Make Love, Not Debt: A relationship finance blog

How Small Savings Can Go a Long Way

a guest poster — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:26:09 +0000

Even if I am exceptionally good at saving and budgeting money I often forget about small expenses, and whoever said “Don’t sweat the small stuff” obviously didn’t have an expensive daily coffee habit. Despite being organised and striving to be financially secure, if I look at my weekly purchases there are so many small ways I could save money. All these small things add up, and at the end of the month I could have saved myself a lot of money if I had just been more conscientious.

Now it’s not worth beating yourself up about that extra cup of coffee or the magazine you did not really need, but when you fritter away money on small expenses it can make a large dent in your potential savings. Those 3 take away cups of coffee a day add up and could be your whole credit card payment at the end of the month.

More often than not we don’t count small things unless we are really broke and watching every penny. But in order to be financially secure and stable accounting for every penny needs to happen all the time. Work out how much you spend on little things and see if you can make changes to your daily routine that will help you save cash. A little monetary consideration before you put your hand in your pocket is worthwhile and there are many alternatives to spending on the little things so you can save for the big.

For example; if you buy 2 coffees a day, cut down to one and either keep instant coffee in your drawer at work or drink water. If you enjoy a quick visit to the casino every few days switch to mobile casinogaming as you will avoid a whole slew of small expenses such as gratuities, parking fees and exorbitant drinks prices. Snacking can also be an expensive trait and homemade snacks are generally healthier and cheaper to make, as are home cooked meals over ready meals or take always.

You will be amazed at how little purchases can add up and if you monitor your minor expenses you may find you could even afford a holiday or a weekend away with the small change you have saved.

Do you have any tips for cutting back small scale spending to save big?

Choosing the Best Gas Supplier for Your Large Business

Him — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:11:23 +0000

Organising energy providers and paying monthly bills is an arduous task for homeowners and small businesses, let alone large businesses and enterprises. Ensuring that the process of organising and paying for large business gas supply is streamlined and simple will mean that the person in charge of the utilities will have an easier time of it.

As with energy supply for your home, choosing the right supplier for large businesses is essential. You may think that the supplier you’re already using offers the best rates but it’s a competitive market and tariffs and plans change all the time. Whether you’ve moved to a new premises or expanded substantially over recent years, take a look at the provision of business gas from British Gas to see some of the superb deals and rates available.

With substantial experience of supplying gas on an industrial level for many years, British Gas certainly have the know-how any large business needs. If you have an annual spend of £100,000 on energy bills, they could be an excellent provider to turn to. But why?

They offer a tailormade service that takes your large business needs into account. If you talk to them about what you require, they should be able to arrange something that would be mutually beneficial. Contracts including electronic billing or reporting systems to assistance with the British Gas’s Business Energy Efficiency Programmers are available to ensure that the solution they provide will suit your individual business needs rather than pigeon-holing your requirements.

Flexible energy plans are available so that your energy requirements aren’t standardised. They will assess your consumption and recognise any emerging patterns in energy usage, so that the contract you sign up for reflects your business’ use perfectly.

With over half a million organisations utilising the expert services of British Gas, you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re in safe hands. Years of experience mean that they know what they’re doing and will help to resolve your energy queries promptly and effectively.

If you’re a large end gas user, consider your options today and sign up for a energy contract that has your best interests at heart.

Paying Off Credit Card Debt and Improving Your Credit Score

a guest poster — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:14:59 +0000

There is no doubt that having credit card debt is stressful – especially when you know that it just keeps on growing day after day. Paying down credit card debt can be just as stressful as trying to ignore it, however, paying off your debt is recommended – ignoring it is not!

There are a number of options open to you if you have decided it’s finally time to get rid of that debt. We’re going to look at balance transfer credit cards, to see if that is the right route for you.

Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Transferring the balance from your current store or credit cards onto a balance transfer card can give you a great opportunity to pay down debt, without having to worry about interest. Transferred balances will attract low or no interest for a given period of time, giving you a chance to pay off more of your actual debt, while taking a break from interest.

To do this properly, it’s important to choose the right balance transfer offer. Offers vary according to the card provider, so you could get a card with 0% on balance transfers for six months, or another card with 3% on balance transfers for 12 months.

To choose the right offer, you will need to work out how long you need to pay off your debt. If you’re certain you can pay it off quickly, go for a card with the lowest possible interest over a shorter period of time.

If you think you will need longer to pay off your debt, you may need to choose a longer offer. Bear in mind that longer offers can sometimes charge higher interest – but, you will still be paying a lot less interest than a standard credit card.

Try using a balance transfer calculator or a credit card calculator to work out what you can afford, and what is the best option for you. Also be aware of the card’s reversion rates, what happens when the offer ends, and be sure to read the terms and conditions of the card.

After You’ve Paid Off Your Debt

Congratulations, you’ve paid off your debt! Now it’s time to think about whether the balance transfer card is still the best card for you. You may find that the card has reverted to a much higher interest rate, in which case, you need to decide if it’s still affordable.

If you pay off your balance at the end of the month, you shouldn’t need to worry too much about the card’s interest rate. However, if you have trouble paying it off each month, then you may want to switch to a low interest credit card. This will help you keep a lid on the amount of interest you’re paying on your debt.

While you may not always be able to pay off your balance each month, it is certainly something to aim for. Never just pay the minimum repayment, or it’s likely you’ll end up in trouble with your credit card again sooner rather than later.

Again, it’s a good idea to use a credit card calculator and a comparison site, to find the best credit card for you, and to ensure you get what you need from your card.

