Personal finance for the financially clueless

Personal finance for the financially cluelessPersonal finance for the financially cluelessIts Tax Day today which means theres a good chance that pretty soon you might have a couple of bucks coming your way in tax refunds. Then again, maybe not.Not everyone is raised to be financially savvy, but that doesnt mean youre forever doomed to make poor financial decisions (its okay to groan at my bad pun).If youve vowed to be smarter about both your spending and saving, have a look at some of ansicht tips from personal finance experts who will inspire you to unleash your own inner Suze OrmanMake savings a gameWhen planning dates with a spouse or significant other, challenge them to plan a fun date night on a shoe-string budget advises Neil St. Clair, investment and financial expert and President COO of Karma Network. Realize that shoe-string also means different things to different people. St. Clair and his wife challenge one another to plan Saturday nights out in NYC for under $100. He sa id that they looked at how much they typically spent, and then put the difference aside in a saving account. They do this several times a year, and he says others will be surprised at how quickly it can compound. Great advice, but if youre mora of a small-town person, you might be able to spend even less and save more.Join a credit union One of the easiest ways to save money is to consider joining a credit union offers Terry ORourke, President/CEO at United Federal Credit Union. ORourke says A lot of times, we can offer incentives and competitive rates that big banks cant touch. Also, credit unions are not-for-profit, so you will also see reduced fees and charges relative to the traditional banks. Since credit unions charge fees to cover expenses only, you might see a big difference on fees and when applying for a loan or mortgage. ORourke Even if youre not just starting out, we know that the average person spends more than $300 in fees every year. The easiest way to save is to elim inate these useless costs. Also, try to find a credit union with great interest rates. Too many people discount fees and interest as secondary concerns, ORourke said. In reality you can easily save yourself hundreds every month by making sure youre being smart about how youre spending (or not spending) money.Set micro savings goalsThis one speaks loudly to me, since I love the idea of being able to save in small increments. St. Clair said, If youre a coffee addict like me, that $6/day habit adds up to big bucks every 30 daysmore than $100/month in some cases. He doesnt want to deprive you of your caffeine though Substitute a smaller size or lower cost option. Set a savings goal of $1/cup. That could be a $20/month saving or more than $200/yearUse tech to amplify savings St. Clair says Sites like Acorn or Mint can help you organize your finances and even invest your spare change. Tech can be used to get a good, clear understanding of your holistic financial picture, and can often be used to provide recommendations on how best to reduce your costs. It will also keep you honest a computer doesnt lie to itself if you missed your goal. If youve been putting off keeping track of what you spend or save, nows your moment.Treat your personal finances like a geschftsleben St. Clair advises running an analysis of your bank and credit card statements and categorizing just like a business would. Set a goal of reducing expenses across any discretionary categories (e.g. restaurant dining) by an achievable figure month-over-month say 5%. Then take that 5% and put it aside in a rainy day savings account. This wont hurt too much and might be the start of your rainy-day/emergency fund.Cut the cord on cable or satellite TV services Your average cable or satellite bill can top $100/month. But really how many of those channels are you watching? Go with a service like Roku or Sling and you can save a significant amount of money month over month.If youre looking for some basic spen ding better rules to live by, Graham Summers, MBA is President and Chief Market Strategist of Phoenix Capital Research shared theseYour rent/mortgage payment should be 33% of your paycheck or less. Find a place that fits that metric. Otherwise, youre living beyond your means.Discretionary spending/buying fun items should be less than 10% of your paycheck. Anything more and youre spending too much.You should be maxing out your 401(k). Put as much into it as possible. At the very least, you should be socking away as much as your employer is willing to match.You should be saving at LEAST 10% of your salary per year.Only eat out at a restaurant/bar three times per week. Do not let yourself break this rule.