The goal: Dedicate 1 hour a day, for 7 days, and improve the health of our finances.

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Hour 5 (00:00 – 60:00)

Establish an emergency fund -

While we were getting out of debt, our emergency fund was limited to $2000.

After getting out of debt, we increased the amount of money in our emergency fund to six months’ worth of expenses.

For us, we chose to keep our emergency fund in our ING Direct Orange Savings Account. Other alternatives would include an interest bearing checking account, a savings account with your local bank or credit union, or a money market account.

The emergency fund serves as a buffer between us and the unexpected expenses of life.  Without our emergency fund, we would have to depend on credit, should we face an unplanned-for expense.

Opening a new savings account with ING Direct, only takes a few minutes, and due to the fact that ING requires no minimum initial deposit, there’s no reason for anyone to live without a place to keep an emergency fund.

There are several ways to determine how much money should be kept in an emergency fund.  For us, we simply looked at our budget, subtracted any items that we could easily do without, and multiplied that number by 6.  Due to the recent downturn in the economy, my wife and I are seriously considering increasing the amount we keep in our emergency fund, equal to an entire year’s worth of expenses.

Over the course of this week, I’ll write two more articles about improving the health of our finances.  Each article should take just a few minutes to read, and the steps outlined should take about an hour to do.  Depending on the health of your finances, you might be able to breeze through the steps in just minutes – or it might take you much longer, if things are in need of repair.  My goal, however, is to keep the steps to a minimum, and to make them as easy-to-follow as is possible.

Consider Hour 5.  If you will take the time to do all of the steps outlined above, you’ll have established how much you want in your emergency fund, opened an account into which you can begin to deposit your emergency fund, and started the process that will move you away from credit and towards cash. And, you will have accomplished all of these things, in about an hour!

If you haven’t done so, be sure to subscribe to No Credit Needed, via email or RSS, and make sure you catch hours 6 – 7.

The goal: Dedicate 1 hour a day, for 7 days, and improve the health of our finances.

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Hour 4 (00:00 – 60:00)

Discuss short-term and long-term financial goals with my spouse -

Where would we like to be, financially, by the end of the year?

Where would we like to be, financially, in five years?

When would we like to retire?

Should we consider increasing retirement contributions?

Should we consider getting out of debt?

Would either of us like to go to or go back to college?

Would either of us consider a change in career paths?

Are there areas where we can spend less, save more, and be happier?

Once or twice a month, my wife and I will sit down to discuss our financial goals.  Usually, we will go over our monthly budget, making sure that we are on track, and then we’ll talk about our future.  It’s amazing what these conversations have done for our marriage.  The best thing about these meetings?  We only have to talk about money once or twice a month, for maybe and hour.  After that, we are free to focus on the other important things in our lives.

Over the course of this week, I’ll write three more articles about improving the health of our finances.  Each article should take just a few minutes to read, and the steps outlined should take about an hour to do.  Depending on the health of your finances, you might be able to breeze through the steps in just minutes – or it might take you much longer, if things are in need of repair.  My goal, however, is to keep the steps to a minimum, and to make them as easy-to-follow as is possible.

Consider Hour 4.  If you will take the time to do all of the steps outlined above, you’ll have a clearer understanding of your spouse’s hopes for the future, created concrete financial goals for the next year, and established a precedent for talking about money. And, you will have accomplished all of these things, in about an hour!

If you haven’t done so, be sure to subscribe to No Credit Needed, via email or RSS, and make sure you catch hours 5 – 7.

The goal: Dedicate 1 hour a day, for 7 days, and improve the health of our finances.

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Hour 3 (00:00 – 50:00)

Simplify our finances -

Schedule recurring online payments.

Establish direct deposits.

Organize, file, and purge old bills, checks, and other related documents.

Hour 3 (50:00 – 60:00)

Reevaluate current filing system -

Can I make documents easier to find?

Should I scan certain documents and store them digitally?

