Financial Hardship: When to Hire a Personal Finance Coach

We've all been at that point in our lives where our finances just don't seem to be working out, for whatever reason. Whether it is all about having to try and get out of a debt that you've created and set for yourself, or something more in line with dealing with issues related to poor credit or other problems, financial problems can take a toll on your life and greatly affect how you live and what you are able to do in the future and over time.

But financial coaching is one significant and effective way that you can get out of these financial problems and issues (or stay out of them in the first place), while learning the tools and abilities needed to maintain and manage strong finances for the rest of your life. In fact, there are a few direct benefits to financial coaching that you can use and employ as you deal with a talented and experienced financial coach that will create a game plan for your needs.

Learn the ins and outs of accounting

Unfortunately, school just doesn't teach basic home accounting and bookkeeping any more, and it's a shame because a generation of people are likely in your shoes: good intentions, great ideas, hardworking, but with little recourse for how and why to balance budget and use their finances properly.

A financial coach, though, can create all that learning and education you missed out on in a relatively short period of time, as they teach you about investing, savings, accounts, and other basic and complex ideas in a way that is designed specifically to meet your needs. Whether you're in the market for a coach to help you with major purchases (more on that below), or you just need some advice when it comes to creating a plan to save money and move forward, financial coaches are there to help over time.

Receive advice on major purchases and savings

Thinking about buying a car or a house in the near future? Are you ready for the investment and commitment? And, most importantly, can your finances and savings handle an investment like that? Financial coaches work to advise you on major purchases, while helping to prepare your assets for whatever may come your way when it comes to financial futures and outlooks for your life.

No matter the need itself, financial coaches are critical when it comes to figuring out whether or not you can make that big purchase in the first place, and if you can, how you can use that big purchase to your advantage as you seek to improve your own life and that of those around you with the investment itself. You, in turn, can walk away knowing you are capable of making the purchase, and can take specific steps to ensure it does not become burdensome over time.

I believe that financial coaches are just smart to have in this day and age; especially considering the recent recession and major credit card and housing debts faced by millions of Americans. Consider asking a financial coach to improve your financial outlook today!

Emotional Cost of Personal Finance

What's your reaction when the monthly bills arrive? Do you feel nauseous? Do you feel sick to your stomach or have headaches? Or, do you feel overwhelmed or panic?

I am sure that you are working very hard to pay off your bills. However, your bills seem to never get smaller. Actually, it looks like they keep growing! You are not sure what is happening here, but you feel very exhausted working to pay all the bills. You feel like you can't do anything you want, no matter how hard you work. You feel upset and even despair. You feel inadequate, shame, and don't know what to do.

What's happening here? Your life is being taken over by the bills! Notice, your personal finance issues are costing your health! They are affecting both your physical and mental health. Are you stunned? As you see now, personal finance issues are very much intertwined with your emotional well-being, and they can even increase your chance of developing clinical depression and anxiety.

We are living in materialistic and consumption driven culture. The society makes us feel that we constantly need to purchase stuff. I know, we just try to fit into the society's norm. We don't want to feel left out. We don't want our kids to feel inferior. So, we continue to spend money to buy things. Besides, it feels good to buy stuff. Buying kind of comforts our feeling. So, what happens then? Basically, we work for stuff, and we drive ourselves into personal finance trouble.

Are we working for things?!?! Actually, we work to improve our life, don't we? Does stuff make our life better? Yes, in some degree, but when all your basic needs are met, probably, having another "I-phone" or "Shoes" will not make our life much different, would it? Yes, we get temporary comfort from buying stuff, but it will not last for so long. Then, we start to feel anxious. So, what do we do? Buy more stuff! It's a vicious cycle.

Controlling your finances is one way to boost your mental health. Instead of buying merchandise to comfort yourself, maybe, you can learn a new way to cheer yourself up. For some, maybe, there are underlying emotional issues of your financial struggle. Maybe, you could talk to someone? It may give you a new perspective on your problems. Going to see a therapist or life coach may be one way to straighten out your personal finance issues. Instead of spending money for stuff, maybe, you may want to invest money on yourself? Investing in yourself may be the best deal for your life.

