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A House is another huge accomplishment in life. Being able to have the money and buy a house and still be comfortable with money is important.

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Dave Ramsey explains how to buy a home and the things to think about during the process. Saving for a home can take a lot of time, especially as a first time home buyer. After finally saving enough for a house, buying a home can be stressful.

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Having a car is very important so you can be where you need to be on time.

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CLOSE

It sounds so simple: If you want to build up your savings, just spend less than you earn.

But while a fourth-grader can do the math on paper, even 40-year-olds can have trouble putting that basic idea into practice.

If you're trying to save up a few thousand bucks for a new car - or a used car that is at least new to you - it helps to have a plan that keeps you disciplined and on schedule if unexpected expenses pop up.

If you're looking to purchase a vehicle, here's how to get your finances in order.
Step 1: Calculate your desired car payment.
If you don't want a car loan at all, the answer here is "zero." Skip to Step 2.

But for those who can't pay in full or who don't mind a car payment, start by calculating how much you can afford to pay out each month.

Make sure you leave some wiggle room for maintenance, such as oil changes or new tires, of course, or any change in insurance costs. While a car payment is perhaps the biggest single expense here, it surely isn't the only one.
Step 2: Calculate how much you need down.
Again, if you're paying in full then the answer is "everything." Now skip to Step 3.

For those looking at a monthly car payment, a host of Internet tools can help calculate how much you need down at the time of purchase. For example, a 2014 Chevy Cruze compact sedan starts at $18,345 with shipping.

The Auto Loan Calculator on Cars.com is a good one, because it allows you to easily customize fields including trade-in value, sales tax and loan terms to get a more accurate estimate. Bank of America also has a nice affordability tool that starts with the monthly payment instead of the sticker price of the car. This allows you to start with your budget instead of guessing on how much vehicle you can afford and working backward.

You can do an Internet search and find a host of others. But spend a few minutes testing different down payments and payment terms, and you'll quickly see how that affects your monthly expenses - and how much car you can ultimately afford.
Step 3: Decide when you want (or need) the car.
Once you know how much you can afford to spend, including down payments and monthly loan installments, the final element is timing.

Just remember that the sooner you want the car - or if your old wheels are unreliable, the sooner you need a car - the faster you'll have to save up the cash.

Don't be unrealistic or impatient here. For instance, if you only take home $4,000 a month but need a $5,000 down payment for the car you want and insist on buying that car next week ... well, it isn't going to happen.

The obvious way to find a more affordable car is simply to look for a cheaper one. But delaying your purchase by a few months to build up more savings can also make a difference on your finances.
Step 4: Make savings mandatory.
Now we arrive at the hard part: sticking to the plan and saving what you need, by the time you need it.

The best way to meet a savings goal is to take out the guesswork and make it automatic, rather than debating every single purchase you make. It's not only less temptation this way, but also less stress.

Let's say, for round numbers, you need to save $5,000 in the next five months. If you have a direct-deposit paycheck, simply tell your payroll department that you want $500 sent to your savings account every two weeks, with the rest sent to checking as usual.

That way the savings happens on its own - and best of all, there's no risk you'll accidentally eat into those savings when you write a check for the electric bill or when you swipe your debit card at Chipotle. Some banks may even allow you another separate account free of charge if you even want to keep the car fund separate from your rainy day savings account.

If you don't have direct deposit, then you have to do it the old fashioned way: Either make a trip to the bank yourself or deposit $250 into a "car jar" on the dresser every Thursday after you get paid.

And save it first thing, before some reason to spend it pops up.

Think of this method as a kind of withholding, like the money set aside for health insurance or taxes. If you never know you have it and learn to live on a budget without it, the savings happen on their own.
Step 5: Save, but don't punish yourself.
Even if your savings are building "automatically," keeping your emotions in check across this process is easier said than done.

There's the guilt that comes with spending too much on something when you should be pinching pennies. There's frustration from having to say "no" to other things we want. And, of course, there's the fear that you won't save enough and will always be behind.

It's crucial to be realistic about what you can spend, and make a good plan ... but after you have a structure in place, it's also important to relax.

If savings becomes a daily or hourly battle to pinch pennies, you can seriously stress yourself out - not to mention your spouse or children.