Can I receive certain bills online, thereby reducing paperwork?

Is my current system working?  If not, what can I do to make it work?

Is my current system too complex?  Does it meet my needs?

Over the course of this week, I’ll write four more articles about improving the health of our finances.  Each article should take just a few minutes to read, and the steps outlined should take about an hour to do.  Depending on the health of your finances, you might be able to breeze through the steps in just minutes – or it might take you much longer, if things are in need of repair.  My goal, however, is to keep the steps to a minimum, and to make them as easy-to-follow as is possible.

Consider Hour 3.  If you will take the time to do all of the steps outlined above, you’ll have a organized system for storing financial documents and an automated system for paying bills.  And, you will have accomplished all of these things, in about an hour!

If you haven’t done so, be sure to subscribe to No Credit Needed, via email or RSS, and make sure you catch hours 4 – 7.

The goal: Dedicate 1 hour a day, for 7 days, and improve the health of our finances.

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Hour 2 (00:00 – 50:00)

Gather, organize, make copies of, and decide how to preserve, store, and protect important documents -

Hour 2 (50:00 – 60:00)

Brainstorm -

Are there documents that I need to find?

Are there additional documents that I need?

Do I have a will?  Do I have a living will?  Are there other end-of-life documents I need to create?

Do I need a safe, or a safety deposit box?

Over the course of this week, I’ll write five more articles about improving the health of our finances.  Each article should take just a few minutes to read, and the steps outlined should take about an hour to do.  Depending on the health of your finances, you might be able to breeze through the steps in just minutes – or it might take you much longer, if things are in need of repair.  My goal, however, is to keep the steps to a minimum, and to make them as easy-to-follow as is possible.

Consider Hour 2.  If you will take the time to do all of the steps outlined above, you’ll have a list of your financial accounts, your important documents will be organized, and you’ll know which documents you need to find and / or create.  And, you will have accomplished all of these things, in about an hour!

If you haven’t done so, be sure to subscribe to No Credit Needed, via email or RSS, and make sure you catch hours 3 – 7.

Additional Resource -  How To Replace Destroyed Or Lost Important Documents by Bargaineering.

The goal:  Dedicate 1 hour a day, for 7 days, and improve the health of our finances.

Hour 1: (00:00 – 15:00)

Calculate how much money we actually have -

Hour 1: (15:00 – 30:00)

Calculate how much money we actually owe -

Hour 1 (30:00 – 50:00)

Calculate how much money we actually plan to spend, this month -

Hour 1 (50:00 – 60:00)

Brainstorm -

Is there anything that I can do, today, to increase the amount of money that I have?

Can I sell something on eBay?  Can I begin to plan a yard sale?  Can I apply for a second or new job?  Can I ask for overtime?

Is there anything that I can do, today, to decrease the amount of debt that I have?

Can I make an extra payment?  Can I call and ask for a reduction in interest rates?  Can I consolidate higher rate credit cards?  Can I go through that stack of bills and make sure that I’m making my payments on time?

Is there anything that I can do, today, to decrease the amount of money I plan to spend this week?

Can I cancel or make changes to my television programming package?  Can I turn off lights and insulate windows?  Can I eat at home and brown-bag-it for lunch?  Can I carpool?

Over the course of this week, I’ll write six more articles about improving the health of our finances.  Each article should take just a few minutes to read, and the steps outlined should take about an hour to do.  Depending on the health of your finances, you might be able to breeze through the steps in just minutes – or it might take you much longer, if things are in need of repair.  My goal, however, is to keep the steps to a minimum, and to make them as easy-to-follow as is possible.

Consider Hour 1.  If you will take the time to do all of the steps outlined above, you’ll have a balanced checkbook, updated insight about your credit situation, and the beginnings of a full-fledged budget.  And, you will have accomplished all of these things, in about an hour!

If you haven’t done so, be sure to subscribe to No Credit Needed, via email or RSS, and make sure you catch hours 2 – 7.