Are you a self-confessed shopaholic?
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Are you a self-confessed shopaholic who buys anything and everything that you get your shopping addicted hands on? Such thoughtless and impulsive buying will most likely result in the accumulation of a bunch of junk that will simply collect dust. Can you even remember that silk scarf you just had to have and since it was a virtual steal at 50% off you just had to buy it? Where it is now and how many times have you actually worn it? Is it still fashionable?
If you’re like most people, chances are you’ll have to rummage through bins and bins of collected shopping “litter” which you’ve accumulated through the years, just to be able to see that once precious scarf. You may still be in a state of denial by saying “Fashion goes round and round and that scarf will have its shining moment once again.”
Unfortunately, many people fall into this mode of impulsive buying that they really can’t afford and before they realize it they become saddled with debt. If you fall into this category, you’ll soon need to learn a thing or two about debt settlement which can assist you in extracting yourself out of that self-imposed state of financial trauma and begin to start rebuilding your life bit by bit. And the time to start is now! Of course, you have to be honest with yourself, admit that you’ve got a serious debt problem and then humble yourself enough to seek the help you need to pull yourself out of this devastating ordeal.
First things first, a lot of people may actually think that they only have a few choices when it comes to solving their debt problems. The two most common options for those who are burdened with enormous amounts of debt are either to consider declaring bankruptcy or debt consolidation. Unfortunately, if you take the easy way out by declaring bankruptcy, it will leave an embarrassing and indelible mark on your credit report for up to 7 years, which will result in higher interest rates, less credit and if you try do qualify for a mortgage ( some lenders do give loans immediately after bankruptcy ) you will most likely not be able to get a loan to cover 100% of the financing you need. Normally, an 80% first mortgage and if you can get a second mortgage, it will be at much higher interest rate and probably only 10% of the loan value for a total of 90% of the loan to value and you’ll have to come up with 10% down.
Clearly, everything will come with a higher price for a period of time but you’ll have to weigh that with a straight debt consolidation solution in which you pay off your debt. However, in many cases you can negotiate with the collection agency and it’s realistic to get 25% - 50% of the debt forgiven, if you can show that you’ll continue to make monthly payments until the remainder is paid off.
Many of the debt settlement / debt consolidation companies were actually established by the credit card companies themselves. Why, you ask… because it only makes sense for the credit card companies to help you pay off your debt because they can forgive some of the debt or reduce the interest rates, lower the monthly minimum payment requirements or some combination and get paid a portion of the money owed or receive nothing if you declare bankruptcy. What would you do if you were in their shoes? The answer is obvious. This is why a lot of people who have been saddled with debt are now being offered debt settlement.
Some groups offer debt settlement programs through arbitration. The “selling point” when it comes to these kinds of solutions is that debt settlement will actually help end your debt problems, without having to go through declaring bankruptcy, without having to pay overcharged debt consolidation program fees as well as helping you avoid getting caught in the debt consolidation trap that a lot of people have fallen victim to.
In many cases, what the organizations do that offer debt settlement services is negotiate your debt down with the collection agencies that have been given your case. I would encourage you to contact a number of companies to ensure you feel comfortable and that you are working with a quality company that doesn’t over-charge you for their services.
Of course, you’ll have to decide what route you want to take… bankruptcy versus debt settlement.
By monitoring your credit report you will save yourself a lot of problems when you have to get that credit card. You will also be aware of any potential problems that may stop the credit grantor from approving you for the credit you seek.
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One of the best ways to get ahead financially is to know how to shop smart. Reduce your costs at the grocery store simply and easily each week with these tips.
One of the best ways to get ahead financially is to know how to shop smart, without diminishing your lifestyle.
Reduce your costs at the grocery store simply and easily each week with these tips:
Clip Those Coupons.
Sift through your Sunday newspaper, magazines and circulars, or download and print coupons from Internet coupon banks. Make sure that the coupons you clip or print are for items that you would be likely to buy, even if you didn’t have a coupon. Some Internet coupon sites allow you to print only the coupons you know you’ll use. You simply place a checkmark near the coupons you like and print them before you go to the store. Whichever coupon method you choose, make sure to keep your coupons organized with an inexpensive coupon organizer so you aren’t spending a lot of time at checkout sifting through coupons.
Luxury versus Necessity.
