|
|
|
Homeownership: Could it be in Your Future?
Whether you are young, newly divorced or in transition, or a newcomer to America , you rightfully want full participation in the American Dream to own your own home. Still, renting might be the best choice (or only alternative) for you right now. ...
How Did I Get In This Mess?
When I was younger and having all kinds of money problems, I ask myself a thousand time how I got myself in this mess. It seemed like one day we were doing fine financially and the next we owed everybody. How can it happen so quick? This is a...
How To Boost Your Credit Score
Years ago your credit score was a big secret, known only to a select few such as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co., the major supplier of credit scoring software, announced they would begin sharing credit scores,...
How to Recognize Elder Abuse and Protect Its Victim
The victimization of the elderly, often by a spouse or adult child, is virtually a national epidemic.
The victimization of the elderly, often by a spouse or adult child, is virtually a national epidemic. A complex mix of psychological, social,...
The Heat of Desire
"Although I took to New York straight away I was really
lonely. I would take whatever I could in a taxi-cab to wher-
ever I was going to next. I'd take a big breath, grit my teeth,
blink back my tears and say, 'I'm gonna do it- I have to do it...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money Worries?
If you are worrying about your money problems it's time to STOP
IT NOW! Easier said than done, huh.
In my 25 to 30 years working with personal money management
problems I have never seen worry help solve the problem. In
fact it has just the opposite effect.
Worry clouds your judgment. You have certain actions that
you need to take to get your problems solved and you will need
a clear head to make the necessary decisions.
In some cases the worry leads to desperation and is used as
an excuse not to face the problem.
Let me say this in explicit terms "No one dies of starvation
or goes to jail because they can't pay their bills in this
country". I understand that there have been people starve to
death in the US but that was more than likely an extreme
situation. Also, if there is anyone that goes to jail because
of their debts you can bet there was fraud involved.
Even if you don't have any income at all there are places to
turn. Worrying is not going to make things happen.
The best thing you can do to get started solving your money
problems, after you stop worrying about it, is to access your
situation. You have to look at it as if you are an outsider
looking in.
Find out exactly what the problem is. This is easier than
you think. Here are a few of the most common problems that
are causing your worries:
Credit Card Debt
Medical Bills
Impulse Spending
Mortgage Payment or Rent too high
Absence of a Budget
Unorganized Bills and Files
Late Payments & Fees
Overdraft Fees
Not Prioritizing Spending
If you have your spending set up by category it won't take
long to see where the problem is. Here is an example:
Recommended Percentage of your take-home pay for Housing,
Other Bills and Household Expenses should be around 30% each
with the remaining 10% going toward your long and short term
savings. To find out more about these percentages and how to
setup an easy to use budget
visit:
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/BBOonline.html
If one category exceeds the 30% by very much that is part of
the problem. This is the area where you need to concentrate
your efforts.
You can approach this in two different ways. The first method
is to cut your spending in the category that you have determined
to be the problem. The second is to cut spending or expenses
in other categories to make up the difference.
I recommend that you be careful about cutting your Household
Expenses too much. While you can cut your grocery bill and
some other areas, you will need a certain amount of money to run
your household.
No matter what your current money situation you can find help on
the internet free. Be careful not to fall into the many scams
that are currently all over the web. To get you started you can
visit the Budget Stretcher Partner Sites below:
TheFrugalShopper.com
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com
BetterBudgeting.com
http://www.betterbudgeting.com
The Stay-at-Home Parents Page
http://www.geocities.com/sahmlomano/index2.html
Debt Smart
http://www.DebtSmart.com
Greedy Fools.com
http://www.greedyfools.com
Brighter Futures
http://www.brighterfutures.com
Freebie Haven
http://www.121fun.com
FreelanceByU
http://www.Freelancebyu.com
MoneyMakingMommy.com
http://www.moneymakingmommy.com
Tidbits from the Pantry
http://www.humansrv.net
Usave2day.com
http://www.usave2day.com
As with any other type of problem you are not going to solve
your money problems by worrying about them. It takes action.
The sooner you get started the better.
About the Author
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy
Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor
of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher
web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of
experience counseling individuals and families concerning their
personal finances.
|
|
|
|
|
| Kiplinger.com - Timely, Trusted Personal Finance Advice, Financial ... |
| Investing, personal finance, calculators and financial advice. |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine - Your Guide to Making Money ... |
| Subscibe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine to help you manage your finances. Achieve your financial goals and objectives with help from our ... |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Personal finance advice, news - CNNMoney |
| News & advice on retirement planning, college saving, taxes, mortgages, autos, real estate, investing and more from CNNMoney.com. |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney |
| Combines practical personal finance advice, calculators and investing tips with business news, stock quotes, and financial market coverage from the editors ... |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Personal Finance, Personal Finances, and Financial Advice - Forbes.com |
| Personal Finance - Get financial advice and information from Forbes.com. |
| www.forbes.com |
|
| SmartMoney.com — Investing, Saving and Personal Finance |
| SmartMoney has daily stock and mutual fund recommendations, hourly market updates, personal finance investing research tools and advice, ... |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance Home (Personal Finance: Personal Finance ... |
| Links to articles covering a range of topics where monetary planning is or should be involved. |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance - Front Page |
| Read the details in Personal Finance this Saturday. Also in this weekend's edition:; You should take financial services companies' marketing material with a ... |
| www.persfin.co.za |
|
| Get stock quotes, market news, rates, and more - Netscape Money ... |
| Market News. • Market News. • News Search. Financial Planning. • Finance Calculators. • Saving for College. • Personal Finance ... |
| money.netscape.cnn.com |
|
| globeandmail.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance. Home · National · British Columbia · Prairies · Ontario · Quebec · Atlantic · Politics · World · Americas · Europe · Asia-Pacific ... |
| www.theglobeandmail.com |
|
| Personal Finance - MSNBC.com |
| Answer Desk: Submit your question about personal finance or the world of business ... Personal Finance. • Learn more about RSS ... |
| www.msnbc.msn.com |
|
| Personal Finance Newsletter |
| 7600 Leesburg Pike, West Building Suite 300 • Falls Church, VA 22043 703-394-4931 (ph) • 703-905-8100 (fax) • personalfinance@kci-com.com ... |
| www.pfnewsletter.com |
|
| Personal Finance Advice - Personal Finance Management - Personal ... |
| Tips and stories for managing your personal finances. |
| www.marketwatch.com |
|
| CNBC.com: Personal Finance |
| Investing home page features investment tools like stock quotes, charts, a portfolio manager and much more. Plus market news and financial commentary from ... |
| moneycentral.msn.com |
|
| Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Business: Personal ... |
| Knowing retirement, health plans can help avert disaster · At one firm, financial crisis crushed 401(k)s, insurance · Personal finance news briefs ... |
| www.dallasnews.com |
|
| Morningstar: Personal Finance |
| Sharpen your personal finance and investing skills with Morningstar. Access articles covering stocks, mutual funds, bonds, retirement, 401(k)s and 529 plans ... |
| www.morningstar.com |
|
| Fool.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance - The Motley Fool exists to educate, amuse, and enrich the individual investor; to prove to you that the best person to manage your money ... |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Fool.com: Investing, Stock Research, and Personal Finance |
| Expert advice on picking stocks, investing for retirement, and dealing with life's major personal finance decisions. |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Telegraph | Money |
| Market news from the Telegraph newspaper online. Includes money product finders. |
| www.telegraph.co.uk |
|
| Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Personal Finance at Epinions.com |
| Epinions has the best comparison shopping information on Personal Finance. Compare prices from across the web and read reviews from other consumers on ... |
| www.epinions.com |
|
|