How to Fix Your Finances in Just 1 Hour

Here is 10 way to fix your finances in just 1 hour :

In Your Lunch Hour :

1. Save Time With The Internet.
Don’t waste time queuning at the bank. While chomping on your sandwich at your desk, you can still sort out your finances, as long as you have secure access to the internet. Use your lunch hour to pay bills, transfer funds to a savings account, update your account details, check your latest credit card statements or redeem rewards from your credit card. All you need are your account details and pin numbers. But don’t save login details on your office computer, and be sure to log off your banking site properly after you’re done.

2. Make Your Savings Work Harder.
Research shows a woman is more likely to get divorced than change her bank. Most banks offer similar service and interest rates, but there are subtle differences between various accounts. For instance, you may have surplus cash in an ordinary account which pays very little interest, as compared to interest paid in specialist accounts or a time deposit. Use your lunch time to do comparative “shopping” by checking out the different types of accounts.

3. Call Personnel.
Contact your HR department to check if you are taking full advantage of all the benefits your company offers, such as private medical insurance or life assurance. Some companies offer death assurance as a multiplier of your salary, so you might not need to take out a separate policy. In other cases, you might want to top up the company policy.

In The Evening :

4. Built Up Your Finance know – how.
After the kids have gone to bed, spend 30 minutes reading the financial pages of The Business Times, or log onto internet sites like Yahoo finance to update yourself on upcoming and current money news.
You can read research reports, find out which sectors or countries you should invest in (or avoid) as well as buy or sell shares or unit trusts.
You can also use the internet to brush up your knowledge on financial planning or use the many available online calculators to calculate car, housing and personal loans. Most banks offer such user – friendly tools.

5. Hold A Boardroom Meeting.
In virtually every study around the world, money ranks as the first or second most argued about topic, along with children’s education. But as many experts point out, “coupledom” can be the key to financial success: You can achieve far more as a united team than by working alone.
Swap a bedroom meeting for a boardroom meeting on a regular basis to discuss budgeting, financial goals and priorities. You need to ask not only what each partner wants – but also why. That helps both of you negotiate and agree on financial plans.
Peaceful co-existence is possible if couples agree on three things: To live within their means, to take care of the future, and to still be willing to have some fun with their money.

Over The Weekend :

6. Attend A Roadshow.
What with most banks now organising roadshows in shopping malls during the weekend, it’s easy for you to get a free financial consultation or buy investment products. You can also attend investment and money management seminars, often for a very modest sum. Check the pages of local magazines and newspapers to stay abreast of these events.

7. Consult A Financial Adviser.
Pick a no – rush day like Saturday to discuss finances and seek professional help from your banker. Go armed with your bank statements and details of your bank accounts, loans and insurance policies, so you have an understanding of your finances. A good adviser will use a “fact – finding” questionnaire to get a picture of your finances, and establish your attitude towards risk as well as your investment goals.

8. Review Your Insurance Policies.
As your life changes, so do your insurance needs. If you have young children, you need to ensure they are protected if something happens to you or your husband, be it through your life assurance policy or an education plan. Three guiding principles for buying life insurance: Insure against important risk; compare prices; and purchase broad coverage (insure against all serious disease instead of just one).

Once you’ve found an insurance policy, be it for your home or for your car, don’t automatically renew it every year. Check regularly what’s on offer to get a better deal.

Over A Month :

9. Plan Your Budget.
You’ve found the best bank account and discussed your financial situation with a financial adviser. Now prepare a comprehensive budget by taking careful note of how much you save, what you spend on your loans and credit card repayments and insurance premiums.
You can do this in a spreadsheet to understand your debts and cash flow. It gives you a better understanding of your monthly expenditure and if you are spending within your means. You may be surprised to spot unnecessary expenses and find that you can save more by cutting them out.

10. Start A Regular Savings Plan.
To save regularly without having to even think about it, setting up an automatic debit arrangement with your bank. This means the bank automatically transfers a set sum from your account every month after pay day. The money is sent directly to your chosen savings plan or an index fund, which is benchmarked against an index like the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index.

Index funds generally aim for medium to long term capital appreciation. The benefit of such a fund is the low cost of investment. It eliminates the risk associated with selecting the right fund and fund manager.