Improving your Credit Score

Treating your credit cards with respect can help to improve your credit score. This means, always pay your bills on time, try to pay off the balance in full each month, don’t apply for more than one credit card at once, and keep a good relationship with your credit card provider.

Creative Ways to Tackle Debt

a guest poster — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:51:20 +0000

Many adults find themselves swimming in credit card debt, car debt, house debt and other types of debt. This can be very stressful and you might feel like you’re walking through every day with a gorilla on your back. Whether you’re dealing with unsecured or secured debt, eliminating it from your life will make a huge difference in your financial stress. Here are some easy ways to help you pay off debt.

Three Debt Elimination Strategies

1. The Budget

Probably the most important tool and strategy anybody can use to pay off debt is the budget. For you, the word “budget” might bring up thoughts of being poor or broke. A budget is just a tool and doesn’t say anything about how much money you have or don’t have. However, if you’re in debt, you are broke. This is just a fact. Whether you can afford the payments on your car, house and credit cards or not, you’re broke.

The best type of budget to use assigns each dollar a place to go. For example, if you make $5,000 every month (take home pay) and your bills come out to $3,500, you have $1,500 left over. This money still needs a place to go, whether it’s to pay extra on a debt, savings for retirement, entertainment or something else. Give every dollar an assignment and you might just find money within your budget you can use to help pay down your debts.

2. Cut Back on Savings, Temporarily

This strategy is a hard one for many to swallow, but it will answer the question, should I save money or pay off debt? If you already have thousands of dollars in the bank, why not use some of that money to pay down some of your debts? Of course, you don’t want to use it all because you need a little cash set aside for emergencies. Some experts believe an emergency fund of about $1,000 is enough, while paying off debt.

Just imagine how much better you will feel and how much freedom you’ll find within your budget when the car is paid off, the credit cards have a zero balance and even when you’ve paid off your mortgage. Imagine what you could do with your paycheck every month if it wasn’t already spent before you receive it. You could really start saving towards retirement, make sure your children can go to college and take that vacation of your dreams, finally.

3. Sell Some Stuff

The fastest and easiest way to eliminate debt is by selling some stuff. It’s just stuff and once you get out of debt, you can start saving money to buy some more stuff. If you have a TV, vehicle or anything else (other than your house) and you owe money on it, sell it and use the cash to pay it off. Anything you don’t need to survive, can be sold to help pay down debts until you get yourself out of this hole.

Paying off debt frees up the money you need for other things and the faster you can eliminate all your debt (except the mortgage), the sooner you can experience the peace of mind that comes with financial security. Use a budget, cut back on savings (temporarily) and sell anything you really don’t needs to free up the necessary cash to pay off your debts.

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How to Avoid Fighting About Your Finances

a guest poster — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:30:49 +0000

Money is a topic that can put strain on even the healthiest of relationships. When finances are tight, stress, frustration and fighting are all common side effects. But while we all experience concerns over our bank balance from time to time, money doesn’t need to damage the special bond you share with your partner.

With this in mind here are some top tips to help you avoid fights and tension when it comes to managing your finances.

1. Keep it in perspective

When we’re worried and stressed about money, it can be easy to take your frustration and fears out on the people closest to you. Instead, it’s important to keep the bigger picture in perspective. Keep in mind the fact that in today’s tough economic times, there are plenty of couples in a similar financial situation to you – not to mention quite a few that are much worse off. Money isn’t everything, and while limited funds can be stressful, they aren’t worth losing a loved one over.

2. Identify the problems

If you and your partner fight about money on a regular basis, try and identify a pattern behind the arguments. Do they usually take place in the same week as your rent payments? Are you more likely to quarrel at the end of the month when funds are limited? Once you have identified the common problems, you’ve got a better chance of fixing them.

When you empathize with your partner about the things that are stressing them out, there’s also a better chance they’ll go out of their way to return the favour. For instance, if your partner’s stressed about cooking meals on a tight budget, make a point of helping out in the kitchen to help carry the work load.

3. Keep communication lines open

In a healthy relationship nearly all fights can be avoided through clear communication. It’s important not only to express your feelings, but also to be receptive to the issues your partner raises.

Always try to talk through your worries about money rather than bottling them up. This way you won’t end up angry and frustrated at your partner, which usually leads to aggression and hostility.

4. Have a plan

If money is a constant source of tension, then it might be time to review your budget. Sit down as a pair and consider ways to cut back on costs.

If you feel like your partner spends too much money on unnecessary expenses like socialising or fashion, this is a calm environment to raise your opinions – rather than shouting at them in the heat of the moment.

5. Find love on a budget

Money not only puts a strain on maintaining relationships, it also adds stress to the dating game itself. For people on a tight budget who are looking to find love, wining and dining on ‘traditional dates’ can prove costly. It is for this reason that free dating sites have proven such a popular way of meeting new people.

Relationship websites have helped thousands of money-conscious singles to find their perfect match. Instead of heading to pricey nightclubs and bars to meet people, dating sites allow users to view and connect with other compatible local singles for free. To find out more about your compatible matches, visit www.eharmony.ca today.

images: hang_in_there, photoloni

How Debt Around the World Affects You

a guest poster — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:00:04 +0000

You make think that you are alone in your struggle to get out of debt. The fact of the matter is that you are not. People all over the world, including many in countries you may not expect, have major debt problems. Unfortunately, being in debt is a global issue that many of us share. It is problem for individuals, families and countries. The root problems that cause people to go into debt seem to be universal as well. When you look across the planet and see how so many people are dealing with the same kinds of debt issues you are, you can see that managing debt is not an easy task. When you look at things globally, it helps give you a better perspective for handling your own difficulties.

