The US government continues to scramble for a resolution to the woes of the financial industry in hopes of averting a real meltdown that has not been experienced since the 1930’s. For those who are still lucky enough to keep their jobs, the issue is how to control expenses and maintain financial stability. While an average consumer definitely has debts which include credit card obligations, car installments, or home mortgages, good fiscal management means that the family income will be sufficient to fund these debt payments with enough left to take care of regular expenses.

One of the most critical steps in maintaining financial stability is determining income and expenses. It would be good to take a conservative stance when making your estimates — this means keep income at minimal levels while approximating expenses at its peaks. If you have supplemental income from other sources that are irregular, try to keep this out of the equation first. When there are payments that are not settled on a monthly basis, fund a pro-rated portion of it in your savings monthly. This way, when payment becomes due, you have enough to settle them. And always allocate a portion of your earnings for emergency expenses if possible. If there are still enough funds left, keep them as savings. When your savings fund has grown enough, place them in secure investments. Regardless of the interest income rate, a 2% income on savings is still better than having them earn nothing at all.
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