Determine what constitutes necessity as opposed to luxury. A bottle of shampoo is a necessity. An expensive salon styling hold gel is a luxury. If there are luxury items you love, price them at various online retailers and order from the site that offers the product at the most significant discount. Use a coupon code, too, if at all possible.
Reuse and Reduce.
Try to eliminate disposable containers as much as possible. And think about ways you can reduce the quantity of an item that you use. For example, my family pours a great deal of cereal, and we used to leave a good deal of it in the bowl. Teach your children to pour just a bit into the bowl, and assure them they can always go back for more. Try diluting fruit juices, as well.
Get the Family Involved.
Your family members may be more excited about helping in the process of reducing the family grocery budget if there’s a common goal. Let them know what those pinched pennies will be used for, whether it’s a Disney vacation or a contribution to their college fund. Or maybe you are cutting back at the store so the family will be able to enjoy other amenities, such as premium cable channels, and high-speed Internet connections. When everyone is informed of the reasons for cutting back, they are more likely to be supportive, and to help out in little ways. Make sure to ask your family members for their own money-saving ideas, too. Work on coming to an agreement as a family as to which products you can do without, and which you absolutely must have.
Flexibility.
Do not be afraid to try different products and brands. You may have been loyal to one brand of laundry detergent over the years, but many soaps and detergents contain the same ingredients, and most detergents will get your clothes clean. Consider selecting lower-priced store brand items more often.
Specials and Discounts.
Check with various grocers in the area for double coupon days and special discounts. Some supermarkets offer “buy one, get one free” sales on many items such cold cereals, breads, soft drinks and more. Just make sure you aren’t buying in quantities larger than your family can consume. Browse through the discount rack for non-perishables and slightly damaged packages such as cosmetics, deodorants, mouthwashes and toothpastes. And look for after-holiday specials on meats such as turkeys and hams.
Eat Before You Go.
There are so many impulse items available, and grocers know our weaknesses. Candy, potato chips and other junk foods are much easier to resist when your stomach isn’t rumbling.
When Shopping with Kids.
Remember that “No” is a Complete Sentence. While purchasing the “I want” items may save temper tantrums and sulking fits all the way home, it will not help your pocketbook. Once you begin to practice being firm on a continuing basis, those episodes will decrease.
Grocery List.
Make a list of the items you need and try to stick to it as much as possible. Bringing a list with you while you are at the grocery store will help keep you centered and focused.
Household Hints.
Become familiar with various household tricks and tips. For instance, you would be surprised how many uses there are for vinegar, baking soda, lemons and salt. Rubbing salt inside the cavity of a chicken before cooking will keep it moist, and a solution of white vinegar mixed with water can be used to clean your coffeepot. (Just remember to run a few cycles of cold water through it afterwards to rinse.) Lemon juice and baking soda can be used to clean your sink drain. Even old aluminum foil pieces can be crumbled up and used to scrub barbecue grills in place of scouring pads.
Monitoring your credit report you will save yourself a lot of problems
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By monitoring your credit report you will save yourself a lot of problems when you have to get that credit card. You will also be aware of any potential problems that may stop the credit grantor from approving you for the credit you seek.
Whenever somebody applies for credit or financing, his or her credit report will be pulled electronically from any of the three major consumer reporting agencies (CRA). These CRAs are Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax - companies that are responsible for maintaining correct and up-to-date credit information around the country. Everyone is probably aware that these three nationwide credit bureaus have to monitor billions of data records therefore it is not inevitable to find errors with the reports. A majority of consumers would have at least one omission or inaccurate detail on their credit report.
It is for this very reason that as a consumer, the responsibility of checking your own credit information falls on your shoulders. Make sure that you get a copy of your credit report from each of the three Credit Reporting Agencies. You should contact each credit bureau and ask for your free credit report (you are entitled to 1 free copy every year). If you have been denied credit within the past 60 days, you are also entitled to a free credit report.
Here is a list of each credit bureau. Make that call and start checking your credit info.
Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta , GA 30374-0241;(800) 685-1111.
Experian(formerly TRW),P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).
Trans Union , P.O. Box 1000 , Chester , PA 19022 ; (800) 916-8800.
Using The Internet To Obtain Your Credit Report
You can also use the internet to obtain your credit report. Many companies offer instant access to your credit report online and will offer you a free credit report if you try their credit monitoring service for 30 days. Credit monitoring services are a great way to keep track of your credit and stop potential identity thieves. As soon as you or someone else applies for credit using your name and social security number, these services will alert you via email. If you did not request this new credit you just need to log into your account and start the process of alerting the credit bureaus of potential fraud activity.