Household Debt

If you take a hard look at household debt, which includes mortgages, installment loans and other consumer debts as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the citizens of the United States are not the world leaders of personal debt. According to Time Magazine, the average household debt in the U.S. is 87%. While that seems fairly high, it is not nearly as outrageous as Australia’s 105% household debt. Yet, ironically enough, Australia’s government debt is only 21% compared to the United States’ 80%. Other countries with a big household debt ratio were the United Kingdom at 98% and Canada at 91%. Their total government debt percentages are 81% and 69% respectively. While the percentages of household debt compared to GDP are lower than personal household debt-to-income numbers, they give a good idea of how deep the country’s citizens are in debt as a whole.

The Australian Example

One would think that when the government is buried in debt, its people are deeply in debt as well. Australia is a perfect example of why that is not true. The country has very conservative fiscal policies when it comes to government spending and, publicly at least, has avoided the debt plague that many other developed nations are currently facing. Of the 10 countries Time Magazine examined, Australia had the lowest amount of government debt, but the highest amount of personal debt. The government may be restraining its expenditures, but the citizens of Australia are not cutting their spending back. In fact, they seem to be bucking the government’s trend by taking bigger financial risks. Obviously, consumer behavior has a lot more to do with personal debt than government spending and borrowing.

Fast Growing Economies

Economists often cite India and China as two of the fastest growing economies in the world. Even though both have lower average incomes than the developed countries mentioned earlier, both also have lower household debt to GDP ratio. On the surface, you may think that they have less debt because they have less income. That is not true when you are comparing percentages. When you examine what they earn compared to how deeply they go into debt, it is still a lower proportion compared to countries where the citizens have higher income levels. In other words, they are not just spending less; they are not borrowing money for what they do spend. They are using sites like debtconsolidation.com to effectively eliminate debt and then they are not creating new debt. Their “cash and carry” lifestyle keeps them out of debt. Restricting yourself to purchasing only what you can pay cash for is an effective debt-killer.

The Case of Norway

Because of their fantastic social program and low poverty levels, many magazines have named Norway as one of the best places to live in the world. This may or may not be true, but the citizens of the country are not doing well managing their debt. Thanks to a massive housing boom over the last few years, people are taking on far more debt. If you look back to 2007 – 2008 when the housing market bubble burst and sent the United States economy into a tailspin, most people owed 130% of their income in debt. In late 2012, that number was 210% in Norway with no signs of dropping. Granted, if interest rates remain low and the bubble does not burst, then that figure might be manageable for the average citizen. However, if things change then many Norwegians may regret their decision to buy a home before they were out of debt just as many people in the United States did a few years back.

Government Stimulus Packages

Despite being the world’s second largest developed country, Japan has face economic problems of their own in recent years. In response to their own flagging economy, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is proposing stimulus packages similar to those U.S. President Barack Obama used to stimulate the economy the United States. The problem is that government stimulus packages do not always encourage wise consumer spending. For example, many people rushed out to buy homes when the U.S. gave new homebuyers a large tax credit. While that did help the housing market, it was not necessarily the best personal finance choice for consumers who rushed to take advantage of the credit without thinking about how it would escalate their bills and add to their debt. Many economists feel that stimulus programs encourage consumers to over-spend and get further into debt.

Every country has their own economic problems in both the public and private sectors. The best thing you can do is to try to learn from their success and failures. Globalization is not just a media buzzword; it is a fact of life. Even if you do not directly notice the effects of the global economy on your own finances, you can be certain they are there. The countries that are best at dealing with debt are not necessarily the richest countries and even among the most economically advanced countries of the world, consumer debt levels vary according to personal decisions. There is no one “perfect” country that sets the right standard for accruing debt. It is up to you, as a consumer, to make the best decisions you can based on all the available information.

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Don’t Spend Your Savings!

a guest poster — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:46:25 +0000

Maybe it’s a problem unique to me, but every time I used to find a way to trim my budget, I ended up just spending the savings.

Spending My Savings

Prime example – I used to spend roughly $3 per workday on coffee drinks, which multiplied by 20 workdays a month, meant that I coughed up $60 a month minimum on coffee. I know, I was blowing through money fast…like getting a payday loan in 15 minutes fast…but it was my vice. But my new employer provides free coffee at work. Not just any coffee either, but coffee brewed with an individual brewing system so it was always frothy and fresh. Yum.

When I was checking my credit card bill on the first month after starting my new job, I realized how much I was saving effortlessly by just not going on the morning coffee shop run! I was thrilled and I chalked it up to being an awesome job perk.

But after getting really happy that I was saving $60 a month on coffee, I ended up justifying purchasing a $10 clearance blouse that I did not need. That was followed by using premium oil during my next oil change for $15 extra. And then I spent $3 more to park near my work building. Why not? I was saving $60 a month incidentally anyways.

Justifications

See, I easily justified spending every dime of my accidental savings on stuff that did not improve my quality of life. Looking at my monthly statement again, I realized I was justifying myself into spending enough to compensate for all of my coffee savings! I was wasting my easy savings! Admittedly, my monthly budget was not impacted, but my ability to save was.

I have since capped my automatic lifestyle inflation. I think the solution for me is to try to ignore (and thus not celebrating) saving money. I would rather not notice the savings until they are safely tucked into a savings account, where I can celebrate them by just glancing at my statement. Seeing my savings account increase has made the extra cash seem like tangible savings, not merely free-floating credit for me to spend.

In all honestly, the coffee budget itself was probably ridiculous. But justifying spending that money even when my coffee needs were satisfied was just insane. Currently, I have my morning beverage costs in check.