So, remember that while cutting out your twice-daily Starbucks run is a great way to save cash, it is perfectly acceptable to treat yourself to an iced mocha every week or two in order to keep your spirits up. Or, if you wind up skipping a beach vacation this year, it's OK to settle for a day trip to a campground with the kids instead.

Giving up luxuries shouldn't mean killing simple pleasures, too.

The bottom line is that saving money shouldn't feel like punishment. If it does, you're less likely to be successful at it.

Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com and the author of The Frugal Investor's Guide to Finding Great Stocks.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1pzLONh

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CLOSE It sounds so simple: If you want to build up your savings, just spend less than you earn. But while a fourth-grader can do the math on paper, even 40-year-olds can have trouble putting that basic idea into practice.

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Fiji has always been a dream place of mine.

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Explore Fiji holidays and discover the best time and places to visit. | Set your internal clock to 'Fiji time': exploring the archipelago's exquisite beaches, undersea marvels, lush interiors and fascinating culture shouldn't be rushed.

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Working out is an important part that everyone can help themselves too.

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Mountainside Fitness - Gyms in Phoenix and Surrounding Area

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Mountainside Fitness Serves the Phoenix Valley With 13 Gym Locations. Sign up for a Free Guest Pass Online.

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You need to put the right things in your body and I want to get in the habit soon.

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Eating healthy isn't always easy, but committing to a healthy diet can be one of the smartest decisions you ever make. Why? Not only can eating well make you look and feel better, it can also save you money on future health costs.

But even if you intend to "eat healthy," knowing exactly what that means can be challenging. "Following a healthy diet includes choosing plenty of lean meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, whole grain and dairy products," says Debra Nessel, a registered dietitian with Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, California.

Eating well also means leaving out or only rarely consuming foods that are high in added sugar, saturated fat and sodium. That includes most fast food, full-calorie sodas, processed snacks like chips and crackers, and anything with more milligrams of sodium than there are calories in a serving.

If you need some help getting motivated, here are the top reasons to sneak a few more nutrient-packed foods into your diet.

1. Increase productivity

Like a car, your brain needs quality fuel to run efficiently. When it comes to your job, working more efficiently can help you earn more, since high achievers are usually first in line for promotions and raises. Nessel says her clients frequently experience increased focus shortly after improving their diets.

How much can eating healthy help? One 2012 study published by Population Health Management found that eating an unhealthy diet puts you at a 66% increased risk of productivity loss. Another study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that an unhealthy diet represented the highest risk for low productivity out of 19 possible risk factors, including lack of exercise, chronic pain and financial instability.

2. Save money on life insurance

Health insurance premiums cannot be based on health factors, since everyone is required to have health coverage. However, life insurance rates are largely based on age and health.

If you're shopping for life insurance, the life insurer will likely ask for permission to get your medical records, and may require a life insurance medical exam. You could face double the life insurance cost if you're obese. Switching to a healthier diet and maintaining a good weight before you apply for a policy could significantly lower your costs.

3. Enhance mood

What you eat has an impact on your brain, including the parts that regulate mood. Although there's no single food that acts as a proven antidepressant, maintaining stable blood sugar through regular, proper nutrition will help you feel better overall on most days. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals, such as fruits, whole grains and vegetables, have been associated with an overall lower risk of depression, as have foods rich in omega-3 fats, such as nuts, salmon and other fatty fish.

True happiness isn't just about the absence of depression; it also includes general well-being. "I frequently hear clients rave about their increased energy, more stable moods, better sleep, decreased joint pain" and greater ability to focus their thoughts after switching to a healthier eating pattern, Nessel says.

Eating healthy can reduce stress too. When your body is in a chronic state of stress, it breaks down protein to prepare for battle, but certain foods have the ability to moderate the body's level of cortisol, the stress hormone. Some studies have found that consuming foods with omega-3 fatty acids and magnesium may help reduce cortisol levels. Eating a protein-rich diet, including fish and dairy, can help replenish protein stores and keep cortisol levels low.

4. Regulate weight

Most people know this one, but it still deserves a place on this list since more than half of Americans are overweight or obese, and obesity contributes to nearly 1 in 5 American deaths. Even if it's only by 5-10%, reducing your body weight can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to the Obesity Action Coalition .

