Making the Most of Your Money Part 4- Protect

There are five principles, which we will call building blocks, you need to know to make the most of your money. The blocks represent the key principles to keep in mind as you make day-to-day decisions and plan your financial goals. In this post, I will review the third block, Protect. ¹ ²

Protect

The Protect principle means taking precautions about your financial situation. It stresses the importance of accumulating savings in case of an emergency and buying insurance. Be vigilant about identity theft, and keep aware of your credit record and credit score.

Actions You Can Take

Keep your financial records in order.
Establish an emergency savings fund as soon as possible.
Watch out for fraud and scams, and protect your identity.
Choose insurance to meet your needs, including health care insurance.

Hints and Tips

Open an emergency fund savings account at your bank and strive to build it up to $1,000 as soon as possible.
A good system for keeping personal money records will include copies of important documents like your will, property ownership documents, information about savings and insurance, and other important personal records. It should include an overview of what happens to property after a major life event occurs.
Assume that any offer that “sounds too good to be true” – especially one from a stranger or an unfamiliar company — is probably a fraud.
Look at your bank statements and bills as soon as they arrive and report any discrepancy or anything suspicious, such as an unauthorized withdrawal or charge.
Be wary of requests to “update” or “confirm” personal information, especially your Social Security number, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, your date of birth, or your mother’s maiden name in response to an unsolicited call, letter or email.

For more Federal information, guides, and helpful tools about the Save and Invest principle, go to https://www.mymoney.gov/fast/Pages/results.aspx?k=save%20and%20invest&s=General%20Information&r=principle%3D%22AQdQcm90ZWN0CXByaW5jaXBsZQEBXgEk%22%20AND%20principle%3D%22AQ1TYXZlICYgSW52ZXN0CXByaW5jaXBsZQECXiICIiQ%3D%22.

The information you will find at this site includes Managing Household Records; Detering, Detecting and Defending Against Identity Theft; Get Help Finding and Using Health Insurance; and Tips on other kinds of insurance including homeowner and renter’s insurance.

The next building block is “Borrow.” Don’t wait. Go to the blog post now.

Larry Marvin
LifeCrafter – Money $ense

Making the Most of Your Money: Part 1: Five Building Blocks, Part 2: Earn, Part 3: Saving and Investing, Part 4: Protect, Part 5: Borrow, Part 6: Spend

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