Do you have a trouble actually saving money saved?

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Insurance for Pubs

a guest poster — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:50:25 +0000

A pub isn’t like most other businesses, and has specific problems that may arise that are unique to it, such as loss of license, damage caused by customers, and potential injury to members of staff. Ideally, these types of incidents will be few and far between but, if they do occur, it will be important for you to have sufficient insurance to lessen any financial burden that may arise from them so that you don’t have to take out a short term cash loan.

Pub insurance is a specific type of business insurance that is specifically designed for the issues that pubs might face. When dealing with the public, and serving alcoholic beverages, certain insurance needs arise. For example, getting a standard buildings insurance policy will not be enough, nor will getting contents insurance be sufficient.

There are various things covered by you pub insurance policy, such as:

Loss of license
Employer and public liability
Business contents
Loss from theft
Damage to sanitary fittings and fixed glass
Business interruption
Personal accident
Claims from employees

And the list goes on. Naturally, as an employer with staff, any pub needs to take out employers liability insurance. When shopping for a pub insurance policy, this may be included. However, you will need to make sure that this is the case, or whether it is added on as an optional extra. This form of insurance will protect you against claims made from a member of staff, should they be injured on the job. Without the right cover in place, such claims can prove to be extremely costly, and can be financially destructive to any pub.

Naturally, providing protection against claims from the public is also very important. This is where public liability insurance comes in, and will help to protect your business against claims made due to poor service, malpractice, or negligence. For example, if someone fell down a broken step when heading to the toilet, they would be able to claim. Without a suitable policy in place, your costs could run into the thousands or more.

Of course, pub insurance will take things a lot further than this. It is important that you take into account the different services that you offer, such as providing food, hiring out function rooms, letting bedrooms, providing a beer garden, or a children’s play area. All services need to be factored into your business insurance policy, and all possible eventualities and risks need to be considered.

When it comes to securing the right policy, you may want to consider using a specialist pub insurance broker. Since all pubs are unique, and all have their own specific needs, using a broker will help you to determine your exact needs. This is a better alternative to using a general insurance broker, and will help you find the most appropriate, and affordable, policy available.

Be aware that, as with any type of insurance, there will be an excess to consider. As a rule of thumb, the more you are prepared to risk yourself as part of your excess, the less the burden of risk will fall on the insurer. As a consequence, your premiums will generally be lower. As such, increasing your excess is a sensible option in helping you save a bit of money. If you take this action, just make sure that you are in a position to cover said excess should you need to file a claim.

There’s Much More to Egypt Than the Negative Headlines

a guest poster — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:08:48 +0000

So why Egypt? Isn’t there all this bother there at the moment, you know, the protests and trouble and all of that? The newspapers are full of it. Please, please, please forget the headlines because they only tell a tiny part of the Egyptian story, a very tiny part indeed.

Millions of tourists are visiting Egypt right now, and having a fabulous vacation to boot. So dust down your credit cards and enjoy what Egypt has to offer. You won’t be sorry. Let’s face it, there are few countries in the world that can boast 6,000 years of civilisation filled with a list of pharaohs as long as your arm. Names like Tutankhamen, Cleopatra, Nefertiti and others perhaps not so well known.

Then there’s the Sphinx, the River Nile, the Valley of the Kings, the Temples of Karnak, Abu Simbel and more – hey you could be here reading all day. Almost forgot the pyramids, too, of which some 130 or more have been discovered so far. So there’s plenty to keep you going. Plenty to keep you coming back, too!

To most foreign visitors, Egypt is practically all about enjoying its huge number of antiquities. And in case you didn’t know it, there are plenty banks around – HSBC, Barclays, Citibank and others – well able to top up the cash should funds begin to run low. Or simply use your credit card in one of the many thousands of ATMs which are to be found on just about every street corner these days. Easy as pie.

If you’re more into sand, the beach and desert variety, then you’ll find ample quantities of both in the famed Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh and in the desert. Depends what your idea of a great vacation is – lounging on a beach all day sipping your favourite tipple or sweating profusely on the back of a camel heading out into the emptiness of the Sahara. Your choice.

While Egypt has suffered over the last year or two in terms of tourist numbers because of the January 2011 revolution, the same can’t be said for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and particularly the city of Dubai. Heard of it? Who hasn’t. Dubai, surrounded by the emirate of the same name, is simply an incredible experience, a place everyone should visit at least once before kicking the proverbial bucket.

Marcello Baricordi, General Manager for Visa UAE, said recently that the UAE was ranked first in the Middle East for having the most advanced travel and tourism sector. It was no surprise, he said in the Visa 2012 report, Tourism Outlook: UAE, that millions of tourists selected the country as a holiday destination year after year.

While 8.2 million overseas visitors sought out the UAE in 2011, a drop of 8.8%, it was important to note that the actual amount spent on Visa credit cards increased significantly over the previous year, indicating the quality of visitors that the UAE was attracting.

He added, “It is also vital to remember that despite the volatility in the Middle East in the midst of the Arab Spring of 2011, which saw the number of tourists in the region as a whole drop by 7% in 2011, the UAE emerged as a safe haven in the region and continued to attract international visitors.”

Why not read this extremely interesting report yourself? It can be found here.

Top Eight Ways to Deal with Spousal Debt

a guest poster — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:05:24 +0000

Dealing with financial matters is very important for any married couple. It may make or break a relationship as the future of the family is at stake. It is the job of every couple to make sure that they are financially secure. But in certain circumstances the expenditures may go over the set limit. There are times when your spouse may not be able to control his/her spending.