How is the information found on your credit report used
The credit information that is reported on your credit report will be used to evaluate you when you apply for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Therefore it is crucial that you review your credit reports for accuracy from at least annually.
Why is it important to monitor your credit report
By monitoring your credit report you will save yourself a lot of problems or unpleasant surprises when you have to get that credit card or if you’re considering buying a home. You will also be aware of any potential problems that may stop the credit grantor from approving you for the credit you seek. Knowing exactly what a lender will see when they pull your credit will allow you either try to dispute the items and have them removed from your report or prepare explanations for the credit problems and discuss them with your potential lender BEFORE you apply for that line of credit.
What to do if you find inaccurate information
- Be meticulous in examining your credit information. If you see any discrepancies, verify them as soon as possible. The law says that the credit bureau should examine the matter within a reasonable amount of time, usually 30 days.
- Dispute inaccurate information your credit report. Some credit repair specialist suggests you dispute items one at a time. Some say do it all at once. I have had clients that have done both, and there was never any one way that was more successful then the other in our case. I truly believe it depends on the agent you get at the credit bureau.
- Write an ORIGINAL dispute letter. Don’t just copy a form you found online. If you found it, then so did potentially hundreds if not thousands of other people. The agents at the credit bureaus in the disputes area have probably seen any freely given online dispute letter hundreds if not thousands of times. They will not take your request as seriously as they should if you do this.
The credit bureau is required to investigate and if that item cannot be confirmed within a reasonable amount of time, that credit record must be removed from the credit file. They must provide you with a free copy of your corrected credit report. Send your dispute letter to the credit bureau via certified mail, return receipt requested. If you are using a credit monitoring system you can do this online. Just make sure they send your dispute to all 3 agencies. If the credit bureau completes its investigation and decides that the negative information should remain in your file, you can add a letter of explanation to your credit report to refute the claim.
What are the costs that need to be considered before deciding to invest or buy?
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If I want to become rich, then I need to invest in assets that generate passive income. This is what I have learned from reading the Rich Dad’s series by Robert Kiyosaki. One such asset that can generate passive income is real estate. And anyone who can afford to invest real estate will likely to do so. And they will rent their properties out in hope of earning passive income. But a lot of time, they miss out quite a number of costs in their calculation to decide whether they can afford to invest in their properties.
Let imagine that I decide to buy a property that is priced at $200,000 for investment. It does not simply mean that I will be paying $200,000. In fact, I will be paying much more than $200,000. To understand why, there is a need to know more about the type of costs involved.
There are two kinds of costs to look out for when doing any investment, namely fixed and variable costs. Fixed cost means that the cost is fixed. It will not change. Variable cost means that the cost is not fixed and it changes with time. Also, cost can also be classified into one time cost or regular cost. One time cost is something that I need to pay once only. Regular cost is something that I need to pay at regular interval such as once a month. Fixed cost is usually one time cost. Regular cost is usually variable cost.
If I buy a $200,000 property, I will need to pay legal fees to the lawyer to transact the purchase. This is an additional one time fixed cost on top of my purchase price. Another example of one time fixed cost will be the stamp duty fee.
I will also need to pay an accountant to manage and file the income tax for my rental income. This is an additional regular variable cost on top of my purchase price. Another example of regular variable cost will be maintenance fee for my property.
And there are hidden costs too! Hidden costs exist in any kind of investments or businesses. They do not just exist in real estate investment. I am simply using real estate as illustration on hidden costs. Thus, one should always on a look out for hidden costs in any kind of investments.
For example, I need to manage and maintain my own property by investing my time. Thus, time is a hidden cost. Also, I will need to find a valuator to perform a valuation on my property before the bank will loan me the money. When I apply for mortgage loan, there is a need to pay for loan acceptance fee.
As you can see, when the realtor tries to sell me a piece of real estate, he will only present the price of the real estate. He is unlikely to tell me the list of all other costs that is involved in the transaction. Also, he is unlikely to tell me that if I intend to rent the real estate out, what are the additional costs involved. In the end, I will end up spending much more than $200,000 to buy the real estate and rent it out.
Similarly, I can end up spending more money than I intended to when I buy something for personal use! An item that is cheap can be very tempting. But there is always a danger of hidden costs.
