Higher Personal Income Comes to Those Who Plan
DayTimers Tips for Financial Success in 2007
(PRWEB) January 18, 2007 -- January is National Financial Wellness Month and many people are already preparing for the upcoming tax season. In a recent study, DayTimers found that workers who use time management tools to plan their day typically have a 25% higher mean personal income and rate themselves as extremely or very successful.
In the newly released DayTimers 2006 New Year's Resolution Survey, financial changes were among the top three main resolutions made by respondents. Forty-five percent reported that they succeeded at paying off debts in the past five years; 43% said they succeeded in saving more money during this time period and 20% had gotten a new job.
"More than half the battle when it comes to finances is organization," commented Maria Woytek, DayTimers life management expert. "That means bills, files and records need a home of their own. This allows you to have a system that keeps everything updated. One payoff is that you minimize late fees and maximize returns," said Woytek.
DayTimers offers the following tips and tools on how to get organized for financial success:
- Write down a spending plan that takes all of your needs into account. This is important whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. It's easy to spend without limits when you don't have a clear idea of what bills and expenses occur each week. It's also easy to overspend if you live on a deprivational budget, which doesn't allow for the little pleasures of life. Balance is the key to success. Keep the spending plan printed out and included in your daily planner. This makes it easier to stick to a balanced financial plan and avoid compulsive reactive spending.
- Keep Track of What You Are Spending - Keep a list of all your financial expenditures throughout the day - cash, checks and credit cards. This will help you see where money is going and will give a clear view of how much disposable income is available.
- Clearly mark upcoming bill due dates in your daily planner. With numerous credit cards, loans, phone and utility bills, it's easy to forget a payment due date. And with rising costs, no one wants to spend extra money on unnecessary late fees. To avoid spending time listing recurring bill due dates repeatedly throughout the year, use DayTimers hole-punched Hot Sheets. Simply write down the bill and the date due, insert it in the appropriate place in your planner, and once paid, move it to the next month.
- Keep expense and reimbursement records. Whether it's travel expenses or client dinners, it can be easy to forget where you've outlaid money on company time and even easier to lose receipts. Since small amounts are often forgotten, yet quickly add up, it's important to keep track and make sure you're getting the money you deserve. DayTimers 2-Page-Per-Day planning pages include an Expense & Reimbursement Record section located right below the daily calendar, making it easy to record expenses and the date they were incurred. Even better, DayTimer planning pages come with a zipped vinyl pouch--the ideal place for storing receipts.
- Be prepared for tax season. Want to get the most from income tax deductions? In order to avoid the last minute hustle and bustle of gathering receipts and tax papers, keep an ongoing, organized file throughout the year that insures all necessary items are in one place. DayTimers offers the Captio® Tax Box, a translucent plastic case filled with everything needed for a stress-free tax time. It offers user friendly forms for record keeping, a file system for storing receipts and separating information by topic, as well as a step-by-step guide for making tax filing a breeze.
- Create realistic saving goals. Statistics show that people are saving less today than ever before, creating the potential of shortfall in later years. The first step is to decide on savings goals. It's best to list three to five goals. Once the goals have been decided, write down the things you want to save for (e.g.: car, vacation, etc.), and record the amount of money needed to accomplish each savings goal. For many, financial security means having money in the bank. With savings to fall back on, you can handle unexpected expenses.
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See the original story at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/01/prweb497958.htm
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