In such cases you will go into debt and might have to take a loan or other financial assistance to pay off the debt. It is crucial that you do not let such a situation arise in the first place. But if you are in trouble then there is no point in hiding. It is time you confronted the problem and looked at measures to control it. Here are some valuable tips to help you with spousal debt.

1. Sit Down and Talk

Before you begin, do check out Consolidated Credit company site for best advices on managing debt. At www.consolidatedcredit.org - a debt management site – you can get the information and advice you need to help manage your debt easily and smoothly. Start by acknowledging the problem at hand. Sit down with your spouse, grab a pen and paper and analyze the bills. See where he/she is going wrong, try to talk sense and explain the reasons for amassing huge debts. Although your spouse might have gotten into the problem by themselves, it is your job to help them. Remember that you work together, so adhere to the principles of honesty and openness when you discuss financial matters.

2. Consider Counseling

There is no shame in going to a counselor for help. In this situation you can hire the services of a debt counselor. Maybe your spouse will be more open to a person who excels at judging people’s opinion. The counselor can help overcome psychological fears related to debt management. It’s never too late to change your ways and you could start right now. Some people don’t see debt as a serious problem and remain in denial.

3. Be Positive in your approach

Fighting or arguing won’t bring back the money your spouse lost. It will only make matters worse, so be considerate and support your partner. It’s their time of need so you need to stay positive. Keep reminding them that this problem is only temporary and he/she doesn’t need to overburden themselves

4. Create a Financial Plan

A good financial plan goes a long way to helping you reach your financial goals. A lot of workshops are also held regularly to help people manage their finances, consider attending these as well. Be reasonable and give your spouse an opportunity to redeem themselves Flexibility is important when making financial decisions, so consider their needs as well.

5. Take Control

If your spouse is deep into debt and is unwilling to change his/her ways, then consider taking matters into your own hand. Take financial responsibility and make a monthly spending budget for your spouse which they must not exceed. It may be an uncomfortable arrangement, but when the going gets tough you have to take such measures. This could provide a short term solution till she gets back on their feet.

6. Educate your Spouse

Assuming the fact that your spouse is not a financial expert, get them some financial education. It is important that every individual in today’s modern society has financial knowledge. You should consider buying books and taking classes for better financial management.

7. Separate Finances

If you think that your spouse’s debts have put extra burden on you then consider separating finances. Remove your name from credit accounts and put major assets in your name alone. Put in place a debt reduction plan to help curb your debts.

8. Consider Couple’s Therapy

Sometimes the problem is more an emotional issue than a financial one. Consider taking your spouse to couple’s therapy to discuss the issues she has been having. Maybe professional assistance is the answer to your problem.

Conclusion

Spousal debt is no laughing matter. It can adversely affect the relationship between husband and wife if not managed properly. Follow these tips and you should be able to solve these issues in no time at all.

Author’s Bio

This article is composed by Elaine McPartland who is associated with “Consolidated Credit” as their community writer. She has an expertise in writing articles related to debt consolidation and how to pay off debts easily and smoothly. You can add her at her google+ profile.

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How Plastic Can Actually Help

a guest poster — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:00:45 +0000

In the financial services industry, experts often give credit cards the lion’s share of the blame for consumers accumulating debt. Although credit cards can definitely cause problems if they are not used correctly, they can actually be good when in the right hands. If you’re concerned about how credit cards can hurt your financial situation, here are a few positive aspects to consider about cards.

Building your credit

If you’re in need of boosting your credit score, credit cards are one of the best tools to use for that purpose. When you charge purchases on your card, and then pay off the balances quickly, this boosts your credit score. Every time you make a payment on time to your credit card company, this is reported as a positive on your credit history. When you keep your balances low, this also helps boost your score. By using credit cards, you’ll be able to really get your credit score moving in the right direction.

Rewards

When you use a credit card, you’ll also get to take advantage of the rewards program. Most cards today offer some kind of reward for all of the money you spend on your account. For instance, you might get one point for every dollar spent on the card. This makes it possible for you to get something for things that you would have purchased anyway.

Choosing a card

If you are going to use a credit card to help your financial situation, you must choose the right card. You need the absolute best credit card for your situation. For instance, you might want to look for the best reward cards if you plan on using your card to make many purchases. This way, you can get the most bang for your buck. If you plan on periodically leaving balances on your card, you should try to find one that has a low interest rate. This way, you’ll be able to minimize the amount of money that you have to pay in interest charges.

Considerations

Regardless of what type of card you choose, you’ll have to use it correctly if you want to maximize the benefits. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up accumulating debt and actually hurting your financial situation in the long run. Once you master the use of your credit card, you’ll be able to take control of your finances and forget about the problems that come with too much debt.

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Income Insurance as a Way to Protect Against Debt

a guest poster — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:33:28 +0000

If you have an income, you should be thinking about income protection insurance. Many of us protect our cars with car insurance, we protect our bodies with health insurance, and we protect our homes with home insurance. Nevertheless, many of us seem to overlook protecting our income.

Most households rely on at least one salary coming in, to pay rent or the mortgage, to pay bills, to buy food, and to keep everyone clothed and happy. The problem is, bad things can happen, and those bad things can stop us from going to work. And if we don’t go to work, there will be no money coming in.

Being out of work because of an accident, illness or injury can be devastating to a household. Bills start to pile up, debts accumulate, and stresses rise. It’s not a good situation to be in.

However, having income protection insurance can help protect against these types of situations. Income protection can offer a substitute “paycheck” when you are unable to work because of illness or injury. It can help to cover bills, rent, and day-to-day expenses, and can stop debts from mounting up when there is no salary coming in.

So, how does it work? When you take out income protection insurance, you will have various decisions to make on the type of cover you will need.

