Six Financial Tips To Make The Best Out Of 2014 - Assess Your Debt

Financial Tips
Source: LendingMemo, cc-by-3.0, flickr

A new year seems like a fresh financial slate. It’s a time when many people give serious thought to changes in how they handle money. That’s a good thing. However, when it comes to money, you may first have to address circumstances created by how you’ve handled it in the past. Do that first and then commit to making your money management changes permanent. Here are six financial tips to make this year the best. 

1. Assess Your Debt:

List and add all your loans, such as for housing, transportation or education; all your credit cards; and any other debt. Write the total you need to pay off as well as the minimum total you need to pay each month. 

2. Assess Your Monthly Living Expenses:

If you don’t know how much you spend on things like groceries and gas, figure it out. Look at past bank statements or receipts. If that doesn’t work, keep details of what you spend for one month. Then list the amount you need each month for essentials, such as groceries, health care and transportation, and for wants, such as entertainment and eating out. 

3. Assess Your Income:

If you are the sole bread winner with no investments, this is easy. If your family has more than one source of income, add it all together. 

4. Weigh Your Debt And Expenses Against Your Income:

How much, if any, is left each month? That’s what you have left to reduce debt or save. If you want more, look at your nonessential expenditures for ways to cut costs. 

5. Reduce Or Eliminate Credit Card Debt:

If you have one or two balances that are much smaller, pay them off first, using some of your leftover monthly money. Next, tackle the account with the biggest interest charge. Then make this the year you no longer carry over a credit card balance from one month to the next; this achievement alone can make a big difference on your future financial years. 

6. Make A Budget:

Set reasonable amounts to spend each month in each category. Add a small cushion in your monthly budget for small unexpected extra costs. Once you make the budget, stick with it. If you decide to spend no more than $10 monthly on coffee out and to bring coffee from home the rest of the time, follow through on that. You’ll see the results of shifting money to paying bills. 

7. Make Sure You Have A Nest Egg:

Try to save an amount equal to three months of living expenses. If you can’t do that, save what you can. Make sure you have money you don’t touch so that you can use it for an emergency, such as a huge car repair or medical bill. That way you pay with money, not credit cards. 

8. Reduce Or Eliminate Your Loans.

If you’ve gotten this far, see whether you can pay off any loans more quickly by sending extra money each month. See whether you can refinance any loans at a lower interest rate. 

9. Invest Wisely:

Consult with a financial expert about how best to invest at your level of ability. This conversation should include saving for retirement.

Changing your financial habits may not be easy, but it can certainly be rewarding. Make the effort to evaluate your situation and to improve it. Then follow through and you will end the year with a more secure financial future.

Justin Reeves is a entrepreneur who enjoys blogging about personal finance, start-up business and more. If you want to find more articles on these topics, be sure to follow www.makingsenseofcents.com.

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Debt Consolidation – Is it the right choice to make? | Simple Debt Solutions

Debt Consolidation
Source: LendingMemo, cc-by-3.0, flickr

People’s needs have changed a lot over the years and so has the method of getting financing and loans.  Loans are made available to meet all kinds of needs – education, home loans, and auto loans and so on.  It is easy to get department store loans of a kind too – through their credit cards.  It is very easy to get into trouble with having too many cards and owing a lot of money.  There is help available for people whose debt is out of control and the list of creditors keeps growing - debt consolidation.  Taking this option can help people save time and money.  But how does one figure out if this is the right choice to make? Talk to your finance expert for Simple Debt Solutions now!

What is debt consolidation?

Debt consolidation comes with its pros and cons – like any other choice in life.  To many people, this seems like an effective solution, but it may not be right for everybody.  Debt consolidation is a method by which people roll all their debt into one big amount with the help of debt consolidation companies.  Advisors who work for these companies usually help people to do so and work with creditors on the terms and conditions for repayment. 

People can roll all their loans including credit cards into a single loan and make one payment every month.  This convenient option can be used by putting equity in one’s home as collateral.  Paying off one amount is far easier to deal with than several minimum balances. 

Benefits of debt consolidation:

Many people struggle to get their debt under control.  Once all the debt is rolled over and people have just one payment to make, they are able to do so by changing their lifestyles just a bit.  These kinds of loans also come with lower interest rates which is a good thing as it leaves a borrower with a little extra in the bank which can be saved. 

Disadvantages of debt consolidation:

In most cases, debt consolidation is done based on home equity. This is usually a risky strategy, especially if one fails to make loan payments.  Even missing one payment can have disastrous consequences.   People have to seriously sit down and take stock of how their finances got into such a mess in the first place.  Many people have trouble controlling their spending habits and for them, debt consolidation may not be the right choice. 

They could be in the same kind of a situation in the future and risking one’s home is not a smart idea.  If a person is not willing to rein in their spending, then debt consolidation is not the right choice for them.

What kind of debts can be consolidated?

Credit card debt, personal loans, auto loans, student loans and what one owes on different store credit cards can be consolidated into one lump sum.  One thing that a person should keep in mind is that paying off such loans requires a lot of discipline and patience. 

It is possible to get one’s finances back on track and save for the future. Talk to your financial advisor now for Simple Debt Solutions.