For example, I can buy a printer at a very low price. But the original ink cartridges are rather expensive. By buying a few original ink cartridges, I can almost buy a brand new printer. Thus, the hidden cost is the original ink cartridges replacement costs.
If I have noticed the hidden costs, then I am able to do something about my decision. For example, I may buy another printer instead where the cost of replacing original ink cartridge is low. Or I can look for alternatives other than using original ink cartridges. If I can find a good alternative for original ink cartridges, then I will buy that particular cheap printer.
In conclusion, I should always look for all type of costs whether I play the role as an investor or business owner as defined in cashflow quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. Or I am simply playing the role of a consumer. After identifying all the possible costs, then I will be able to budget the amount of money really needed for the investments or whatever things. I will not be caught in a situation where I am overstretched financially because I have done a good job at budgeting my investment based on the various types of costs.
How to Cut your Electric Bill Significantly
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At certain times of year your electric bill can soar out of control. It might be in winter as you need to keep warm or in summer as you’re trying to cool off, but many people want to pay less for their electricity. Finding ways to cut this isn’t always easy.
One of the most obvious things to do is to get a programmable thermostat. This allows you to control which temperature will activate your heater or air conditioner at different parts of the day. You want one that can be set for morning, daytime, evening and nighttime temperatures. These will allow you to program it to go with the usual flow of your day.
If you can get used to setting the temperature a little lower in winter and higher in summer you’ll also do better. This is relatively simple in winter, as you can just pile on an extra sweater when you’re awake, and an extra blanket at night. It’s a bit more challenging during the summertime, but you can get used to warmer temperatures if you don’t spoil yourself with the air conditioner.
Take advantage of your ceiling fans. These do work winter and summer for circulating air. Contrary to popular belief, fans don’t so much cool air as they do move it, which makes it feel cooler. If you put the ceiling fan into the reverse setting in the winter it will circulate the warm air which rises toward the ceiling.
Many dishwashers allow you to just drip dry the dishes instead of using heat on them.
Unplug electronics when they aren’t in use, unless the clock needs to remain set. Most people can get away with unplugging the coffee pot as well as other electronics. Similarly, things that charge up such as electric toothbrushes can get by for several days or even weeks (depending on usage) before needing to be plugged back in. The charger keeps using electricity even when it’s not actively charging. I plug mine in once a week for about a day and it does just fine.
As a matter of fact, if it’s plugged in you can assume it’s using electricity, even if only a tiny amount. Decide what feels reasonable to keep unplugged when not in use.
Switch your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. This can be a small savings, but not only do they use less electricity, they last longer than incandescent bulbs, enough so be to worth the extra cost in most cases. In some places the electric company may even provide free ones for you to try.
Do I need to state the obvious? Turn the extra lights off! Also turn off the computer and monitor when you don’t need them on.
Keeping your refrigerator in good shape helps too. If you clean off the coils (either behind or beneath it), the refrigerator can operate more efficiently. Check the temperature settings. If you’re keeping things colder than necessary you are using extra electricity.
Good insulation also helps. This includes the insulation of your window coverings. Heavy curtains do best for many people, as they help keep the heat in during the winter and out in summer. However, in some places you may be able to warm things up a little bit naturally by letting the sunlight in, even if things are slightly (not extremely) cool outside. Natural sunlight also means you don’t have to turn the lights on.
With these tactics you can save some good money around the house. All it requires is a little effort and occasionally a little extra money spent to save in the long run.
Wealth is Lost through Bad Spending Habits
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If I want to be rich, then I should not be spending hard earned income on luxury items. But what’s the whole point of slaving ourselves over our jobs earning our salaries and not get to enjoy the fruits of our labor? We all want big screen TV’s, a great car, fantastic fashionable and great looking clothes and everything that life has to offer. But this doesn’t mean we have to have them by spending our hard earned income.
“I deserve everything that I have right now, I have worked long and hard and what I buy with my money is none of anybody’s business.” True, but then again, what you are doing now, could or would probably lead you to debt and you would probably never reach your goals of financial wealth.
If we don’t keep track of our finances, spending left and right on things that can be considered frivolous or just because its on sale, we would be limiting our cash flow and upping our liabilities. Not only are we having unnecessary expenses, but this is not a good spending habit.
