Money Management

The Cure for Common Household Debt

June 18, 2013 By Tony Standin

At some point in our lives, many of us come to believe that accruing debt is part of life. After all, you can’t build credit without taking on debt, and credit scores are becoming increasingly more important when it comes to finding a place to live, purchasing a vehicle, and even getting a job. The problem is that many people wait too late to stomp their debt break. When you reach the point that your debt is eating up most of your income, you are headed for a financial car wreck.

Budgeting

Many people just “wing it” with their finances and spend money as they feel the need/desire to. Financially speaking, that is the equivalent of trying to drive through the rain without windshield wipers. Without clear visibility, you can’t really see the road ahead. Start by making a list of your expenses, and it should include all your expenses, not just reoccurring monthly bills. Factor in costs like food, gas, parking, etc. While you can’t plan for every single expense, you can account for most of them. Set reasonable limits on personal expenses and stick to them. The first step in managing your debt is to know exactly where your money is going every month. [Read more…] about The Cure for Common Household Debt

Accepting Personal Finance Guest Posting

January 2, 2013 By Sherry Tingley

We invite you to create guest posts for the Coolchecks.net/blog. We enjoy sharing personal finance articles from other authors. We read each article and do not guarantee publication of your article. You will need to meet these criteria in order to be published:

Personal Finance Guest Posting

1. Have valid good advice for people in the field of personal finance.
2. Be original in content.
3. Your linking IP address will be checked for “good neighborhoods”.

Subjects To Consider

1. Entrepreneurs developing their own companies and experiencing success.
2. What helped you get out of debt and get in control of your financial future?
3. Problems you have personally experienced and how you have overcome them.
4. Budgeting
5. Investing
6. Increasing sales
7. Money management
8. Saving money

Guest Post Submission Form:

Please fill out this form with your article submission. If you have graphics you want added to the story, you will need to say that on the form below.

Sorry. We are no longer accepting guest posts.

Thank you for your story!

Planning Key To Painless Yule Shopping

November 29, 2012 By Twila Van Leer

christmas-shopping — Budgeting Plans For Christmas

If you’re ho-ho-hoping to make it to 2013 with your finances intact, plan to plan. Impulse buying and overuse of credit are the twin bugaboos for some shoppers every Christmas, but there are ways to avoid these gifting traps.

Americans are likely to spend more this Christmas, because with the economic downturn abating, most Americans have more to spend. Matthew Shay, CEO of the Retail Federation estimates that holiday spending will increase by 4.1 percent or more. So if you spent $600 last year and are the average Joe or Jill, it is likely you’ll spend another $25 this year.

The statistics are bearing out Shay’s optimism. Over the past 25 months, there has been a consistent increase in retail sales each month. And some 60 to 65 percent of the American shopping population say they will rely on cash or debit cards this year, a good sign that the temptation to pile on holiday debt is going the way of the Ghost of Christmases Past.

Shay credits a good helping of better financial management to the recovering economy to explain the improvement. “We are using sound money management fundamentals,” he says.

Steve Krenzer, CEO of Pricegrabber.com, agrees that a bit of wisdom in the holiday shopping frenzy can salvage budgets that might otherwise be scuttled. His company compares prices on more than 80 million products and works with 40,000 merchants.

Krenzer says there are indications that shoppers are not always intent on getting the “bottom prices.” They factor in other details such as shipping costs, return policies and guarantees that may counterbalance the price. Shoppers engaging in “couch commerce” look at all of these angles before pressing the final button. More than 90 percent of today’s shoppers research their options before making purchases, he says.

This Christmas, it is apparent at the outset for Pricegrabber, that electronics are taking second place to soft goods — including clothing and other personal items — on many shopping lists.

Mondays and Tuesdays are the most active days for online shipping, Krenzer said, and women, as the “chief household officers” are more likely to be the family shoppers than men. The average age for shoppers is mid-40s.

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos works hard at keeping a finger on the retail pulse. That is how the noted e-tailer, which employs more than 80,000 people, keeps at the top of the frugality game. Amazon’s market value has reached $114 billion dollars. He is constantly on the lookout for new products, many of them devised to address consumer complaints.

This year’s Kindle Paperwhite, an e-ink device that includes illumination for the first time, is one of those products. The product, moderately priced at just $119, is nerdily wonderful, allowing the avid reader to peruse his books in bed without disturbing a partner. That’s the kind of consumer consideration that makes Bezos the undisputed heir to the late Apple’s Steve Jobs as the poster boy for entrepreneurship in today’s market.

One of his strategies is to invent new products to push to customers. He encourages development of some of these after listening to consumer complaints. He released this product for sale this year: the Kindle Fire HD 7, selling for $199 plays streaming video and DVDs in true HD, is the most gifted item on Amazon.

Prominent e-tailers such as these are doing their bit to make the holiday shopping more stress-free. Wise consumers will piggy-back on their advice by researching before buying, looking at all the factors before making final decisions, avoiding “panic” buying and becoming aware of what’s really out there. As Santa himself would say, this way, “it’s in the bag.”

New Restraints On Debt Collectors To Aid Consumers

October 26, 2012 By Sherry Tingley

If you believe a debt collection company is not treating you right, who you gonna call?

