1. Figure out your goals.
When you first start thinking about this, it seems nebulous. It’s often hard to tangibly state what your goals are, especially if you’re young and single. However, you often find that they day you get married, it feels like a flood of goals hit you at once - buying a house, having a child, and so on.

Here’s what to do to get started. Take out a sheet of paper and list every financial goal you have in your life right now. What are you saving for? What would you like to be saving for? Things that might wind up on this list are retirement, your children’s education, a house down payment, complete debt freedom, a car, “walk away from your job” money, money to start a business, and so on. Some of those will be important to you, some won’t, and you may have some that aren’t even listed there. (more…)

Cook at home often: If both the husband and wife work, this is likely to be very difficult. Start out with the habit of cooking at home once a week and slowly increase the frequency until you find a balance between saving money and getting stressed out.

Make your own coffee: Everyone seems to have heard of the latte factor. Even though the author may have overestimated the savings from skipping a latte at Starbucks, don’t underestimate the ding it puts in your pocket in the long run. You don’t have to entirely ban drinking coffee, but skip it as often as possible unless you make it at home.

Brown bag lunch at least a few days a week: Lunch times are great opportunities to network and make connections that could improve your career growth. So unless there is a common eating area for brown baggers, you may choose to limit brown bagging lunch to three days each week. Find a balance between saving some money and making the connection. In my case, I take my lunch with me 2-3 times a week and eat out the rest of the time. (more…)

1. Start Saving Money Now, and Continue to Save Money Forever. One of my major problems before I discovered the world of personal finance is that I would pay everyone, but I would never pay myself. I had no problem sending the cable, car insurance and energy bills each month, but I always forgot to pay myself, i.e. save. Now I’ve opened a high-interest savings account, and plan on saving even more as my income continues to grow.

2. Stop and Think About Prospective Purchases for at Least 30 Seconds. I’m an impulse buyer, I always have been. This might be the “typical male shopper” shining through, but when I see something I want, I typically convince myself that I can afford to purchase it. This is especially easy when buying gifts for those I love. I’ve taken to thinking about purchases before I make them in the stores, or if online, I like to leave the website I am about to buy from and do some research to confirm the utility of the product or search for a better deal. (more…)

This page provides a list of items that can cause (or contribute to) liability under the alternative minimum tax. The list isn’t complete — there are other items that can contribute to AMT liability. Based on our experience, the items described below are likely to affect more people than other items.

1. Exemptions
   Believe it or not, exemptions contribute to AMT liability. The exemptions you claim for yourself, your spouse and your dependents are not allowed when calculating alternative minimum tax. It’s pretty rare (though not impossible) to see a tax return where someone had to pay AMT solely because of their exemptions, but the more exemptions you claim, the more likely it is that you’ll have AMT liability when all is said and done. (more…)

1. Pay off your debts.
Clean up your finances before you invest. You are guaranteed to save money on interest when you pay off your bad debt — i.e., using the 7 steps debt elimination plan. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that your investment will make money; especially when you are new at it.
2. Do your homework.
Do not trade until you understand the market and what it has to offer. Learn about investing and the different kinds of investment before you jump in.
3. Know yourself.
Understand your risk tolerance and formulate your investment strategy based on your risk profile, goals, and time horizon.
4. Have a solid strategy.
Did you do 1, 2, and 3 above? Always remain true to your plan and follow the style that works best for you.

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One of my all-time favorite blogs is GetRichSlowly. More than just a simple blog, GetRichSlowly is a comprehensive and full-fledged resource for learning about and managing personal finances. Today they have a great post on getting 2008 off on the right financial foot:

Develop a budget
After you’ve tracked your spending for a few weeks (or months), use the data you’ve collected to develop a budget. According to The Millionaire Next Door, budgeting is one thing that sets the wealthy apart from the rest of us — 55% of millionaires keep a budget. (…)

Start an emergency fund
For years I lived paycheck-to-paycheck. I spent everything I earned. This worked well until something went wrong. And something always went wrong. Suddenly I’d find myself without money to pay for a car repair, or facing an expensive doctor’s bill. I financed emergencies with credit cards. After years of carrying debt, I finally paid off all these emergencies last month. (…) (more…)

1. ENGINE COOLANT AND ANTIFREEZE
How Often: Check twice yearly, once before summer and again before winter; change if coolant has brown tint or rust bits.
Pay Now: Free to check; up to $5 to top off with correct mix of water and coolant or antifreeze. If you don’t use the right coolant for your car, you could damage your engine.
Or Pay Later: Without coolant, you can damage the water pump ($50 to $100) and possibly your engine.

2. OIL
How Often: Check monthly; change every 3,000 to 6,000 miles
Pay Now: Free to check; $20 to change yourself (oil, disposal fees); $20 to $40 at a shop.
Or Pay Later: Not changing the oil can void your warranty. Increased wear will shorten the engine’s life span. Rebuilt engines cost $1,000 to $3,000, plus labor, depending on the car. (more…)

1. Go contrarian: Wall Street is biased, trust no one
The vast majority of business, economic and stock-market forecasters are not looking out for your interests. They’re biased, favoring their employers on Wall Street, Corporate America and Washington. The past few years they made huge bucks hyping the credit/subprime bubble. Witness their bonuses. In 2008 their rosy forecasts will continue. They can’t help misleading you, it’s in their DNA: “Greed is good.”
2. Do-it-yourself: You’ll make fewer mistakes
Remember Buddha’s advice: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” You are the only “expert” you can trust: All brokers and money managers, newspapers, magazines, online and newsletter pundits, all television anchors, and every other special-interest guru is “selling” you something. Don’t buy “it.” (more…)