The spending habits that we have formed over the years can cause monstrous financial disaster. Every penny that we waste can pile up and force us to get loans, credit card debts and other financial problems when we do need to purchase that is a necessity. If only we had planned for the future, saved up by eliminating unnecessary expenditures, then we would have enough money to invest in assets to generate passive income. The generated passive income can then be used to fund investments and luxury items.
I personally feel that by watching and making a list of everything I spend, I would be able to account for every income that I have and have the cash flow to invest when an opportunity comes along. Using money that is taken from a loan may entail high interests that might probably be more of a liability.
When I first started out to watch over my finances down to the last dime, I saw how much money I was wasting. I could see some people spend money on many gratuitous purchases which they could live without. By using their credit cards, they pile up a lot of debt, pay only a small portion of the credit card bill and entail more interest. For what? Something that just adorns their home and is soon forgotten. Even if they got the item at a sale, the interests alone are more than what they saved.
By eliminating this unnecessary expenditures and breaking away from bad spending habits, you will be amazed at how much you will be able to save and later on use to invest for more cash flow. What I did was to determine first what I could live and not live without and what is needed to be paid first and what could be paid last.
By determining your needs, you know what you must and must not buy. I’m not saying that you should just be subsisting on bread and water, but you may have to forego eating frequently in fancy restaurants and getting takeouts most of the time. By cooking your own meals, you can portion them out to exactly what is needed for each meal and save more than 80 percent in costs and wastage.
You also have to have self-discipline. Seeing a large display saying that they have a sale is not mandatory for you to go inside the store and buy their products. If you don’t really have the need to have it, then control yourself, especially if you don’t have the money to purchase such items and you will be buying the stuff on credit. Such reckless buying impulses can pile up and drown a person.
Having proper financial literacy, you will be able to curb your unnecessary expenditures. You will see that your money can be delved into more fruitful endeavors. You don’t really have to buy two pairs of shoes of the same color, you don’t need to have numerous sunglasses.
By taking actions, you will be able to control your finances and stop spending. You will see that with self-discipline and control, your finances would have no where to go but up.
In time, you will see that becoming financially self-reliant will have its distinct advantages. You will be your own boss and you don’t have to slave for your money or for your boss. Get out of the rat race now and be financially educated. Get financial coaching from the people who knows what they are doing and they have their own success stories to back it up.
Tips on Paying for Both College and Retirement
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Most parents want to pay for their children’s college education, or at the very least help pay for college. Paying for both college and retirement will be challenging for most parents. Here are some suggestions to help you to achieve both goals:
Most parents want to pay for their children’s college education, or at the very least help pay for college. While it would be great for your children to be able to start like after college without student loans to pay off, the cost to parents may be too high.
The average annual cost of a 4-year public college is $12,127 (source: The College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges, 2005-2006), with 4-year private schools averaging $29,026 a year. College costs have been outpacing inflation by rising over 5% per year.
On the other hand, saving for retirement has become even more important as companies have started freezing or eliminating pension plans, and the future of Social Security continues to be uncertain.
Paying for both college and retirement will be challenging for most parents. Here are some suggestions to help you to achieve both goals:
- Have a plan. You should determine how much you will need for retirement and how much you anticipate your children will need for college.
- Start saving as soon as possible. Time is your greatest ally, whatever your savings goal. Figure out how much you are able to save each month, and setup an automatic plan as soon as possible.
- Prioritize. If you can’t afford to save for both goals, retirement should take priority over saving for college. Your children can always borrow for college or earn scholarships; you can not borrow money for retirement.
- Save for both. Ideally, you’d like to be able to save for both goals at the same time. If you’re able to, allocate money to both goals. You may wish to visit with a financial planner to determine how much should be allocated to each goal.
- Research. There are several different types of college savings accounts available. Find out which type of account will benefit you the most before you invest.
- Use retirement accounts to save for retirement and college. Retirement accounts can be tapped into to help pay college bills (IRA withdrawals can be taken penalty free for college expenses; Roth IRA contributions can be taken penalty and tax-free). However, you should only do this if it will not sacrifice your retirement savings.
The bottom line to getting the most out of your savings - prioritize your savings goals, have a plan in place, and start early.
Good Spending Habits are Important for Wealth Creation
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Start watching your money, every single cent of it.” I’m not kidding; each cent that you throw away can pile up to become great expenses that will all go to waste. What’s the point of slaving ourselves on our jobs to earn more money that we are just going to throw away?