As of Jan. 2, 2013, it should be the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency that is expanding its responsibilities to include oversight of debt collectors. Congress has authorized the agency to identify and prevent practices harmful to customers. Previously, the focus of CFPB was primarily on the financial strength of banks. Now, it will look beyond to non-bank companies. The intent of Congress is to provide a stronger tool to combat practices detrimental to those who use the services of these companies. Historically, debt collectors have not been subject to federal scrutiny. CFPB was created after the turn-of-the-century crises that had financial institutions in general in an uproar.

Many borrowers will look upon the added supervision as a good thing. Some debt collectors have used strong-arm tactics to get their due. Calls to the employers of debtors, filing of lawsuits against people who have small balances owing, credit-mangling reports to credit bureaus and other practices have sometimes left consumers feeling stymied. Some of the methods may violate federal disclosure rules, involve unfair fees or other practices not sanctioned by the government.

The new oversight authority will apply only to companies with more than $10 million in annual receipts — about 175 of which have been identified. These companies represent more than 60 percent of the industry’s annual receipts, agency representatives found. Where there are abuses, the agency can file civil charges or take other enforcement measures against those companies that violate consumer laws, even if the offending company is not part of the federal supervisory program.

Agency research shows that About 30 million Americans have, on average, $1,500 in debt that is handled by the debt-collection industry. This branch of the financial family joins mortgage companies, private student lenders and payday lenders who already are under the federal microscope. The 2010 remake of federal financial laws established the CFPB as part of a general move to get more accountability into the institutions that handle Americans’ money. Credit bureaus also preceded debt collectors in the move for oversight.

The new laws for debt collectors allow regulators to demand information even when there is no overt proof of wrong-doing. Supervisors can review marketing materials, phone scripts, consumer disclosures and other aspects of the businesses.

No one likes to be a debtor and no one likes to be pestered with nasty phone calls from creditors. To prevent getting yourself into these situations, make sure you stay on top of your cash flow management strategies.

For best practices concerning your cash flow follow these five steps.

1. Stop regarding your financial management with fear, anxiety, insecurity or some combination of the above. This will paralyze your cash management systems. Create a system that works for you so that you don’t experience these crippling emotions.

2. Cash-flow management is a critical element in every home. When it’s done poorly or not at all, you may find yourself short of cash when it’s time to pay your bills and other crucial expenses. This leads to the use of credit cards and adds to your debt.

3. Keep up with your changing financial needs. Every stage of life will require different types of budgeting and planning. Be flexible and yet keep your long term financial goals in mind. Charles Darwin reminds us that “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

4. Avoid spending money you don’t have. Betting on future income is never a good idea. This will only dig you deeper into a financial hole.

5. If you are in debt now, then set the date you will be debt free. Remember Napolean Hill’s words: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Your Financial Well Being

July 11, 2012 By Sherry Tingley

Concerns about personal finance and how consumers are dealing with financial distress are valid. National consumer debt has risen to $2,572 billion in 2012 and that has the potential for dragging personal satisfaction with life down the drain. Your psychological well-being is closely related to your financial well being. People need to develop personal finance skills that are critical to building a stable financial future. The level of financial distress people feel directly affects their personal sense of happiness.

The Delphi Study of Experts’ Rankings of Personal Finance Concepts showed that the top two financial concerns that people worry about the most are having enough money to cover monthly expenses and living on a paycheck to paycheck basis.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has released information about consumer behavior in relationship to budgeting, spending and saving money, which has been given on a yearly basis since 2007. Thousands of people were asked a series of questions. Answers to those questions brought to light some interesting data.

First, the most important skill deemed by the financial experts is that of budgeting and tracking expenses. A shocking 56% of adults surveyed said they didn’t have a budget and didn’t track their expenses. If this is the way you handle your financial matters, then it is time to improve your skills.

Secondly, one third (more than 77 million adults) say that they do not pay all of their bills on time every month. At this point, if you are in that category, you need to look into online banking and get your bills set up on auto pilot. This will help to pay bills on time. It also lessens the amount of things you have to remember to do. If your problem is low income, it is time to do something about that and get creative.

Thirdly, thirty nine percent of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month. Nothing will help this problem unless you get a grasp on the fact that having no revolving debt is a lifetime goal and should be adhered to regularly. It is far too easy to say to yourself that you’ll have the money later. Often later doesn’t come and soon you are paying interest on a monthly basis too.

Fourthly, thirty nine percent have no personal savings other than retirement savings. The bare minimum is $1,000 just for emergencies. The best situation is having three to six months living expenses. The tricky thing about building this up is replacing it when you have to use it. The peace of mind you have when you have funds available far exceeds the joy you can get from the latest toys.

How confident do you feel about your ability to meet your expenses? How confident do you feel in the strategies you use to add to savings and investments? How confident do you feel in your ability to take care of your past debt? The more confident you feel in meeting these needs, the happier you will feel. If you are far from feeling confident, you can always reach out and start to learn how to live life differently. There are many organizations devoted to helping you to reach your financial goals. Some of them are the U.S. Department of Treasury, The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, local colleges, local credit counseling agencies and community groups. Find the source that best meets your needs and work towards improving your personal financial well-being.

Consumers can save money on banking supplies by buying online. Your savings can add up.