Tag: investments

Do you want to take control of your financial life? It’s up to you to understand your own money, says investment advisor Paul Taylor, a member of the National Ethics Bureau. Taylor offers the following suggestions:

For your cash flow, keep in mind the four A’s: Accounting, Analysis, Allocation, and Adjustment. The four A’s describe a systematic and disciplined approach to your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly spending habits.

*  Accounting involves gathering all your relevant financial information-income, recurring bills, and other expenditures-creating a central list of each item, and pulling it together in a place where it’s easy to find.

*  Analysis is reviewing the information to determine whether you have a shortfall or surplus, and finding places to reduce expenses. Saving $100 a month on dining out, for instance, would allow you to apply $100 to your mortgage loan principal, saving you a substantial amount in interest payments.

*  Allocation involves determining your financial commitments and priorities, needs versus wants, and distributing your income accordingly.

*  Adjustment involves periodic reviews of your financial information and shifting assets to meet changing needs.