A lot of people that I know say that they are contented with what they have, a steady job, a nice income, a good corner office in the high floor, a great family and a great house. Some of them may be saying the truth, but there are also those that have more inside than what they are saying. Some of them don’t even have the time to enjoy what they have because they spend all of their waking hours in their jobs just to make ends meet. Not that they are poor, but because they spend so much, much more than their income.
Reading a few books and attending a few wealth creation seminars, you will see that no matter how hard we work and how much we earn, if we don’t have good financial literacy, we may be just working for naught. We also need to be able to develop good spending habits.
Knowing what is essential and what is just frivolous would allow us to take into account where our money goes and if those expenditures are necessary. Wealth creation gurus greatly stresses the great need to gain financial literacy. If we know where our money goes and if we control how our money is spent, we would be able to develop good spending habits and increase our cash flow.
Back to the case in point. By scrutinizing all our expenses we would be able to budget our money and save a significant amount to be used for investments. This money is what you will use to build your riches. Let’s face it, diversifying our portfolio would provide us a better opportunity to amass wealth than just putting it in banks. With the way inflation is raising, bank interests don’t really stand a chance.
One great way of developing good spending habits the is by controlling your expenses. By doing so, you will have great accounting of all your cash flow. How to do this? There are simple but hard steps that one must do.
First things first, we should have great self-discipline. Before going to the mall or the grocery, make a list and make sure that you stick with that list. Some people I know go to the grocery without a list and just picks up everything they fancy. We should stick with the list and a budget. Also, take a look at your options, some products are cheaper than others, take your time to compare. Learn to say no to others and to yourself.
Your income can afford what you want if you limit your wants. You have to be sensible and practical with your wants. If you don’t really need to have something, it is better to let it pass. Avoid window shopping too often as they cause more unneeded wants. Stick to your basic needs and to paying your fixed payments. What is left in your budget, after establishing it, is your passport to great wealth.
Do your research and compare for prices. See what your options are. What’s so great about globalization is that because of the competition in the market, many businesses offer a wide array of discounts and promos which can help us save in our purchases. You can try the Internet, with so many e-businesses coming up, we would be able to visit a number of sites or shops that can provide the same product at competitive prices. Check out every detail of your purchase, you can be able to see if the shipping charges are reasonable and whether it would be more practical and cheaper than buying in your own locality.
We should be stringent in our purchases but of course we should also give ourselves something we enjoy. Try to get yourself something that is not so extravagant and expensive, yet would give a feeling of satisfaction. Make a list of what you want. If you really think that it can give you some sense of gratification and self fulfillment, try to reward yourself with it, as long as it doesn’t ruin your budget and still leave behind a substantial amount that you can use for your business and investments. Developing a good spending habit does not mean you have to suffer and be a miser.
* DISCLAIMER *
The author only provides the material and information as a layperson’s views about an important subject. The materials and information are from sources believed to be reliable and from his own personal experience, but he neither implies nor intends any guarantee of accuracy.
The Reality About Money
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Money is a very important topic in our life. I would go so far as to say that anybody who says that it isn’t, are lying to them selves. The reality of our life is that over 70% of transactions in our life are monetary.
Money is a very important topic in our life. I would go so far as to say that anybody who says that it isn’t, are lying to them selves. The reality of our life is that over 70% of transactions in our life are monetary. If we do not learn how to properly manage this part of our being, we are going to be bound to life of lack and need - and nobody wants to have that kind of stress in their life. The only way to avoid this kind of existence is to become a monk and withdraw from society completely. But I do not think that a life of a monk is for everybody.
Here is a bit of background on me. When I was younger, I had a highly idealistic and almost snobbish point of view about money. I believed that money represented materialism. I, being a “highly evolved” spiritual being should not be concerned with finances. I believed that being poor or struggling financially meant that I am evolving even more. This just reinforced my conviction about being spiritual and my already inflated ego. In my opinion it did not help me be any more evolved then I am now. It did land me in debt however. So badly that I wasn’t able to pay it off for years. Constantly worrying about finances brought me more stress and nothing else but that.
I think the only great thing about struggling financially, is realizing that you have to do something about it in order for it to stop, or it never will. I also think that we learn spiritually much more from doing something to improve our present situation (or our selves) rather then simply accepting our fate, and wanting for the change to come.
