How well do you know your own finances? If you want your financial machine to run as efficiently as possible, there are some critical pieces of information you absolutely must know. Without that knowledge you run the risk of overspending, your investments can’t possibly be working for you as hard as they should be, and you won’t even know how to improve the situation because of lack of information.

So, how much do you really know about your finances?

Your Take Home Pay – Could you write down how much you earn per year, month, and paycheck without looking? Do you at least know how you could find that information if you had to sit down and build a budget from scratch?

Monthly Bills – Do you know how much your monthly bills add up to? Remember that some bills may be variable while others are billed less than once a month so calculating all the details isn’t as easy as at first glance. Can you name all of them, their amounts, and when they’re due?

Checking Account Balance – Do you know the current balance of your checking account? If you were going to make a purchase, would you know if you have enough money in the bank to pay for it? When was the last time you reconciled your checking account?

Credit Card Balance – What is the total balance of all your lines of credit? If you have consumer debt, you should not only know how much you have but you should also have an executable plan to pay the balance off.

Mortgage Interest Rate – Mortgage rates have been low for years but not anymore….

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