don't worry I'll share something interesting and informative.

With your support and compassion I can do this!

Blog site progress

Finally the "About" section is now fixed but perhaps will add some more if I can find time one of these days. Also the "Contact Us" is up and operational.

I'm aware that there's still some more that needs to be done but I'm already eager and as well excited to keep this site updated with information that can serve my reader at their best interest.

Well until then guys time for me to sign off.

Have a merry Monday!

The Author

Raised from a humble household with 2 female siblings and graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science major in Computer Science.  

An sme entrepreneur, licensed wealth creation specialist, financial consultant, graphic designer, professor, mentor, volunteer, professional gamer and on top of it all a friend.

Currently managing Bricksand Media Solutions an internet-focused company. Using proprietary and state-of-the-art softwares.

Vision Statement:

"I want to be remembered as a good servant of the Almighty."

Mission Statement:

"I came for what I am and will disappear with a legacy worth sharing to all."

The Site

Basically this will serve as my special journal covering different aspects about finances or simply called money.

Programs will comprise of the following:

- Online Businesses

- Home-based Businesses

- e-Training and e-Courses

- Real Estate

Products will tap the following:

- Video Email and related online communication suite

- Online Broadcast Softwares

- Hosting and Websites

- Local Consumer Products

Yields will obviously deliver the following:

- Mutual Funds

- Insurance Products

- Stocks

- Annuitiy

- Brokerage

- Banking

- Interest Rates

"The path to success is best when shared."

Blog Major Change

Sorry for the inconvenience this site will have on-going improvements and will be available soon.