When I realized that I might have been wrong about how I view money, changes began to happen in my life. I changed what I do for a living. I changed how I look at finances. I began studying what it takes to be financially successful. These changes improved the quality of my life more then two fold, and I do not think I am more materialistic then I was before.
Here are a few things I learned through out this journey:
- You must know where you want to end up financially. In other words… have a goal.
- You must have a plan of getting there. Make a strategy that will allow you to achieve your goal.
- A budget must be a part of your plan. A bookkeeping and budgeting is like a window into what is happening in your financial life. How much you are spending, where, and how much of it you can actually afford. If you do not follow a budget you can look at it as driving blindfolded in a snow storm. You can do it, but you might get in trouble.
- Have a plan where you are going to divide your money as soon as it comes in. So as soon as you get a pay check (of any sort), separate it into categories (long term investment, short term savings, budget, charity, spending money. You can use how ever many categories your plan will require.) This way you will know where every single cent is at all times.
- Learn about investing your money. This is probably the best advice I can give. Learn as much as possible. If you don’t have money to pay the “best” to do investing for you, you must take matters into your own hands and learn how to do it. Nobody will care about your money as much as you do. Learning different investment strategies will always give you a better result, then simply giving it to someone to do it for you.
Money can be compared to breathing. We don’t think about it when it comes to us easily, but it sure is a problem if it doesn’t. So, as it is important to learn how to breathe when we are born, it is also important to learn how to manage our finances. And the beauty of it all is the fact that there is a lot to learn.
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The author only provides the material and information as a layperson’s views about an important subject. The materials and information are from sources believed to be reliable and from his own personal experience, but he neither implies nor intends any guarantee of accuracy.
5 Reasons to Choose Debt Settlement
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If you have the finances to accomplish debt settlement, you can get out of debt quickly and permanently. As the name implies, debt settlement refers to an amicable agreement reached between yourself and a creditor for either one lump sum, or a structured payment plan, in order to achieve a discounted payoff on an account. Below are five reasons to consider this option for getting back on the road to financial freedom.
#1. Say goodbye to your bills.
With debt settlement, your bills are gone for good. In most instances, a settlement will result in the creditor closing your account. While this may seem difficult, especially if you have become reliant on your credit card(s), it will prevent you from using them again in the future and rebuilding a mountain of debt. Debt settlement you to wipe the debt away permanently.
#2. Your phone will stop ringing.
If you have ever been late with one or more bills, then you already know that creditors begin calling at 8 a.m. and are not legally required to stop calling until after 9 p.m. at night. Depending on how many bills you are behind with, your telephone may be ringing at all hours. This is not only unnerving to you and your family, but it gets even worse when the collections department makes you feel terrible about your situation. With debt settlement, the phone will stop ringing because you will no longer owe anything on a settled account.
#3. Avoid legal action & bankruptcy.
Depending on the amount of debt that you owe to a particular creditor and the severity of the delinquency, they may pursue a civil judgement against you in order to recover payment. Once a judgement is entered, the creditor can petition the court for permission to garnish your wages, attach to your bank account or other legal methods used to collect a debt. A debt settlement will prevent this from happening and will ease your mind about ever getting served with lawsuit papers. In addition, settling your debts will enable you to prevent the filing of bankruptcy, which is a stressful process and the worst blemish that you could have on your credit report. While a bankruptcy will remain on your credit file for up to 10 years, a debt settlement will expire after 7 years.
#4. Improve your credit score.
How can debt settlement improve your credit score? At first, it may not help that much. But compared to the alternative of continued late or missed payments, mounting debt related to late fees and penalty interest, a settlement will be much better for both you and your credit report. At the very least, debt settlement will show that you have attempted to repay your debt(s) and, at best, your credit score will improve as you slowly begin to rebuild your credit.
#5. Eliminate your debt at a fraction of the balance.
With debt settlement, you agree to pay the creditor one lump sum, or structured payments, to eliminate the debt altogether. In exchange, the creditor agrees to accept a fraction of the balance as full payment. Quite often, you can settle a debt for as little as 20% on the dollar, which means a $10,000.00 debt could potentially be settled for $2,000.00. If you were to continue making payments on that same account, combined with interest rates, you would likely end up spending $20,000-30,000 before finally reaching a zero balance. With debt settlement, you are not only saving the obvious difference between the balance and the settlement amount, but you may also be saving a considerable amount of money in interest.