If you buy a cup of coffee every
day for $1.00 (an awfully good price for a decent cup of coffee, nowadays), that adds up to $365.00 a year. If you
saved that $365.00 for just one year, and put it into a savings account or investment that earns 5% a year, it
would grow to $465.84 by the end of 5 years, and by the end of 30 years, to $1,577.50.
That’s the power of
“compounding.” With compound interest, you earn interest on the money you save and on the interest that money
earns. Over time, even a small amount saved can add up to big money.
If you are willing to watch what
you spend and look for little ways to save on a regular schedule, you can make money grow. You just did it with one
cup of coffee.
If a small cup of coffee can make
such a huge difference, start looking at how you could make your money grow if you decided to spend less on other
things and save those extra dollars.
If you buy on impulse, make a
rule that you’ll always wait 24 hours to buy anything. You may lose your desire to buy it after a day. And try
emptying your pockets and wallet of spare change at the end of each day. You’ll be surprised how quickly those
nickels and dimes add up!
Speaking of things adding up,
there is no investment strategy anywhere that pays off as well as, or with less risk than, merely paying off all
high interest debt you may have. Many people have wallets filled with credit cards, some of which they’ve “maxed
out” (meaning they’ve spent up to their credit limit). Credit cards can make it seem easy to buy expensive things
when you don’t have the cash in your pocket—or in the bank. But credit cards aren’t free
money.
Most credit cards charge high
interest rates—as much as 18 percent or more—if you don’t pay off your balance in full each month. If you owe money
on your credit cards, the wisest thing you can do is pay off the balance in full as quickly as possible. Virtually
no investment will give you the high returns you’ll need to keep pace with an 18 percent interest charge. That’s
why you’re better off eliminating all credit card debt before investing savings. Once you’ve paid off your credit
cards, you can budget your money and begin to save and invest. Here are some tips for avoiding credit card
debt:
The GAFM ® Board is the 1st Graduate
Certification Body to Become Accredited and Certified for: ISO 9001 Quality and ISO
29990 Training in the World. GAFM ® owns the former AAFM ®Certifications and Programs
Mentzinger Media LLC Board of
Standards - Accreditation and Certification - Global Certified
Accountants Financial Analysts Institute
Association of International Financial Accounting Foregin Relations
Public Policy CouncilChartered
Wealth ManagerAccredited Financial Analyst Certified Chartered Management
Accountant - Association Institute AcademyUS Department of
Labor - George Mentz
www.GAFM.us * www.GAFM.orgIn alliance with the Unincorported Non-Profit Association of
Finance and Management USAA financial analyst securities analyst, research analyst, equity
analyst, or investment analyst is a person who performs financial analysis for external or internal clients
as a core part of the job. Financial analysis (also referred to as financial statement analysis or
accounting analysis or Analysis of finance) refers to an assessment of the viability, stability and
profitability of a business, sub-business or project. It is performed by professionals who prepare reports
using ratios that make use of information taken from financial statements and other reports. These reports
are usually presented to top management as one of their bases in making business decisions. Certification
as a financial analyst requires accredited education in financeManagement consulting is the practice of helping organizations to improve
their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of
plans for improvement. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants for a number of
reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and access to the consultants'
specialized expertise. Becoming certified in management consulting requires proper education experience and
credentials.Management accounting or managerial accounting is concerned with the
provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the
basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management
and control functions. Cost accounting is a process of collecting, analyzing, summarizing and evaluating
various alternative courses of action. Its goal is to advise the management on the most appropriate course
of action based on the cost efficiency and capability. Cost accounting provides the detailed cost
information that management needs to control current operations and plan for the future. Certification in
management or cost accounting requires education and expertise in accounting.