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Money - Saving Tips For Recent Graduates | Figure Out How to Cut Costs

According to Payscale.com, the average recent college graduate makes around $30,000. Unfortunately, this can quickly disappear in the midst of expensive living costs. Here are five ways that recent graduates can save money.

1.) Make a Budget

As a recent college graduate myself, I understand that the word “budget” is about as desirable as going to the dentist. In my own personal life, however, I’ve realized how much unnecessary money I spend when I’m not living by a budget. Dining out here, daily Starbucks runs there, and other expenses can quickly add up to several hundred extra dollars a month. If you’re trying to save money, the best thing to do is sit down and make a budget of how much you think you’ll need to spend on your fixed costs (housing, insurance, loan payments), as well as your fluctuating costs (such as entertainment and travel). If you don't have a budget yet, hop on over to TIME magazine to check out this link on things grads can do to get hired. Once you do have a steady paycheck coming in, you can use a service like Mint.com, which accesses your bank account and shows you how much you’ve spent on various items for a particular month. Although it takes time to figure out exactly how much you need to budget for various items each month, being conscious about making a budget and sticking to it saves lots of money in the long run.

2.) Start a Savings Account

Experts recommend putting at least 3-12 months of living expenses in savings for emergencies (such as being laid-off or repairing your car.) You should put at least 10% of your paycheck into a savings account each month. If you can afford to save more, then do so! But 10% is a good starting point. This will prevent you from finding yourself in a financial pinch down the road.

3.) Pay Back Those Pesky Loans

While it may be tempting to defer payments, doing so will rack up exorbitant interest rates. Make sure that you always pay the minimum each month so that you avoid incurring extra fees. And whenever you have some extra money, put it toward your note’s interest. And make sure to avoid credit card debt.

4.) Avoid Frivolous and Unnecessary Expenses

The quickest way to blow a budget is through buying “wants” instead of needs. You may want designer clothes and handbags, restaurant meals each night of the week, and fancy haircuts, but you don’t really need them. Avoid impulse purchases by not buying anything over $50 without spending a couple days thinking about the purchase and doing some research to make sure that it’s a solid investment.

5.) Figure Out How to Cut Costs

If you live near family, consider living at home for the first year or two. This allows you to funnel the money you would be spending on rent into chipping away at loans or adding to your savings account. If you already have an apartment, consider finding a roommate so that you can share costs for rent. Clip coupons and buy groceries on sale to save money. Get a subscription to a library so that you can check out movies and books from them instead of buying them. Take your own lunches to work instead of dining out each day. Learn to cook so you can make meals at home. Invest in a coffeemaker so you can avoid spending $5 a day on Starbucks lattes. Figure out other simple ways to save on expenses so that you can live within your means.

About Author:

Rebekah Ann writes about issues related to millennials.

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How To Detect The Accurate Problems Of Increasing Outstanding Debts From Credit Cards

You can adopt the method of proper credit counseling for getting proper solutions to your credit problems. The counseling experts will help you to recognize the actual signs of debt problems so that you can follow the right path of debt consolidation accordingly.

Signs of growing debt problems:

There are certain indications when you will be able to recognize that you are slowly getting the trap of accumulated debts including these normal ones and the credit card debts. Therefore, those indicative signs have been accumulated and have been brought down together for your convenience in the following to understanding your situation better:

• Increase of the balances of credit card with the decrease of your income.
• You are being able to pay off only the minimum possible debt amounts rather even over than that in some cases.
• You are choosing the option off bill juggling. For instance, you might develop the tenacity of applying for a second credit card in another bank for taking cash advances ion that card to pay off the outstanding balances on your existing cards.
• The number of your credit cards will be increasing day by day just as the increase of poker chips of successful gamblers.
• You have already reached to the extreme or maximum credit limits of all your credit cards.
• You are making maximum use of your credit cards but paying fewer amounts.
• You are feeling the need of taking overtime work pressures for meeting all your expenses of credit cards.
• You are not keeping proper track that where all your incomes are going and as a result of which you are finding tremendous difficulty in running your family and other monthly expenses.
• You are continuously receiving letters or phone calls regarding the payment of your outstanding amounts on your cards.
• You are currently being forced to purchase all your regular necessities like foods, fruits or vegetable on your cards rather than your luxurious items.
• You are now using your credit cards for fulfilling your financial crisis rather than for your convenience.
• You are continuously cutting your monthly costs for paying of your monthly card bills.
• You are no more revealing the purchasing costs of items to your spouse.
• You are trying to play online car games with the help of your credit cards for gaining any unsolicited offer.
• You have suddenly lost your employment or you are probably about to lose it and now you fear that how you are going to manage the payment of all your outstanding card amounts.

Find ways to get rid of debts:

If you are looking for the most effective means of debt relief, then you must take the help of any recognized and well-known and reputed debt consolidation agency who will guide you in a right direction for reducing your debts amount. You can also look for assistance from the national debt relief fund which can provide you potential solutions regarding how to maintain your debts and how to get rid of poor credit scores.

About Author:

Paul Ritz is an associate at National Debt Relief, a BBB accredited business that has helped thousands of Americans resolve credit card debt problems. Consumers can take advantage of a free debt counseling session to discover their options for debt relief with no obligation.

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