Personal Finance Apps For Your Smartphone

Remember that foggy zone you used to be in when you wanted to take complete control of your finances? When you wanted to be more responsible in saving and spending to plan the present and future? Those foggy days are over and the days of finance apps on your smartphones that bring more clarity with ease of use are here. We are discussing top 5 finance apps that will prove to be useful to you.

    Mint.com Personal Finance

This application is one of the best personal finance apps. It syncs with your bank transactions and categorizes them automatically. It creates customized budget based on your past spending. It keeps track of your spending and keeps reminding you about your budget. You can create separate mini budget for entertainment, gas, eating out- things you want to monitor. The app sends you reminders, alerts and colour codes the categories so that you know when you reach danger zone. It also offers tips on stocks and investment.

Platform: iOS, Android

Price: Free

2. MoneyWise

This app is very easy to use. It is a budgeting and expense tracking app. MoneyWise enables you to set your financial goals. It monitors the cash flow, categorises your expenses and with the help of colourful charts and graphs it lets you know about the status of the expense categories. You can export the data from this app as HTML or CSV files.

Platform: Android

Price: Free

3.Spending Tracker

This app as the name suggests tracks your expenses. It will help you unlock the mystery of where exactly your money goes every month. You will be able to organise your expenses on daily, weekly or monthly basis. It can be customized to suit your needs. The easy to read fonts and charts make it a fun little tracker.

Platform: iOS

Price: Free

4. Expense Manager

This app enables you to track your expenses across categories on weekly, monthly or yearly basis. You can search for individual transactions, set up payments alerts, import and export data from your phone to your desktop and take pictures of receipts while storing. It has currency calculator, tax calculator etc. It is a neat little useful app.

Platform: Android

Price: Free

5. You Need A Budget (YNAB)

This app is one for the whole family. It syncs with YNAB desktop software (required). It can budget across multiple accounts, analyse and can show the transactions of the whole family instantly. A free version is also available.

Platform: iOS, Android

Price: $4.99

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3 Money Saving Tips Which Just Don't Work

Whether you're using IVA help to manage your debt or just want to economise now to avoid that whole debt spiral, there are some common financial pearls of money-saving wisdom out there which are a load of nonsense. In this article we'll be taking a look at some of the worst offenders to make getting by on IVA help or living on a shoestring a little easier. Save yourself some major money pain by reading on...

1. Buy BOGOF
Supermarkets and big stores are there to turn a profit, not to help you with your budget. Buy One Get One Free deals might sound great, but often they're a load of nonsense. Loads of money-saving gurus will tell you to keep your eyes-peeled for these 'bargains' but, with some frequency, BOGOF prices are inflated to account for the difference.

Of course there are savings to be made, but unless you actually need two of the same product, it's better to look for individual items at a lower price. If you're really savvy and you have your calculator with you it's worth working out the individual price of the items if you're not sure if the deal is a good one. The same goes for 3 for 2 offers and their ilk, which, if anything, are even worse!

2. Instant Frugality
Much like yo-yo dieting, going financially cold turkey is a dreadful move which could leave you living like a pauper for weeks but then splurging on something you don't need 3 weeks later. The problem is the sense of entitlement that living like a monk can create. Equally, the daily grind of living on next-to-nothing can get impossibly gruelling - an impulse buy becomes more and more tempting until you've wasted all your hard work on a fancy frock you just didn't need.

If you're trying to get by on IVA help or just looking to put some extra money away every month, don't go cold turkey. Get a solid plan in place, work at it steadily, don't deny yourself a few reasonable little pleasures and reassess your expenditure regularly to make sure you're being as savvy as you can in all areas.

3. Skimp on Maintenance
You and your possessions need looking after and often these are the first things people try to cut corners on when they are trying to save. From dental appointments to fixing chips in your windscreen, not spending on these is complete false economy as, without attention, the problem will get worse and worse and ultimately cost a helluva lot more than it would have in the first place.

In conclusion - be smart - think carefully about every 'great deal' you come across, look after yourself and your property and take a 'slow and steady wins the race' approach to frugality. By ignoring those that tell you otherwise you'll enjoy financial stability much sooner with less pain in the process!

IVA help is one way to gradually handle your debts. If you're struggling with mounting debts, IVA help can get them under control so you can repay them at an achievable rate. To find out more from the insolvency experts visit the IVA Service for help today.