First up, you need to decide on the “waiting period”. This is the period of time between stopping work and starting your benefits. This will vary depending on the insurance provider, but it can be between two weeks and three months.

Next, you need to decide on the “benefit period”. This is the length of time you will continue to receive benefits when you are not able to work. Again, this will vary according to the insurer, but it can be one or two years, and sometimes last all the way up to retirement.

Last of all, you will need to decide how much cover you need. You can usually cover up to 75% of your monthly income, but you will need to check with the insurer for their specific conditions.

Having income protection can mean the difference between debt and stress, and paying the bills and allowing yourself to get back on your feet in your own time. It can help to protect you and your family, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Suncorp offers a wide range of insurance options, including life insurance and income protection insurance. Compare life insurance and income protection insurance policies and prices at Suncorp. For quality insurance from an insurer you can trust, click here to find out more at Suncorp’s website.

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The Tale of My First Electronics Purchase

a guest poster — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:00:07 +0000

This and a whole lot more

I grew up with an 7-years older brother who loved electronics, most notably home theater stuff. When he was in college, he would come back with an awesome a/v receiver, a cd player from a brand that I’ve never heard of, a hi-fi cassette tape deck, and the newest high quality VCR player (hey this was the early 90′s!). I would brag to all my friends that I could watch the latest and greatest movies with window-rattling volume. Looking back at it now, I can see that my brother probably racked up tons of credit card debt in his acquisition of now-vintage-in-a-non-ironic-way electronics.

Of course, back then (and let’s be honest, even now) I really looked up to my brother. So naturally, his hobby of collecting electronics was passed on to me. Back then, it was fun to receive electronics catalogs in the mail to ogle over the newest and greatest things to buy. Now days, it’s as easy as heading over to Richer Sounds and clicking around to see what’s out right now. It has become too easy to impulsively buy whatever electronics can fit on my credit card.

When I got to college and then got my first credit card, I desperately wanted to build a my own home theater system. I never wanted to be a luddite in the dark ages. It didn’t matter that I already had a more-than-adequate stereo system. It wasn’t good enough.

It started with a DVD player. I remember sneaking into my roommate’s room on winter break and using his computer (I didn’t have one at the time) to shop online. The DVD player was a little over $100, which at the time wasn’t much, but probably ended up costing me much more in interest. After I made the purchase I got the email saying my order was processing.

After obsessively checking my email, I finally received the tracking information for the shipment. I think that it was the first package that I’d ever had delivered to myself. The anticipation was intense – it seemed as if I wore out the F5 (that’s refresh for all you non-keyboard shortcut using savages) on many computers waiting for the status to change.

On the morning of the delivery, I made it a point to keep a keen ear to the door. What I didn’t anticipate was how boring it is to wait for a package to arrive…you know, something about a watched pot and boiling water. I naturally fell asleep and missed the delivery! All I had to show for my waiting was a stupid slip that said that the delivery would be retried the next day.

I didn’t think that was good enough. Naturally, the next course of action was to get in my car, and chase down any UPS truck that I could spot. Wow, thinking back on that, I must have seemed crazy. When I finally found a guy, he told me that it’s their policy to not give out packages to people who come up to them on their route. It’s probably to protect themselves against crazy people like me. I was disappointed.

In the end, I did get the delivery the next day and all was good. That started a downward spiral of more electronics purchases, which over the years included a receiver, subwoofer, speakers, VCR, and TVs. Eventually the chase for electronics waned and I moved on to other things and I learned how to fix some of the stuff that I already had when it broke. Some of those things still provide me with entertainment – my receiver, subwoofer, and speakers are still going strong after 10 years. But I wonder how much time and money I could have saved if I never caught the electronics bug.

Green-Eyed Monsters

Abby Dalton — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:46:51 +0000

I'm Like That Little Girl in the Background, Throwing Bitter Glances

Despite having what one might call a healthy sense of self-confidence, there are moments when I feel overwhelmed with envy for what other have. If I’ve been eyeing a dress online and deemed it irresponsible to purchase it, I’ll seethe just a little bit when I spy a co-worker wearing it the next week. This is particularly acute with some things more than others – when I see people planning weddings, for instance, without much stress or monetary consideration, I recall my own less-than-thrilling year of being engaged, and envy them for their stress-free experience. Why does SHE get the chiavari chairs without a single thought of expense or waste? Why couldn’t I?

More often than not, these are stupid emotions that do little but allow me to wallow in self-pity and waste some time. Circumstances, I have to remind myself, are always different. Would I have picked the fancier wedding chairs, even if cost weren’t an issue? Probably not, because that’s not how I think about money. If I want that dress so badly, I could make room in my budget for it, surely. And beyond that, these financial moments of jealousy are often without a full picture of how the object of envy really lives. It’s very likely, based on my conversations with her, that the coworker with the dress can’t really afford it, and has put that new frock on credit. Just because others appear to have what we want doesn’t mean they’re any better off than we are.

But this kind of envy has a way of feeding itself into anxiety, and it’s worrisome enough that I’m trying to keep an eye on it. My husband and I visited family over Thanksgiving, and as we were driving around, we noticed a number of houses that were for sale.

“How much do you think these go for?”

“Maybe $500,000.”

“Well that’s nice for whoever can afford that but WE NEVER WILL.”

Will we be able to afford that much house one day? I certainly don’t know. I know what our current savings goals are, and while it sometimes feels like we save and save and never get to those hugely far away numbers required for quaint houses in the suburbs, I have no idea what the future holds, so why the glum attitude? Why the jealousy of people in houses whom I’ve never met? People who may not even be able to afford what they’re living in, or if they can, have nothing to do with me?