Simple healthy choices such as replacing soda with water, choosing veggies instead of chips, and ordering a side salad in place of fries not only will help you lose weight, it also can help you save money. The average obese person spends $2,741 more on health care per year than a normal-weight counterpart, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of Health Economics that looked at data from 2000-2005 .

5. Be healthier

Not everybody who is thin is healthy, and not everyone who is overweight is unhealthy, but eating right can improve health for even thin people who are junk food junkies. You can think of junk food as anything that's high in calories and low in micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. This includes potato chips, greasy foods like french fries, and soda.

If you miss out on too much of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs, you could put yourself at risk for early death. A 2014 study published in the British Medical Journal found that eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day was associated with lower risk of dying from any health-related cause.

6. Live longer

The same diseases that make you feel bad and cost a lot of money may also lower your life expectancy. A diet of fruit and vegetables, in combination with exercise, was associated with extended life expectancy for women in their 70s, according to a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Other studies have shown similar associations between a long life and calorie restriction or consumption of a Mediterranean diet, which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and omega-3 fats from fish and olive oil. No matter how you cut it, a healthy diet can play an important role in how long you'll live.

Tips for eating healthy

If switching to a healthy diet were easy, everyone would do it. So what should you do if you're having a hard time choosing the right foods and sticking to a healthful eating pattern?

"Small changes over time result in big payoffs," Nessel says. That means setting small, attainable goals each day that will translate into long-term results. Here are some of her tips:

Stay hydrated. This will help you reduce cravings and feel fuller.

Don't skip meals. Eat at about the same time each day, if you can.

Get active. Just increasing activity a little bit may create a mindset to eat better too.

Preplan around cravings. If you always get hungry for salt at 3 p.m. or sugar after dinner, have a healthier alternative ready to go.

Forgive yourself when you slip up. Beating yourself up after a slip-up tends to unravel all of your goals; picking back up as though you didn't make a misstep is a better option.

Keep in mind that good choices, like eating a healthy diet, happen one at a time. A few small changes in the right direction can help improve your life now, and they may fatten your wallet too.

This post has been updated.
Lacie Glover is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: lacie@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @LacieWrites.

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6 Reasons for Eating Healthy - NerdWallet

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Eating healthy isn't always easy, but committing to a healthy diet can be one of the smartest decisions you ever make. Why? Not only can eating well make you look and feel better, it can also save you money on future health costs.

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English class is one of the most important classes you can take. I want to pass it with an A because English is

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English is the Most Important School Subject for Students... | Bartleby

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Free Essay: One kind of problem that immigrants share is the need to learn the English language, even if learning English is a very hard language to learn....

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People will have temptations to quit school but you need to know the worth of going to school.

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Whether you're coming to the end of college or you're a mid-career professional dreaming of a new path, you may be considering attending graduate school. Before gathering your letters of recommendation and sending in your application, it's important to weigh the pros and cons. Students should expect to spend significant amounts of time, mental energy, and money before a degree graces the wall.

According to education company Peterson's, graduate tuition and fees at public institutions average $30,000 per year, and graduate tuition and fees at private institutions average $40,000 per year. If you plan to pick up a degree from an elite institution such as Harvard, expect to spend closer to $120,000 for the full course, according to estimates from TIME.

If you don't have significant financial support via fellowships, scholarships, or tuition reimbursement from your employer, the expense of graduate school can negatively offset any potential future salary benefits, burdening you with student debt for decades.

Economic Uncertainty

Even though the economy is recovering from the Great Recession, college graduates no longer enjoy a world of opportunity. For one thing, there are simply more people competing for the same jobs. According to the National Center for Education Statistics at the Institute of Education Sciences, the percentage of young people who are enrolled in college is rising. In 2012, 41% of 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college, compared with 35% in 2000.

Well into the post-Great Recession economic rebound in 2014, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released statistics highlighting the loathsome job market faced by new college graduates. Rates of unemployment and underemployment for new college graduates have risen steadily over the last two decades. The current unemployment rate for recent college graduates hovers around 6%, compared with 4% for all college graduates, indicating that new graduates have a tougher time finding employment than their more experienced counterparts.

The Temptation of Graduate School

Faced with poor job prospects and economic uncertainty, new graduates frequently turn toward graduate school. TIME reports that more than three-quarters of college freshman have plans to attend graduate school, and many of them follow through on those plans.

