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Home » Family Articles » Top 10 Ways To Jumpstart Your New Years Finances

Top 10+ Ways to Jumpstart your New Year's Finances!

Of course, these don't have to be done in any particular order!

Just pick one or two that particularly apply to your situation.

• Create your 2004 filing system. This might include new file folders, a new box to hold them or space in a filing cabinet with easy access.
• Set up a folder to collect all the important 2003 tax documents which will be arriving soon. Sure to arrive at your house are W-2s, 1099s, mortgage statements, etc.
• Set up an appointment with your tax professional early so you get the appointment of your choice. This also gives you a deadline to get your information ready! If you're self-employed, the next quarterly estimated tax payment will be due on January 15.
• Review last year's investments especially in your 401(k), IRA's etc. Find out what financial planning resources your company or 401(k) plan administrator offers and set up an appointment to talk to them. For non-company portfolios, talk to your investment advisor. You have until April 15 to make contributions to IRA type accounts (check with your tax preparer for eligibility).
• What about Quicken or Microsoft Money? If you don't use software to balance your checkbook, pay your bills and keep track of your savings and investments, this is a great time of the year to get started. My personal favorite is Quicken and for small businesses, you might consider Quicken Home and Business. If you are a small business with Payroll needs, check out QuickBooks.
• Medical Insurance reimbursements. If you haven't submitted all your medical bills to your insurance provider, now is the time to do so.
• Will and Estate Planning. No one likes to think about dying, but the best thing you can do for your family is to make sure they are taken care of by creating a will and making sure you have adequate life insurance. Think how easily you'll sleep knowing you have provided for your family even if you are no longer there.
• Speaking of insurance... If you haven't reviewed your health or home and auto policies in the last couple of years you might find you can save money and/or have better coverage. For example, if you still have a $250 deductible (which was my first deductible in 1979!), you will probably save by increasing it to $500 or $1000. Try to set aside some of your savings for deductibles in case you need them.
• Create your own Anti-Emergency Fund! We all know those car and home repairs, school fees, medical expenses and vacations are going to happen. Why not determine how much you'll need and save 1/12 of it each month? To read more go to: http://www.phelps-creek.com/archives/Anti-Emergency.htm.
• Holiday Bonus or Money Gifts If you received a financial gift this holiday season, hold on to it for at least 30 days while you decide what you really want to spend it on. All too often financial windfalls are spent before they even arrive. Consider dividing it into thirds: 1/3 to the past, 1/3 to the present and 1/3 to the future. Past might include paying down debt, present could be something you need or want now and future could be retirement, college savings, or a special vacation
• Financial Goals for next year. Think about where you want to be next year at this time financially. If you want to save $1000, put aside $2.74 each day and you'll be there! Break down your financial goals into monthly, weekly and daily amounts and watch how quickly your savings will grow. Read more about it at: http://www.phelps-creek.com/archives/PDQFactor.htm.

Happy New Year!!!!!

(c) Phelps Creek Financial Coaching - All Rights Reserved

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

The Weaker Sex Can Pack a Mean Business Punch Too!

Judging from the title itself, you're probably expecting a men-bashing article about the kind of injustice that men cause women and about how women should learn how to hold their can of pepper spray in hand (facing the right direction, of course, unless the women plan to blind themselves) the moment they catch a whiff of a MAN.

Well....er, no. Not really.

I am here to explain and give some good examples of why and how women can do what they want to do in business and reap full benefits of the structure that they have chosen to adopt. I want to encourage them and tell them that women can make good business owners.

Women in business are better in dealing with people, i.e, business will be better simply because of the fact that women have higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI or EQ). What does emotional intelligence have to do with business? A whole lot, if you ask me. Let's, first, define emotional intelligence in the business context, shall we? EQ is defined quite loosely as 'social skills and ambition or self/personal strength'. If a person have high EQ, he or she (staying safely on the fence for now, until conclusion) is better able to deal with problems at work, better at finding solutions, is better able at controlling emotions and regaining strength after a down fall. They can communicate better with others, winning them brownie points easily, in terms of bringing in the business.

It seems that a person with high EQ (man or woman) is 67% more likely to be successful in business. And considering the fact that women, generally speaking, have higher EQs, we can safely say that they are better as business people.

In order to be successful in business, you need 1/3 of IQ, 1/3 of social skills and 1/3 of drive and ambition.

And here's another reason why I think women are better business people. According to the Millionaire Mind, 'being honest with people' and 'getting along with people' is ranked #1 and #3 as the needed ingredients for becoming a millionaire. And isn't it a coincidence that women have both these skills as naturally as they come.

Don't believe me? Think about it.

Being honest with people. "That client is such a bitch. I don't want to do business with her" and "Sweetheart, stop messing with my kitchen".

Getting along with people: "Did you know that Sarah just had an abortion and then she was dumped by that godawful man who has a tattoo on his behind? Imagine that...and did you know that......blah blah blah". Now, that's what's called getting along with people.

Ok, there's something else that you may want to look at if you're still not convinced. How about this? SQ stands for social skills and since social skills make up for 1/3 of the ingredient of being successful in business, get this. Women score an average of 103 for SQ as compared to males who got an average of 96.

So, women are better at social skills and emotional intelligence and viola! We have already won 2/3 of the battle.

Conclusion

Let me repair some of the damage that I may have done with this article now. Men have better IQs.

This article was prompted by an email from a friend who started a cake-baking business from home. She quit her job of 8 years after she had her first child and decided to start the business from home, hoping that it could get her the kind of income she had when she was in the corporate world. Within 3 months after starting the business, she was still making loses. And despite the countless emails from me (of course, I persuaded her to stick with it), she decided to quit her business and rejoin the work force because there was stability.

In her email, she also mentioned that she (and women, in general) is just not made for the business world. She said she will rather get the monthly check instead of wondering whether there's any business tomorrow, the next day, the next week, the next month!

And because she felt so discouraged, I decided to write this article to prove to her that women can really pack a business punch â€" but only if they stick with it and persist. The reason why she gave up her business â€" she lacked ambition.