1. A credit card is a convenient access to debt.  Although you could easily purchase or borrow money through it, the effects can be staggering.  When you have one, make sure that you are the master of the credit card and not otherwise.  You know what I mean.

2. In paying your debts, make sure to prioritize the one that has the highest interest charge.     

3. Pay in cash.  Avoid debt as you would a plague.  If you really have to incur debt, be sure that it is to purchase your long-dreamed of home or, say, invest on insurance.  Never incur debt for future liabilities (a.k.a. assets that undergo depreciation)

4. Make the credit counselor your best friend.  They have the knowledge to get you out of debt legally or to consolidate your numerous debts.

5. Save, save, save and create an emergency fund.  Even if you are neck-deep in debt, be sure to allot some money for savings, most specially for emergencies.  Remember that unplanned expenses such as hospitalization could drive you incur more debt if you don’t have funds for it.  The safest amount of savings is 3-months’ worth of your salary.  Invest on a retirement plan.  This will ensure that your ‘golden years’ would be spent in leisure rather than worrying.  

6. Do online payments.  This will be an assurance that you can pay your debts on time, every time (yeah, no excuses such as long queues!).

via MoneyInstructor

image from shoosmiths-online-debt-recovery.co.uk

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

I’ve read Steve Pavlina’s good and lengthy post about money. It attempts to answer the following questions regarding making money:

How important is money?  How much is enough?  Is money a distraction from one’s spiritual path?  Is it a necessary evil?  Is it unfair that some people have more money than others?  Is poverty more noble than wealth?  Is it possible to become an enlightened millionaire?

As to my own idea of making money consciously, honestly, if greed gets in the way I don’t think one will ever be able to make money work for what it should – be a means of comfort. Discontentment is one source of discomfort. Also, as what many say, “You can’t bring your money in your grave.” Well, okay you can. But what will you use it for if you’re already dead, right? So better make good use of it share it.

(image from lifepositive.com)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

• Take the plunge. Find out once and for all how much trouble you’re really in. Make a list of all the persons and companies you owe money, and the specific amounts you owe. Once you find out how much you owe everyone, you can start planning how to pay them back. Also, make a list of all your expenses for a week or so. Find out how much you spend on everything and compare it to how much you earn. Seeing your costs in black and white can help you decide which expenses are really important and which expenses you can do without. If you spend less money every week, you’ll have more money to pay back your outstanding loans.

• Take baby steps. Set small, easily achievable goals for yourself at first. Go a week without using your credit card. Save $10 every three days. As you achieve each goal, set your sights a little higher next time.

• Take a deep breath. Remember that there’s no deadline for getting yourself out of a financial hole. It took you some time to get yourself into this mess and it will take you some time to get yourself out of it. Don’t be discouraged if your finances don’t clear miraculously after a month. Give yourself six months to stick to your new good habits and to feel their beneficial effects.

• Take some advice. If you need help fixing your finances, consult a financial planner. It is possible that some or all of your debts can be consolidated so that you’re making payments on just one loan. A financial planner can also help you identify ways to spend less and save more.

Remember, money isn’t everything, but if you don’t pay attention to your finances, you might end up spending more time worrying about money than living your life.

via Binary Dollar and Q-Notes

(image from smithandkeene.com)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Usual tips on how to save while trying to earn that diploma include scrimping on keg parties and even earn some extra moolah from them, borrowing, buying used or swapping books instead of buying new ones, and riding a bike to school instead of a car (ok, scratch that tip, I just might have been watching too many Korean soap operas).

According to reports, UK students accumulate an average debt of 11,345 pounds at graduation. So, what are the options to avoid getting into that much debt? UK students are learning to work out this College debt dilemma. How? By staying with their parents longer.