While this may pay off for people who get some or all of their schooling paid for or land a job with a high salary upon graduation, these scenarios are the exception. For many others, consecutive degrees mean mounting debt, mental burnout, and time spent in a classroom that could have been used to develop a resume and job skills. For these people, graduate school isn't a solution - it's a problem.

During the 2011-2012 school year, post-secondary institutions awarded 754,000 master's degrees. Only two years later, that number was up to 821,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The Council of Graduate Schools reports that enrollment in graduate school increased in nearly every broad field between 2003 and 2013, with the exception of education, arts, and humanities, which saw slight drops over the same time period.

When Graduate School May Be Advantageous

Prestige, knowledge, and a few extra letters at the end of your name hold a lot of appeal. However, those reasons alone aren't sufficient to take on the time and cost commitment of a secondary degree. Yes, grad school is an investment, but it's only worthwhile when you see a return. Here are several instances in which attending graduate school can be a wise decision.

1. Your Chosen Field Demands It

Some fields, such as law and medicine, absolutely require advanced degrees. For new college graduates who were pre-law or pre-medical majors, graduate school is often a given. For others in social work or psychology, an advanced degree may be vital to advancing within a career field.

In some fields, including many in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) arena, so many job candidates have bachelor's degrees that a bachelor's is "the new high school diploma," according to comments from a survey conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education and Marketplace. In order to be competitive, a graduate degree may be considered part of the cost of entry.

2. A Degree Makes or Breaks Your Salary Prospects

Peterson's reports that individuals with master's degrees typically earn $400,000 more over the course of a lifetime than those who hold bachelor's degrees. And while a graduate degree doesn't always mean extra money, it can make a difference in some fields.

For example, the American Physical Society says that a physicist with a master's degree can expect to earn around 33% more than a physicist with a bachelor's degree. According to CBS News, web designers, marketing professionals, financial advisors, and graphic designers can all expect a salary jump of 17% to 21% with a master's degree. And many districts and states have higher salary standards for teachers who hold master's degrees in education.

3. It Promises High Job Placement Rates

Not all graduate schools are created equal. School rankings matter, but job placement statistics are likely to be even more relevant to your post-school success. U.S. News & World Report publishes job placement rates, so before applying to a program, find out your program's track record of placing graduates in full-time jobs in their chosen fields.

Keep in mind that the 100% placement rate you see on a school's website may come with a little asterisk. According to CBS News, job placement rates are usually based on self-reported data. This is problematic because those who aren't employed may be less inclined to disclose their circumstances. If you're seriously considering a particular school, ask to tap into the alumni network so you can do person-to-person research and ask what it's really like to enter the job market post-graduation.

4. It Will Be Paid For

Free or discounted tuition can offset some of the financial risk of taking on additional education. Some graduate programs offer fellowships wherein a graduate student receives free or significantly reduced tuition in exchange for teaching undergraduate classes or conducting research (though this opportunity is often reserved for PhD candidates). These fellowships are most commonly offered at larger schools that function as research institutions or have large class sizes that require the presence of teaching assistants. Other schools may offer merit-based scholarships based on your undergraduate record or employment experience, though these are harder to come by than they are for undergraduate programs.

You may also have graduate school paid for by being employed by a company that offers tuition reimbursement. According to Business Insider, the following companies offered tuition reimbursement ranging from $3,000 per year to 100% of reimbursable costs:

Keep in mind that corporate tuition reimbursement policies are subject to change. Furthermore, exceptions can apply, and many companies require employees to have been employed with the company for a certain amount of time or sign on to stay with the company for an additional duration once their degrees are complete.

When to Avoid Graduate School

Graduate school can be enjoyable, especially if you're passionate about the field you're studying. However, if you hope to extend your undergraduate years of late nights and partying, think again. Graduate students must remain more focused on results - you can expect a lot of homework and a lot of independent research. You're going to be investing a significant amount of time, money, and mental energy toward your degree, so carefully consider the following instances when avoiding graduate school may be the best choice.