It’s a financial conundrum of a different sort, and I’m working through it. How have you handled financial jealousy?

image: Ktoine

You’re Hired! Now Here’s a Car Payment

Him — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:04:21 +0000

I'll be stuck in this.

One of the great things about my current job is that my wife and I can commute together, whether it be by public transportation (in the past) or by car (currently). While I’ve waxed poetic on how much I love my job, I found myself a few weeks ago interviewing for another position. It’s a step up from my current position, with much more room to advance and grow. Apparently I impressed them, which is surprising since I haven’t interviewed in over eight years and I only had a few days to prepare. They’re going to give me an offer soon.

As I wait for the offer to come in, I’ve had to review my current benefits package and lay everything out to make sure that I can make apples-to-apples comparisons with the offer I am about to receive. That’s the easy part. The harder part is to determine the intangible items and see how they compare.

One of the things I love about my current job is that it is in the heart of downtown Chicago. I have access to museums, shops, parks, history, you name it, all within a 15 minute walk from my office. But like I said earlier; one of the best things is that normally soul-sucking commute time can be spent singing Christmas Carols with my wife and child and having a grand ole’ time while sitting in traffic.

One of the downsides about the new position is its location outside of the city, in a suburb almost 30 miles out from downtown Chicago. In taking the position, I would certainly have to buy a new car, in addition to not commuting with my wife and child who make the commute much more bearable. If I indeed take this position, I’d have to have something I haven’t in my adult life: a car payment.

Knowing that I’ll have to buy a car really changes the outlook of how I’ll approach the new job’s offer. Should I make sure that I get compensated the amount that a new car would cost? That’s somewhat unreasonable as that could increase my income by over 25%. Do I ask for flexible work schedule so that I don’t have to drive as much? Is this a dealbreaker?

I won’t know if this is a potential dealbreaker until I see the complete offer. Unfortunately, it seems that if I want to pursue a job in my field, I’ll probably end up commuting out to the suburbs sometime in my life. But it doesn’t have to be now.

Cyber-Monday Pity Shopping

Abby Dalton — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:36:57 +0000

I May Not Have Had Nine Marriages, But I Can Have Some New Clothes

I have been exceedingly good when it comes to spending and saving in these last few months of 2012. Influx of money from doing more work than anticipated? Into the savings account it goes! Need a new dress for a variety of upcoming occasions because I’ve worn the same two dresses so many times that it’s starting to get awkward? Take advantage of a Cyber Monday discount deal at a rental site for designer dresses, because the last thing I need is a fancy dress taking up permanent residence in my closet. So frugal! So virtuous!

So of course, while perusing the many, many online deals after the Thanksgiving holiday this year, virtuosity gave way to pity. I deserve something for myself! I cried. All of my sweaters are so old! Everyone else is out having after-work cocktails and fancy dinners while I sit at home and sew up the torn lining of my five-year-old winter coat like a modern-day Dickens character! Wah wah wah! And so on.

So in the interest of getting my husband to stop telling me to “JUST BUY YOURSELF A NEW SWEATER ALREADY,” and to stop the pity-parade before it got excessive, I took out my credit card and made plans. After finishing up a whirlwind day of work catch-up, I went home, put on the new “Liz and Dick” Lifetime movie (because nothing will make you feel better about yourself more quickly than watching a terrible dramatization of Liz Taylor’s love life) and did some considerable online browsing. Stores were consulted, sales reviewed, and online product descriptions pored over in order to find the best items possible.

At the end of the day, I considered my needs (comfortable, warm sweaters for the weekends up here, as I seem to have forgotten how incredibly cold it gets, and pretty soon my husband will start wearing his own sweaters and I will not be able to steal them anymore), and what I was comfortable spending (not $300 on a cashmere number from one online shop, pretty though it was). I ended up with a cozy looking cable knit from Nordstrom, and I don’t feel an ounce of guilt for it. Is that because when I arrived at our families’ for Thanksgiving I realized I had only packed black turtlenecks, because that is all I own, so it looked like I didn’t change my clothing for four days? In part – but also because I’ve been doing well, and also trying this new thing where I don’t berate myself endlessly for spending money I have to spend. It’s revolutionary!

How do you handle personal splurges?

images: AJ Alfieri-Crispin

Reached Your Deductible? Maximize Healthcare Expenses Before the New Year

Him — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:12:58 +0000

This sorta looks like my pillbox. Sorta.

Due to an unfortunate stint in the emergency room this past summer, I single-handedly hit our health insurance deductible for the year. You know what that means? FREE STUFF!

(well, not for my employer or the other people who are paying in this insurance plan, but I digress…)

A few days ago I had my regular checkup with my psychiatrist who is managing the medication regimen that I use for depression. I’m pretty frank with my psychiatrist about money matters, so I always ask what’s the best way to get my money’s worth so that I can maximize my HSA dollars. I was down to my last few pills and was prescribed a 30 day supply of the medication (Wellbutrin, if you’re curious). My psychiatrist told me to fill my prescription ASAP so that I could get a “free” refill before the end of the year. How does that work, you ask?

My insurance company will allow most prescriptions to be refilled every 28 days (or whenever there should be about 90% remaining). By filling my prescription before tomorrow (November 5), I will be able to refill my prescription twice for “free” (remember I hit my deductible for the year) since there are two 28-day intervals before January 1; the last dates that I’d be able to refill are December 3 and 31. If I refilled my prescription every 30 days starting November 5, I will have to refill my prescription on December 5 and January 2. In that scenario, the second time I refill my prescription would be in 2012, so I would have to pay out-of-pocket (minus the insurance discount). By refilling my prescription a little early, I’ll be getting my January allotment of pills for “free” since I will be refilling the prescription this calendar year.

