Four Numbers You Need to Know

In a time of economic crisis, many people are unsure how to make sure they are financially secure. It seems like a great time to buy a house because the prices are lower than ever, but many families wonder if they can really afford a home. After all, aren’t millions of families losing their homes because they thought they could afford more than they actually could? Some people aren’t sure whether to save more or less or to stop eating out or to take advantage of travel deals. This won’t answer all your questions, but here are a few numbers you need to know to reach financial success.

28

You should never purchase a home if it will cost you more than 28 percent of your pre-tax monthly income. This includes the cost of your insurance, electricity, and any other money you have to put out to keep your home in working condition.

120 – The Age You Are Today (Change This On your Birthday Each Year)

This is the amount of money you need to be putting toward your retirement. This percentage is the amount that should go into stocks and mutual funds if you want to retire on time and with a nice chunk of change to your name.

5

This number is the absolute maximum you should owe toward your credit cards each month. This percentage is calculated after taxes are removed from your income. Ideally, you shouldn’t owe anything to your creditors because you pay your bill in full each month. However, if you do have debt toward credit card bills, make it less than 5 percent of your take home income.

10

This is the minimum amount of money you need to start saving at this moment in time for retirement. You should save more, but it’s not always possible to save that much money, so go ahead and save 10 percent now and add to it when you can afford to.