Your money and what you do with are very personal matters. If managed wisely, your money can lead you down the path of financial freedom and living the life of your dreams. If managed poorly, you can spend your days in debt worried about how to make ends meet. Luckily, personal financial success can be obtained by following a few principles of good money management. Even if you’ve made a wrong turn, you’re only a few decisions away from the path to success. To help you on your way, keep these personal finance tips in mind:

• Start saving money for retirement as early as possible.
• Don’t skip out on health insurance.
• Avoid unnecessary health costs by staying healthy.
• Live below your means.
• Start saving early and save frequently.
• Building credit is good, but not every offer for credit is good for you personally.
• Always determine whether debt is going to increase your wealth or just put you more in debt.
• Keep your investments diversified. You never want all your eggs in one basket.
• Learn everything you can about credit and how to increase your credit score. The money you save from lower interest rates will more than make up the effort and time you spent.
• Learn how to budget your monthly expenses.
• If you’re self employed, charge what you’re worth.
• Keep good financial records.
• Find ways to give into self-gratification other than retail therapy.
• Don’t bet on bonuses, inheritances or other potential lump monetary sums.
• Keep control of your money.
• Find new ways to increase your income potential.
• Invest in yourself.
• Track your spending habits and look for areas you can improve or spend less.
• Make wise purchases. Shop around for the best deals and highest quality products.

Have a tip that wasn’t included? Share it below for others to benefit from!

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard the familiar saying, “time is money.” We all know it’s true, but at some point we’ve lost the correlation as to just how much wasted time really affects our financial growth. There’s a lot to be said about time management and its effect on your wallet. It basically boils down to the simple fact that what you decide to do with your time directly affects your personal financial growth.

When you realize this, you come to the understanding that as much care should be given to what you do with each hour of the day as you give to how you spend or allot your income. There’s a basic truth that the more value you can produce, the higher your income potential will grow. If you can produce twice the amount of value in half the time, then you’ll effectively quadruple your income potential. If you’ve been one who’s prone to pushing off organizational tasks, this is a solid argument for taking that necessary admin time to really make sure you’re getting the true value out of every minute you’re awake… and possibly even the minutes while you sleep!

How should you organize your day to take the most advantage of the wealth opportunities out there?

To make this decision, you really need to decide what you want from your day. What are your time management priorities?

• Do you need more independent time to focus on projects?
• Do you need more organization so you can double up on tasks and get more done in less time?
• Do you need help handling tasks that are taking you away from income generating tasks?

The time you spend analyzing your needs and desires will be rewarded with a more streamlined and efficient plan of action. You’ll also see what’s really important to you so it will be easier to prioritize tasks. Maybe cleaning the house yourself isn’t as beneficial as hiring someone so you’re freed up to write more blog posts or finish up more client work. It’s possible you might need to restructure your work day to find more time to work without distractions.

Whatever your desires, take time to structure an outline of how you want to spend your time. For instance, you might want to plan your schedule in blocks of time per day or even by days like the following plan:

• Monday – catch up work day
• Tuesday & Wednesday – no distraction work days
• Thursdays – conference calls and meetings
• Fridays – winding down, tie up loose ends and get ready for the next week.

However your overall plan is laid out, the point is to create something that works for you and allows you the freedom to really create more value.

What should you focus on day-to-day?

The above will help you structure your long-term time management goals, but the real action gets done on a day-to-day basis. For this, you need to break down each day by what you absolutely need to get done. This is best accomplished with a simple method that easily duplicated. Let’s face it – a sculptor doesn’t start with a beautiful piece of art. They have to spend each day focusing on small elements that will eventually give way to their masterpiece. The same is true of your daily time management.

Every night or every morning, make a list of what specific things you need to complete that day. Don’t make a huge list, just decide on three to four things you absolutely MUST finish that day. This will help keep you focused throughout the day when distractions come in. Obviously, some days just tend to snowball with emergencies and potential fires to put out, but overall you should notice a huge improvement in what you’re getting done with the simple daily task list.

Final words of wisdom…

When you’re planning, there are certain traps that can lead to wasted time. To help you avoid some of these common pitfalls, try a few of these tips:

• Always try to multi-task errands whenever possible. Don’t expend unnecessary gas or expensive time with wasted trips.
• Be honest and over-allowing when factoring in how much time you think it will take to complete a task. If you have three task to do that day and they each take four hours to complete, chances are you won’t get them all done.
• Plan out your day in blocks of time. For the most effective productivity, you need to have a 20 minute break every hour and a half. This allows you to reset and actually work for longer “optimal” periods of time throughout the day. Schedule your to-dos around these 90 minute blocks and you’ll notice a vast improvement in not only what you get done, but also the quality of your work.
• Set a timer for when you browse social media sites or you’re doing research. Both of these activities can zap your time without you even realizing it. Setting an alarm to go off in a set time will help keep you in check and will force you to do what you absolutely need to do before your time is up.
• Don’t be afraid to close the door, ignore phone calls or to just say no. Everyone always seems to want a piece of your most valuable asset. Honestly, can you really afford to throw your time away to please someone else? If you know you’ll increase your bottom line by spending another hour doing a certain task, do what you need to do to make sure that time is uninterrupted.

By now, the phrase “time is money” should have taken on a new significance! Share what you plan on doing to increase your wealth through the use of time management below!

Sometimes all we need to keep track of our personal finances is a little convenience and information whenever and wherever we are. These apps help you gain the freedom you desire to make informed decisions and keep an eye on things no matter what you’re doing. From bill paying to watching your stocks, you can find an app for just about anything you need to help manage your finances. Here are some of our favorites to get you started:

Pageonce Money & Bills App
This app had its beginning as a Personal Assistant and has evolved into probably the most comprehensive personal finance app available. You can track bills, bank accounts, credit card transactions, frequent flyer miles, cell phone usage, investments and so much more. The basic app is free or you can download the pro version for $12.99.

Snap Tax App by Turbo Tax
Is filing your taxes as easy as 1,2,3? With the Snap Tax App, it could be. First, you take a picture of your w2 form. Then you fill out a few questions. Lastly, review your information and e-file your taxes. SnapTax is $9.99, which includes federal and California state preparation and e-file. 

Yahoo! Finance App
Need to keep track of all of your stocks? This app is not only convenient, but beautiful as well. The colorful interface helps you see at a quick glance how your stocks are performing. Need the latest financial news? Don’t worry, it’s in there too! The best part? It’s FREE!

Mint.com iPhone App
Love Mint.com? Then you’ll love having access to all of your information wherever you are. Check accounts, make budget decisions and manage your personal finances in real time and on-the-go.

Bill Tracker & Debt Tracker Pro
Two great apps from SnapTap, Bill Tracker and Debt Tracker Pro create a complete personal finance system at your fingertips. Track information about each bill including due date, amount due, whether the bill has been paid, confirmation numbers for payments and more with Bill Tracker. Get a handle on any debts with DebtTracker. DebtTracker can calculate a payoff plan for your debt using the popular debt snowball strategy or give you a customized plan.

Mobile Banking Apps
When you’re on the go and you need to access your accounts quickly, these apps will help keep you up to date.

PayPal Mobile App

Wells Fargo Mobile App

Bank of America Mobile App

USAA Mobile

Chase’s Bank Tracker Mobile App

Now that we’ve shared ours, it’s time to let us know your favorite personal finance apps! Leave your comments and suggestions below!