If you’ve hit your healthcare insurance deductible for this year, try to maximize your healthcare expenses before the year is up. You could potentially save a lot of money.

image: Dvortygirl

This post was originally published on November 4, 2011. I was going to write pretty much the exact post but remembered this was in the archives.

The Trouble with Christmas

Abby Dalton — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:20:26 +0000

Merry Christmas!

The title here is deceptive, because really, the obvious trouble with Christmas is that I’m Jewish, and don’t celebrate it. But! When you marry someone who does celebrate it, and you don’t have your own family competing to get you to celebrate it with them, then Christmas becomes your holiday too. No, the real trouble with Christmas is that it comes every year, and I am just not that good at coming up with things we need.

I’ll explain – my husband’s family really, really does Christmas. It’s a giftapalooza, where you’re provided with not only the things you’ve needed for a while (new shoes, a suit, stuff for school, etc.) but all the things you want. There is a lot of gift-opening at their house. In my house, Hanukkah is a time for some latkes and some token gift-exchanging. My sister and I would get some candy, some fun things (pretty scarf! CD!) and that was it.

But at the same time, my mother-in-law is incredibly frugal, and a planner, so at the end of the summer (yes) we’re asked what we need so she can start scouting deals. This means I start brainstorming an answer to “What do you want for Christmas” in June. And the problem is, I’m not that good at it. Oh, I can come up with “wish list” type items – a new cashmere scarf from J.Crew! That Diane von Furstenberg dress I’ve been eyeing! That $800 chocolate vault sold by a fancy chocolate store in Boston! But these are not things I would ever actually request, because they are exorbitantly expensive and ridiculous. So instead I take stock of what we could actually use, but haven’t bought. This year, it’s towels, since we’ve been using my husband’s college set, and they are unspeakably old and tattered. I’m pretty pleased with this decision – we’re notoriously horrible at replacing household objects, and this is something that my mother-in-law can shop for well in advance, keeping an eye out for deals.

Of course, I think the real trouble is that I wouldn’t mind if there were some kind of Secret Santa agreement, or “we really can’t think of anything so why don’t we not make up some stuff we don’t need and save everyone the time/money” agreement. It can get costly to shop for everyone in the family, as I’ve discussed. But then again, I never really grew up with the Christmas sentiment, and while I’d be happy to overstuff myself on ham and pie and sleep in until it was time to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, I think my husband feels differently.

How do you handle different spending patterns between families at the holidays?

image: New Internationalist Magazine

Are Two Birthday Parties Too Many?

Him — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:32:29 +0000

Harbingers of doom?

After almost 2 years of being parents, my wife and I have realized that we have a “Spirited Child”, ie, a child who is just more of everything. As such, we’re trying to be sensitive to his needs, temperament, and personality. Large scale disruptions can mean hours (yes, plural) of uncontrollable tantrums. Included in these disruptions are holidays, unforeseen changes in plans, and of course, birthdays.

As we started to list all of the people who we would like to invite, we realized that the list had grown to over 40 people. For a second birthday party that is a ridiculous amount of people, but not unheard of for my cultural upbringing (but seriously offensive for my wife’s WASPy sensibilities). Nonetheless, we realized that our kid would be so overstimulated and our attention so divided that we needed to come up with a plan. So we had to wade into the world of parental politics and decide whom we were going to invite.

The first thing we did was to really look at the list of people we were inviting and ask: Why were we inviting them? Because they invited us to their kids’ parties? Were they family? Friends of ours with small kids?

We then remembered another 2-year old’s birthday party that we were at recently. There were a lot of people there and all sorts of chaos, organized and unorganized. We barely got to see the kid who was having a birthday, much less socialize with everyone else. Family and friends were separated by awkwardness, only connected by a loose bond they had with the birthday kid. That’s not how we wanted the party to be. We want the party to be a reflection of our kid’s life, to be surrounded by people who love him and have supported us as parents. That definition, though, did not help us to lower the number of people we wanted to invite.

While driving to work one day a sudden flash of inspiration hit me – why don’t we just have two smaller parties? One for close family and one for close friends? To be frank, our families don’t really care too much about our friends and want to maximize the time that they spend with our kid and with other family; they don’t want to make awkward small talk with people they barely know and navigate around kids they’ve never met. Our friends could come to another gathering to celebrate and socialize, and to have all of the kids play together. We would still have to trim the guest list, but overall it would be much more manageable.

By having two smaller parties, we figured that we can have them at our home and not have to find a venue and overpay for an overwhelming party. We would essentially have the same party twice, so only one plan and one set of errands for food and supplies would have to made. We’ll get to spend more time with the people who matter to us. Isn’t that really what birthday celebrations are all about?

What do you think? Are we being too indulgent? What compromises have you made for your kids’ birthdays?

image: mae.noelle

Giveaway Reminder! Favorite Tweets!

Him — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:55:41 +0000

Just a reminder that the $100 giveaway contest ends today at 11:00 PM CST. Read about emergency funds and enter the contest here!

As I’ve talked about on our Facebook page, we’re pretty much all set for Thanksgiving; we’ve ordered a turkey and sides. That’ll help immensely considering the difficulty it will be to even get all the semi-prepared food ready with a toddler running around. Join in on the conversation and leave a comment there sometime.

This week was a great week for tweets about relationships and finances. Here’s the one’s I found particularly interesting. Remember you can follow us at @lovenotdebt.

Have a great weekend!