1. You Haven't Yet Entered the Workforce

"There is rarely a reason to go to grad school immediately after earning a bachelor's degree," says professor and author Andrew Roberts, as quoted in U.S. News & World Report. This is because even though you may have filled your resume with internships during college, there is simply no substitute for working full-time. Becoming proficient in your field requires trial and error, lateral moves, and constructive failure.

By jumping straight from undergraduate studies into graduate school, you don't get to try out a particular field and discover whether it's really a good fit. Imagine investing four years of college plus two or more years of graduate school - only to emerge with a pile of debt and a job you can't stand.

2. You Could Invest Directly in Your Career

While some express programs can be churned through in a year or less, the majority of graduate programs require at least two years for full-time students, and possibly three to four years for students who attempt to work and attend school on a part-time basis.

Full-Time. Although you can finish your degree faster, you have to fully remove yourself from the workforce. This means falling behind on valuable experience that your peers are gaining. If master's degrees aren't prized in your field, this may give your competitors a leg up. Also, keep in mind that while they're racking up paychecks, you're acquiring debt. That can significantly affect your ability to save for retirement, as well as your future ability to buy a home.

Part-Time. Many professionals decide to keep their day jobs while completing a part-time program during the evenings and weekends. Part-time students can hang onto their paychecks, and some even have the advantage of tuition reimbursement. However, part-time programs aren't a practical option for many people fresh out of college because executive graduate programs often won't consider an applicant without real-world work experience. It's also incredibly overwhelming to take on a full-time job and school simultaneously when you're just starting your first professional gig. Arguably the biggest downside of a part-time program is simply the schedule commitment. Expect to attend class for several hours per week, with substantial homework involved.

3. Your Desired Field Doesn't Require Advanced Degrees

If graduate degrees aren't required for success in your field, obtaining them can actually backfire. While you're off investing in graduate school, your peers are obtaining real-world work experience. Many employers prioritize someone with concrete experience over someone with a degree but no experience. You run the risk of being seen as overqualified and dismissed before you even have a chance to interview.

A reporter for Forbes faced significant resistance from employers who viewed her newly minted graduate degree as a drawback. She found that hiring managers worry that an over-educated candidate may have a sense of entitlement or demand too much pay.

4. Higher Job Placement Rates and Salaries Aren't Guaranteed

Forbes tells the harrowing story of a lawyer with a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a law degree who thought that more school equaled more job prospects and higher pay. Instead, she left school with crippling debt - to the tune of $275,000 - and the job market wasn't all it was cracked up to be. In 2014, she was making $20,000 per year as a lawyer in a small Minnesota town, and collected public assistance.

This lawyer's case may be extraordinary, but it's not as unusual as you might think. While a master's degree does increase an individual's lifetime earnings on average, average numbers don't tell the whole story. For every person who got a master's degree in aerospace engineering and landed a hefty paycheck and dream job, there are others who pursued a similar degree and ended up working at a coffee shop.

Even if you do land a dream job, you still need to crunch numbers. According to Forbes, you should add up whatever outstanding debt you have from your undergraduate degree plus whatever debt you expect to incur from graduate school. Then, subtract the salary you expect to earn in your first year after completing the prospective graduate degree. If the first debt-based figure exceeds the salary-based figure, Forbes says the total cost of your education may be too high.

Simply put, it's crucial to be realistic and do your research. Not every field rewards graduate education, and not every program opens up doors.

Final Word

New college graduates aren't the only ones turning to graduate school. Some people who have been in the workforce for years return to graduate school to give their existing career paths a boost, or to change career fields entirely.

The life stage may be different, but the same rules apply: Graduate school only makes sense if your field of choice demands (or strongly values) graduate degrees, and if the financial payoff will be worth the investment. So before enrolling in a graduate program, buckle down and do your homework.

Are you considering getting a graduate degree? What fields do you believe most benefit from post-secondary education?

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Is Graduate School Worth It? - Determining Whether to Get a Master's Degree

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Whether you're coming to the end of college or you're a mid-career professional dreaming of a new path, you may be considering attending graduate school. Before gathering your letters of recommendation and sending in your application, it's important to weigh the pros and cons.

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Graduating High School is one of the biggest accomplishments in life.

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Why is a high school diploma so important - especially in today's economy? Consider the following options: In today's downturned economy with high unemployment rate, prospective employees need all the credentials they can get in a highly competitive job market.