Bogleheads® personal finance planning start-up kit

Welcome to the !

This kit includes financial topics that are not specifically related to investing or retirement planning. The personal finance pages include topics such as budgeting, loan management, insurance, charitable contributions, and tax basics. This kit concludes with pages dealing with important planning issues regarding protecting ones assets. Pages dealing with college savings plans are also included here.

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Basic steps
This kit includes many topics on personal finance, they are listed in the sections below.

There are a few basic financial steps that are important to get correct early:


 * 1) Finance planning starts with a sound financial lifestyle (Video).
 * 2) Track your expenses and stay within your budget. (Household_budgeting). In order to invest, budget a certain portion of your income for investing.
 * 3) Is your needed insurance coverage up to date?
 * 4) Pay down bad debt (credit cards, other high interest debt). Paying off a 20% interest rate credit card debt will free up your money far faster than purchasing a stock fund.  With very low interest rate loans, it is often better to make minimum loan payments while investing the rest.
 * 5) Complete saving for the emergency fund. Once you have debt under control, create an emergency fund. A minimum of six months of living expenses (preferably more) is recommended, especially for non-retired individuals. Don't skip this step!  An established emergency fund can provide an individual with needed funds whenever an unforeseen event occurs. Examples of unfortunate events include loss of employment, temporary health impairments, large ticket repair items, and any other unforeseen financial contingency. An emergency fund allows one to meet such expense obligations with liquid funds, so that one does not need to tap investments held for long term goals. Once this in place, you are ready to invest.
 * 6) Take advantage of any employer match on a retirement savings plan even as you work towards the above goals.

With the basics above under control, you are ready for the next steps. Look at the other personal financial planning topics below or look to the Bogleheads® investing start-up kit related to investing.

Personal finance

 * Asset protection
 * Emergency fund
 * Estate planning
 * Financial planning
 * Household budgeting
 * Living below your means
 * Owning versus Renting a Home
 * Paying down loans versus investing
 * Tax basics

Insurance

 * Insurance
 * Disability insurance
 * Long-term care insurance
 * Medicare
 * High deductible health plan
 * Health savings account
 * Flexible spending account

College savings

 * 529 plans
 * 529 plans indexed options
 * Education Savings Accounts

Charitable donations

 * Charity selection links
 * Donating appreciated securities