GCTFCU Blog | All posts tagged 'Financial Management'

Financial Management Tips

Financial management is the process of planning, budgeting, saving, investing & spending your money to meet long-term and short-term financial goals. With a good financial management plan in place, you will be able to make well-informed financial decisions while giving yourself a safety net for times of emergency. Here are some reasons that emphasize on the importance of financial management:

Allows to establish clear financial goals.
Fulfils daily financial needs.
Helps in managing your income. (Budgeting, Savings & Expenditure)
Gives a healthy financial future.
Keeps you prepared for sudden & big expenses.
Improved standard of living.
Helps to optimize the worth of your income.
Financial Independence.

Here are some proven money management tips:

Determine Your Financial Priorities

Assess your financial needs & priorities to streamline the process. Create short-term & long-term goals and build an effective financial plan to achieve them.

Create a Budget

Create a budget that aligns with your financial priorities, income, daily expenditures, recurring expenses, taxes, wants, needs, savings & debt repayments. You can also choose a budgeting framework to set financial boundaries.

Example: Use the 50/30/20 budget rule. Spend 50% of your income on needs & daily requirements. Dedicate 30% of your income on wants like shopping, dining out, travel, entertainment and other luxuries. Minimum 20% of your income should be added to savings, emergency funds & debt repayments.

There are multiple budgeting plans, choose one that suits your income and priorities.

Track Your Money

Making yourself aware of the financial situation helps to keep things organized and transparent. Make a checklist or use financial apps or calendar to monitor the movement of your money. With changing income, expenses and priorities revisit the budget plan time and again to keep track of it.

Savings & Investment

Explore various savings and investment options to grow your money over time. Study interest rates and other outcomes of the plan before investing your money. Consider opening a savings account in a credit union to seek higher dividends. You can also avail automated savings & investment options. Diversifying your investments usually generates positive results.

Create An Emergency Fund

Save a specific amount of money as an emergency fund. The emergency fund provides a safe cushion in situations like medical emergencies, financial distress, etc.

Insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union offers multifarious automated services, savings, investment & lending options. For more financial management tips, visit Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union at 3305 E Elms Rd, Killeen, TX - 76542 or browse through www.gctfcu.net

Home Loan Process

Home loans are the best alternatives for people who want to own a house but do not have sufficient funds at hand. Borrowing a certain sum of money and them repaying in easy monthly installments helps to relieve the financial burden of the homeowners. However, there is a step by step that must be followed in order to getting a home loan easily. Once you have made your mind to buy a home, your first step after that should be to analyze your credit rating to be able to apply for a loan.

Here is complete process of applying for a home loan in Killeen, TX:

Pre-Qualification: At this stage, your lender will determine how much loan amount you can afford. He will ask questions about your total income, assets and liabilities. According to this information, he will be able to provide you a rough estimate of the money that you can borrow. Although this is not a certification of loan approval, however, you will have an approximate price range at hand and you can search properties accordingly.
Pre-Approval: This is a bit more formal process than pre-qualification.For pre-approval, the lender will verify your credit rating, employment and financial information provided by you.This will also help to strengthen your position to negotiate for a property you like.Sellers are more keen to accept offers from buyers who are already been approved for a home loan.
Choosing a Lender: There are a number of lenders such as mortgage brokers, banks and credit unions to procure a home loan.Make sure you compare several loan plans before deciding on any one. Although it completely depends on your own choice and preference, credit unions are a good source of financing. They offer low interest rates and easy repayment options on home loans.
Submitting The Application: You can visit your lender’s office or call their representatives to visit your place and get the loan application signed. You would also require certain documents to be attached while submitting the application. These may include pay stubs from the previous month, recent bank statements, proof of your assets and liabilities etc.

After this your lender will appraise the value of the home that you are considering to buy. He will also verify the authenticity of the documents submitted by you. Finally, if everything is satisfactory, the process will be closedand your home loan will be approved.

For more details about the home loan process in Killeen, you can contact Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union at (254) 690 – 2274.