4 Things You Can Do to Control Personal Finance, and not Have it Control You

Personal financial literacy isn't something taught in school. We often develop personal financial habits from our parents.

This could be a very good thing or very bad thing, depending on how well your parents managed their personal finances.

Money however is a very sensitive topic for most people and most culture. The fact that the subject of money isn't openly discussed means that it is vital for people understand how to better manage their personal finances.

I hope one day money will be discusses in schools just is how sex education is discussed. Their should be a "Safe Spending" class in school.

Millions of young people are in debt because of lack of financial education. Here are some tips on how to keep your personal finances in order:

1) Get a checking account. First off, if you don't have a checking account, get one. Your checking account will be the hub of your personal financial management system.

Your checking account is the place where most of your money comes in, and goes out. You use it to deposit your work checks, and to pay your bills.

The benefits of having a checking account far outweighs the drawbacks of potential fees if you don't manage it right.

2) Balance your checking account. Once you have a checking account, you should always know how much you have in there. That way you know what you can spend, and not have to pay banks over-draft fees which could be anywhere between $10 - $50 dollars.

Make sure you know what's in there and keep it up to date. With the online financial tools available for you today, that shouldn't be a problem.

You might even think about keeping a buffer. Like a $50 or $100 buffer, so you don't go over your limit. You do not want to be squatting $0.00 because you are just one mess up from happening to get hit with banking over-draft fees.

3) Start saving for a rainy day. Do not spend more then you have certainly, but don't spend more then you make as well. Save up for a rainy day. You should have an emergency savings account, totally at least 3 months of your monthly expenses.

4) Get a credit card. Yes, get a credit card, to build your credit. Make sure the credit card has no membership fees, but if it's your first card you might have to put up with the fees. If you are a student you can get a lot of student credit cards.

The key with credit cards is to get it, use it for a little, but do not use it habitually. Keep a $0 or a really low balance. If you are using more then 40% of the credit balance you are in trouble. Pay down the balance and stop using it.