Personal Budgeting Allows Peace of Mind

The time for New Year’s resolutions has rolled around again. I feel a bit compelled to focus on personal budgeting.  Are you surprised?  What I’d really like to do is get a handle on my finances and just really know where I stand. This will allow me to make the best decisions possible going forward.

So, if I want to focus on personal budgeting, do I need a personal finance program to do it?  I’m guessing this would help tremendously with getting organized and help me to avoid having to create a bunch of spreadsheets to record all my financial data.  It would also help with knowing what kind of numbers to be gathering and recording.

Is Quicken still the best personal finance program available?  I think I got a free “lite” edition when I got my computer.  I’ll have to check my programs.  Maybe that would be enough.  Another option is Quickbooks Pro.  I am aware of this just because an office supply store was giving away a free copy with a mail in rebate.  I considered getting one, but ended up too slow to the draw. Oh well.

I still have a shelf full of books about how to manage your money that I read quite awhile ago. I did a great job being organized and recording everything back then.  Wow, did I let that slide when other interests took over.  It was so boring! 

It’s clearly time to regain some balance in my financial life. The more I think about it, the more I relish the idea of getting a handle on my personal budgeting and money management, even if it is still incredibly dull.  Having a clear picture can add a positive peace of mind and I definitely welcome that.

The Risks Of Investing In BTL

There have been mixed messages about the state of the UK buy to let market or BTL as it is often known. Historically the buy to let market has been relatively profitable during times of depression and recession.

Investors who have bought properties at property auctions at too high a price can often panic as mortgage rates rise and start to try and sell off their investments. This can cause the market to become flooded with flats and small houses. As fewer people are buying during a recession a large pool of unsold properties begins to accumulate.

The big auctions like the property auctions in the north west can last for several days, the number of lots being so large. However this glut of property is always temporary.

The UK is an island with limited space and property is always in short supply. After the initial panic the truth is that people will always need to move because of changes in their lives be it changing jobs or getting divorced. If they can’t afford to buy then they will need rented accommodation.

This time round BTL investors have been lucky in so far as the mortgage rates haven’t spiraled upwards out of control so that the mortgages on their investment properties can still be covered by the rents they receive.

You can find out more about buying at auction at sites like Property Auction Database which list auction houses from around the UK. By learning how to buy properties at their lowest prices you can greatly cut you financial risks when property market slumps occur.

The recent events have served as a timely reminder about investing wisely. Too many inexperienced investors purchased one or more properties at high prices using the minimum deposit and borrowing the maximum possible. This is great when the future looks rosy but can be financially ruinous if things falter.