Financial counseling is assisting clients in the development and creative use of all their resources to achieve economic financial security or well-being by generating alternatives from which the client chooses. Ultimately the client is assisted to improve quality of life with less wasteful resources. The processes are: (more…)

You also must make choices about how you spend money. For example, would you buy the $129 pair of sneakers you saw at the mall or save that money? You cannot do both, because most people have a limited amount of money. To help make choices, consider the time value of money, which is the increase of an amount of money due to earned interest or dividends. (more…)

Future value is the amount your original deposit will be worth in the future based on earning a specific interest rate over a specific period of time. Figure out how much your savings will earn and grow by multiplying the principal by the annual interest rate and then adding that interest amount to the principal. (more…)

You can also use present value calculations to determine how much you would need to deposit so you can take a specific amount of money out of your savings account for a certain number of years. This is knows as series of deposit. If you want to take $400 out of your account each year for nine years, and your money is earning interest at 8 percent a year, how much money would you need to deposit now? Part D of Figure 1.4 will help you find the answer. Find Year 9 in the left column and look across to the 8 percent interest-rate column. The value given is 6.247. Multiply this value by the amount of money that you want to take out every year:

$400 X 6.247 = $2,498.80

You need to deposit $2,498.80 now to be able to take out $400 each year for nine years. This calculation is used for retirement.

Some savers and investors like to make regular deposits into their savings. You can also do the same to increase your savings. A series of equal regular deposits is sometimes called an annuity. Use Part B of the chart in Figure 1.4 (future value of a series of equal yearly deposits) to find out the future value of $1,000 a year at 5 percent annual interest for six years. At the end of the six years, you would have $6,802:

$1,000 X 6.802 = $6,802

Reaching your financial goals can get much easier if you buy a home wisely. Reason: Ultimately, when you pay off your mortgage, you’ll no longer have to pay big bucks for a place to live. You can route that additional money to increase your savings toward reaching your financial goals and improving your lifestyle. (more…)

As you enter adulthood, you will experience many changes and are facing with financial responsibility. You may go to college, start a new career, get married, have children, or move to a new city. These new life situations will affect your financial planning. Your personal values also influence your financial decisions. (more…)

Like financial resources, your personal resources—your health, knowledge, skills, and time—require personal finance management. Do you eat a lot of junk food and avoid exercise? Do you get enough sleep each night? The decisions you make about your health now can have consequences as you get older. (more…)

If you look clearly under tax code in the Uniform Gift to Minors Act (or UGMA), when you put assets or securities in a savings plan for a child (commonly it is your child or grandchild that you want to support. The account is registered on behalf of children and one adult (parent or grandparent). These adults are responsible for the investment and asset management. The securities or assets actually belongs to the child. Once the child reaches age of 18 years (in most states), he or she then takes control of assets. (more…)

Throughout your life you will have many different financial needs and financial goals. By learning to use your money wisely now, you will be able to achieve many of those financial goals.

Financial planning involves choosing a career, and then learning how to protect and manage the money you earn. (more…)

Paying cash means making some lifestyle sacrifices. However it has a concrete financial benefit: It will keep you from drowning in a sea of red ink on your voyage to the new economic world. But it also has an added emotional benefit: It adds meaning and value to the things you do buy. (more…)