Balancing Your Budget and Developing Long-Term Savings

There are many things to buy and in today’s consumer culture it is more difficult than ever to say “NO”. Learning to live within your means and save for the future is a discipline you can learn over time to create financial security. Putting effort into changing habits makes a big difference in how successful you will be in creating a savings plan.

Balancing your budget is as much about habit as it is about planning. Learning where to find deals on products, understanding value, and making better choices takes time to ingrain as a way of thinking. Start small and slowly move toward higher levels of spending discipline.  You can still get what you want but should learn the best use of your money.

You will have to give up the idea of spending as a type of wealth. If you are truly wealthy you can spend on lots of things you enjoy; but they do it with cash. Wealthy people don’t normally just waste money and have a keen sense of value. Spending all your disposable income and maxing out your credit cards has nothing to do with wealth.

Make a differentiation between what you need and what you want. There are differences as paying for your needs food, shelter, clothing, car, etc. are your baseline. This is where you can live a reasonable life without extras. What you want is everything else you spend on top of your baseline.

Spending choices are an extension of how you see yourself. If your self-perception is trendy you will buy the latest and greatest products that are popular on t.v. or you may gravitate toward sports and sport products. Getting your ego under control can go a long way in helping you save money. Ask yourself if this is really something you need?

There are two hurdles to saving money that include your habits and your self-perception. Changing both can lead to better fiscal choices and higher levels of financial security. Start small and make little changes until you start creating a cushion in monthly income.  Make a habit of putting that money away for long-term savings so that market rates can help you to your goals. Over time these choices will add up to serious cash in your bank account.

Gallop Poll Shows Positive Worker Outlook

A poll by Gallop brings discusses improvement in worker perception of employment. 58% of full and part-time workers say they are completely satisfied with their jobs as compared to 50% in 2009-2013. The growth in the economy, lower unemployment rates, and improving employment opportunities are having an impact on worker perception. 

The numbers also spotlight a few areas of concern. The amount of work, physical conditions, relationship with bosses, job security, recognition and workload are above 50%. Areas below 50% are opportunities for promotion, retirement, health insurance, earning power, and job stress. 

Benefits such as health insurance and retirement have taken a significant hit in the current market. Employers often cut back on these expensive benefits due to the inherent increasing costs with little direct return to the employer. Employees will be asked to pick up a higher percentage of these costs. 

A problem results when earning power is not sufficiently rising, making increased contributions to such programs difficult. As the cost of medical care shifts to employees with lower incomes new ways of doing things become necessary. The health care system itself is expensive beyond the cost of insurance. 

Another important issue to workers is retirement. The traditional pension is nearly gone and the 401K is the standard approach. In today’s transient world the 401K offers more portability but also requires higher employee contributions. This can be difficult for people at lower income brackets. 

As a country we still have some work to do and the positive employment perceptions follow suit with the improving economy. New ideas on how to manage retirement, higher savings rates, a more efficient medical care system, and a focus on improving income opportunities for all Americans is necessary. The numbers can slide as quickly as they rose. 

http://www.gallup.com/poll/175190/americans-satisfaction-job-security-new-high.aspx