Suze Orman's Financial Plan

I watched Oprah's Best Life this morning as usual..my routine (Thank you Allah, what a good life I have!) Something to share ;

Be honest and stay honest with your financial stand. Be truthful to your partner about your expenses. Spending is related to emotion, the more you hide from your partner, the more you spend.

Spending Action Plan
1- Sit down and discuss with your partner on your expenses. Separates "wants" from "needs".
2- Circle all expenses that are "wants".
3- If you have debts and no savings, eliminate "wants".

Saving Action Plan
1-Save enough to cover 8 months expenses.
2-Decide how much you can save each months and add 20%.
3-Search around for a saving account with highest interest rate (not applicable for Muslim)

Spending Pledge
1-Do not spend money for 1 day
2-Don't use your credit card for 1 week
3-Don't eat at restaurant for 1 month.

Credit cards payment
1- Line up your credit cards from the highest to the lowest
2- Pay the minimum on each card.
3- Pay any extra money to the card with highest interest rate.
4- Once the first card paid off, roll that money over to the another card.
5- Pay bills on time
6- Never go further than credit limit.
7- Stop using credit cards further.

I think one of the reasons why American financial collapsed was due to the overspending. They seriously have extravagant lifestyle. If we don't take any precaution, Malaysians will suffer the same especially credit cards spending. As a Muslim we should take Rasulullah (SAW) advice, be moderate in everything. Ironically, that is the hardest thing to do!