As opposed to 11,345 pounds, those who stay at home can only accumulate an average of $9,418 pounds worth of debt. However, reducing College education is not without compromises. Although living with parents while earning that College degree comes with the advantages of not going through the trouble of moving, cheaper accommodation, and a cozier environment, the following cons can’t be avoided if one chooses to stay at home:

- course choice restriction
- less independence
- not experiencing a wider social circle from living with other university students

Getting to know the pros and cons of this deal to avoid too much education debt is not the end of it. Here are some tips on how to avoid the problems:

- Respect that it is your parents’ home. Be aware of the needs of other family members and considerate of their wishes.

- Acknowledge that your parents are helping you by continuing to put a roof over your head at a time when many of your contemporaries are having to make their own domestic arrangements.

- Accept that you cannot live like the archetypal student (ignoring the washing up and the rubbish).

- Sit down together in a relaxed environment and have an open conversation about what changes are needed if you’re to live happily together as adults in this new chapter in your lives.

- Give your parents a night of privacy every so often.

- via Evening Post

Now if you don’t want undergo all that seemingly troublesome arrangement, you might want to try this money-saving method that one Harvard student has employed:

“I didn’t go to a hair dresser for two years. I cut my hair only in the last week of my stay at Harvard, because, I was afraid, my mother would have been shocked to see my hair flowing down to my shoulder or even below,” – The Financial Express

(image from iparenting.com)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Being unemployed is such a bad status. Being unemployed and broke is worse! Just before you run out of funds for the bills after getting that lay-off, here are some ways you can save your savings and your face while undergoing the in-between employment phase that you hate the most.

1. Cut it out with some unnecessary expenditures.

If you still spend the same amount of money you spend when you still have your 9 to 5, chances are you will blow away your savings in no time. Minus gas expenses, parking fees and frequent lunch outs, you should be doing just well if you have a decent savings account that is. If you can kick away your smoking or java cups, the better you will fare with your financial management feat. Search for the best deals.

2. Lower your energy bills.

Since you will be staying more at home, chances are your energy bill will go higher than when you were still working. But you can still make things in control by making sure that you use your phone during off-peak hours if it’s not an emergency call.

Read more energy bill and phone bill saving tips.

3. Make the most of your free time.

Time is gold, yeah? And when you are unemployed, you have lots of it.  One way to maximize your time when you don’t have to wake up early the next day is to use your time instead of paying for stuff that will buy you more time. Got it? One example from is to walk or choose train over a cab if you can. Also, comparison shopping can be done more often and more conscientiously now that you don’t have think of your office work while doing it.

4. Entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive.

You don’t have to deprive yourself of some entertainment even when you now can’t afford going to clubs every other night. Video rentals, museums, exhibits and other less expensive forms of entertainment abound. Your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend can be of great help in this endeavor, too. Hehe..

And don’t forget to reinvent yourself while undergoing this dark life in your career. Learn a new lingo, volunteer, and keep vamping up your CV. You can even turn it into an awakening stage, learning new skills or untapped talents that can make you succeed in your work life or even others aspects of your personal life soon. And if you think you are loving not having anyone to boss you around, why not put up a low-cost home business?

(image from salvationinc.org)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1. Require them to spend, save, and give.

One of the interviewed women leaders emphasized the importance of making kids learn that they can’t spend all of their allowances. One trick is to get the child to choose a charity he can contribute to. Another tested way to ingrain the value of being able to save is to match every 2 dollars spent with 1 dollar worth of savings.

2. Make them make informed financial decisions.

The idea is to give them a choice on where they should spend the money given to them. An example is if a shopping allowance of $1,000 was given and it gets finished in a flash, that’s about it. This will make them more choosy on whatever they spend on.

3. Get them to value even the money they don’t earn.

It might be hard to make kids give importance to money that they haven’t earned themselves. But one of the great women suggested making your child participate in your family financial management tasks, such as making them plan your vacations, car purchases, and other activities that would require financial decisions.

More of these tips on making kids more financially responsible via CNN.

(image from theage.com.au)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy