How To Live A Frugal Lifestyle.

Is A Frugal Lifestyle The Way To Go In A Financial Crisis.


The word “frugality” has left a more negative connotation for most people than simply being a saver, a cheapskate or tightwad. There is a thin line difference to saving and too much frugality to the point of being awkward and ridiculous. This is where the negative connotation comes from.

But if you are guided with the right principles and reasons in deciding to live a frugal life, you would never go wrong.

If you have decided to live frugally, no need to be worried of insults. Keep your head up high.  And keep your focus through these tips.

1.    Eating Out - Having gimmicks with friends on a Friday night is fine if you do it once in a while. But this can be expensive if you add them up at the end of the month.

2.    Clothing - Naturally, if you are the kind of person who adores signature and designer clothes, do not expect that there will be something left of your take home pay. Instead of being trendy, wear clothes that can easily be matched with your other clothes.

3.    Own Home - If you are planning to move out and find a place to settle, do not be overwhelmed by the excitement, instead be practical. As a start, buy a smaller house or try other ways like rent-to-own, do-it-yourself arrangements, and owner financing.

4.When Buying A Car - Stay away from sports cars and SUVs. Just stick to your purpose of buying a car which is to transport you anywhere you need to go. Check out also program cars like a new car warranty. Maybe this is not the best time to replace your car with a new one.

5.    Shopping for Groceries - As much as possible do not go with items that are branded. Look for items on the highest and lowest shelves for the best prices and choose non-branded products. Grab the opportunity and shop during sales or use coupons.

6.    Family Out - There are inexpensive ways to bond with your family and be entertained like going to libraries, local parks, malling, picnics, visit friends and local church.

7.    Buying School Supplies - Stock school supplies at home and do not buy anything fancy.

8.    Be contented with what you have and try to live within what you earn. Try always to live within  a budget. Try to live on 80 % of your Income and save the rest.

9.    Plan your Child’s College Education - Teach them the ways to be independent and self-supporting by encouraging them to apply for scholarships and “on campus jobs”.

10.    Be Aware of your Financial Limitations

11.    Anticipate your Failures by Planning - Always have a budget plan so you can avoid impulsive buying.

12.     Avoid those tempting hire purchace agreements.

Why Should You Invest In Gold?

No matter what the price of gold is, you might wonder why you should invest in it. Historically, investing in gold has been the proven method of maintaining value when stocks are going down, inflation is occurring, and/or the national currency is being devalued. People have invested in gold since the recorded history of time.

Buying gold as an investment is similar to having an insurance policy. If you fear that rough times are ahead, investing in gold would be the right thing to do. Gold is now almost at $1000 per ounce and many people predict it will continue to rise for some time.

Although gold has done very well for the last 5 years, it did not do well prior to that. The 80's and 90's saw very little movement in the price of gold. This is something to take into consideration when deciding whether to invest in gold. Nothing is guaranteed and the current price of gold may not hold as it is already historically high. However, for the concervative investor who wants to protect themselves from inflation and the falling stock market, gold is a good choice for your investment dollar.

The main reason that gold does not lose value over time is that the amount of gold is finite. The price of gold has to do with, among other things, how much of it is mined. As the dollar goes up or down, gold also moves with it. Inflation is a bad thing for the value of the dollar and so people try to protect themselves by investing in gold. Gold has never gone to zero in the history of the world. This is of course much different from stocks of companies that can and do go to zero when a company goes bankrupt. Conservative investors are more likely to be drawn toward gold for this reason that gold will always be worth something.

It is probably not wise however, to put all your investment money into investing in gold. You should pick a percentage that you feel comfortable with such as 10% or 20%. Of course if you feel you really want to be safe and you feel that really tough times are ahead, you might choose to make more of an investment in gold. Whatever you do, you can rest assured that you will will be safe as the current price of gold will in all likelyhood remain constant.

Getting Approved for a Mortgage, Even after Foreclosure is Extremely Possible

You have worked hard several years to be capable of purchasing the

house of your dreams.It is still possible to get a mortgage after foreclosure!

We understand that attaining that dream home was a long and painful

process for you. In previous years, cutting

back on spending, and cutting corners in order to save money for this

home. After getting your

mortgage loan, you counted the payments until the loan is paid in full and

owned by you and not the bank. Sadly though,

because of unavoidable situations your dream home is lost to

foreclosure. You may find yourself feeling like you'll be spending

the rest of your days renting an apartment or house. Once the

foreclosure of your first home is over you will naturally believe that you

are eligible for mortgage loans You are very wrong

about this fact, although it's a fact that many believe.

href="http://www.mortgageforeclsouretruths.com">Getting foreclosed on can

certainly affect your credit rating negatively, however mortgage after

foreclsoure is possible.

It will not be

so easy at the first go-around; yet, you can get approval for mortgage

after foreclosure.  You probably shouldn't do this soon after foreclosing,

though. It's

encouraged that you take some time to manage your finances first before

considering another mortgage loan application. Give yourself

around 24 months before you think about trying for mortgage loans after

foreclosure of your first home.

We heed to investigate where the problem began. In

emergency situations involving health, marriage, employment,

etc.By now you've probably settled in with the changes in

your life and you're in a better financial position. Costly Credit cards, loans, ect. will cause you to have more

finanacial difficulties, the two years will give you time to

correct your debt paying and spending habits. Focus on your other debts first. While your goal

may be paying down your debt, you must remember to keep an eye on your

spending. Pay your debts on time with the minimum amount due. You can try to pay extra on your debts or

you can begin saving for your house if cutting back on your spendings

helps you get more cash for yourself.

After two years, you should have your debts paid down so you're ready to

see a lender about getting a mortgage  after foreclosure. Although many lenders may dismiss you when they get a look

at your credit report, there are lenders that will be willing to help you

when they see you're improved your credit scores and have a down

payment. Even if you have suffered through a foreclosure, it is

still possible to get a mortgage after foreclosure and own your own

home.

Michael Patrick runs the very popular website

href="http://www.mortgageforeclosuretruths.com">mortgageforeclosuretruths.

com. To learn more about

href="http://www.mortgageforeclosuretruths.com">what you can do when facing

bankruptcy or the mortgage foreclosure process click here

to get his free guide "Discover The Insider Secrets Your Lender Doesn't

Want You To Know About FORECLOSURE!"

Know when proper experience and local knowledge matter - Locate a Conn Attorney Experience in Bankruptcy

You may feel that the bankruptcy attorney is your

confidante on your first meeting, because you will be sharing your personal financial

details. Usually, individuals try to conceal such circumstances from public scrutiny as

long as they possibly can. When you cannot handle the stress any longer, a

professonal will guide you through the process as he is aware of all the bankruptcy

laws.

A Conn bankruptcy attorney first and foremost, will be the one to figure out if you should

file bankruptcy. There are some options, including selling assets

or changing your standard of living, that can benefit some people. If that

isn't possible, then the attorney will advise you as to which chapter of the bankruptcy

protection laws is the most advantageous for your situation.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are the chapters on personal bankruptcy. Chapter 7 rules allow you to discharge almost all of your debt.
The chapter

13 states that you establish a debt settlement plan through the court.
Upon deciding with

your bankruptcy attorney that you will be filing, you will have to record the petition in

court. All legal requirements will be handled by your attorney. Once you have filed you may find that your bankruptcy attorney is qualified

in a number of other areas.

An attorney who specializes in bankruptcy can help with unique problems that can occur

during the bankruptcy proceedings.

If you owe money to the IRS

they have to approve your request from the papers that you have to fill out. The IRS

will indicate what debts you can use in the backruptcy case. Other

specific points include business related expenses, doctor bills and the state and local debt

legislation which must be considered along with federal laws.

Alleviate the stress of bankruptcy proceedings by employing respected and professional

representation.  It is

important to have an experienced attorney on your side.

A trustree will be assigned to represent the court once you file for bankruptcy. The filings of the attorney will be reviewed by the trustees

and they may ask any question that they feel fit, regarding your financial status. Your Conn bankruptcy attorney is there to help you every step of the way.

Your Conn bankruptcy attorney will be the one dealing with your creditors once he was

filed your bankruptcy. You

virtually will not be having any contact with your debt collectors as they would be directly

dealing with your attorney.  This is a grerat help to you since the attorney

knows the laws related to bedts and is not threatened by collections agents.

Your expert bankruptcy attorney can suggest ways for you to re-establish credit after your

bankruptcy procedure is completed. Take the advice seriously because a

bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for ten years.  Its important to have

a good credit as one would not like his life to be on hold for 10 long years.

A bankruptcy attorney guides you from the beginning to the end and will also help you with

ideas on how to establish new credit.   The first thing you want to do if you're thinking about filing

for bankruptcy is to contact a Conn bankruptcy attorney, who is an expert in this

field.

One of the best sources on the web for information on bankruptcy and foreclosure is

href="http://www.mortgageforeclosuretruths.com">www.mortgageforeclosuretruths.com.

>
INFORMATIVE AND FREE GUIDE "Discover The Insider Secrets Your Lender Doesn't

Want You To Know About FORECLOSURE!"

 

 

Which Would You Rather Choose? Debt, Bankruptcy or Budgeting?

What is a basic budget and why do you need one?  A basic budget allows you to outline your financial goals and hopes. Simply put, it is a money plan for the future - an estimation of monthly income and expenses based on previous bills.

With a budget you can set, and hopefully achieve, your financial objectives by establishing how you will allocate your available funds now and in the future. This allows you to make financial decisions without the stress of unplanned emergencies that inevitably crop up.
Budgeting allows you to put aside a certain amount of money that will be used for expected as well as unexpected costs.

The initial step in setting up a budget is defining your fixed expenses such as mortgage or rent, car payments, insurance (life, home, auto, health), student loans and so on and getting them down on paper. Any expense that has the same amount each month and is never different is called a fixed expense. These are the payments you HAVE to make each month from your income, no matter what. Without this first step you have no clue where you've been, where you are now, or where you will be in the future.

Next, gather up your old checkbooks and write down all your regular, but not fixed, monthly purchases such as groceries, cable, dry cleaning, auto maintenance, gas, utilities, credit cards, eating out, daycare, etc. etc.  Then you total up the recurring and the fixed and see what is leftover, if anything, when you deduct this spent amount from your monthly income.

No extravagant computer software is needed to do any of this. Plain old pencil and paper will work fine. Remember that this is just a starter exercise to get a general picture of where you are each month.

It's a fairly easy first step. If your monthly income totals $3,000 and the pencil and paper exercise above shows your expenses at $3,600 you are in trouble. Simple and plainly. There is no question about it.

Budgeting is an effective and fundamental tool that is beneficial to everyone. Just doing the basics as listed above may shock you into further action or, if you are like the 90% of the "do nothing but moan about it crowd", you will continue spending your way into debt and bankruptcy.

What Does Being Frugal Mean To Me?

The word frugality has left a nasty taste in many peoples mouths, simply because their parents or grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and have talked about it often. To me, being frugal doesn't mean being a cheapskate or a skinflint. I don't have any kind of negative image of "being frugal".

If you live by certain guidelines and consciously decide to live a frugal life, you, and most of the world, would be better off, in my humble opinion. This is a personal lifestyle decision for every one of us that believes the time has come to cut back on extravagant purchases, cut back on wasting our natural resources, cut back on impulse buying and just try to live a simple, stress free life.

Keeping up with the Joneses is gradually being looked upon as pretentious and unnecessary. Purchasing new vehicles every year, going on tropical vacations and buying designer clothes doesn't really give you a peaceful life or keep your family happy.

Trying to live within your means, that is without credit cards, can be quite a challenge for anyone in America! But, believe me you will be more content, independent and happier within, when you do not have to worry about how you are going to pay your bills each month. Stressing about whether the bank is comine to repossess your toys will lead to an early grave.

Having the latest, greatest whatever no longer holds importance for many. Mark my words, being frugal will be the next big thing. People that decide to start down the path to a frugal lifestyle will be the next "cool" group to be seen on Bravo TV. Can you see the headlines now.. "Bravo proudly announces "The Frugal Housewives of Omaha".  Watch next week as these 6 housewives show you how to live the simple life you've always dreamed of".

Kevin Trudeau Debt Cures Book

Debt Cures

If you spend any amount of time watching late night TV, you've come across one of Kevin Trudeau's infomericals where he sells his weight loss cures, natural cures and now his "Debt Cures."  Since the average American has 9 credit cards and $17,000 in credit card debt, a book about magically making your debt disappear will appeal to most of us. 

Unfortunatley, the merits of this book are severely discounted before you crack open the book because Trudeau has a criminal past.  He has scammed people before.  If you take a few minutes to read some of the comments on Amazon, you will see that this is mainly what people are focusing on. 

I have read the book and think it does provide some useful information in it.  It does have some tips and techniques that you may have heard of before.  And if you read most personal finance books and get out of debt books, you will see the same thing.  There are not too many secrets to getting out of debt that someone has not told us. 

You know how to reduce credit card debt - spend less than you earn, pay 2 to 3 to 4 times more than the minimum due on your credit cards, nag your credit card companies about giving you the best interest rates, call to have any fees waived, etc. 

In that regard, Debt Cures does not provide any new and groundbreaking information. 

On the infomerical, Trudeau also talks a lot about free money from the government.  Yes, there is free money available that you never have to pay back however it is not usually given to you so you can pay your bills.  You have to do something with the money like help children learn to read or start a business in a rural area. 

Oh and the two magic words - identity theft.  It is the fastest growing crime in America so yes, you do need to pay attention to it and check your credit report often to make sure you do not become a victim. 

Overall, Debt Cures has some value.  With the average American $17,000 in credit card debt, one little tip that helps you can easily pay for the cost of the book.

Financial Planning Made Easy

The best financial planning help is always simple. It begins with a question about what your goals are - what you want to achieve in life. Financial planning advice isn't only about how to create wealth. It's about how to create as much wealth as you need to achieve your purpose in life. The best financial planning advice always begins with a vision of where you want to go. Yet many Americans worry about their retirement years because of poor financial planning. Others are so debt-ridden that they don't have the energy to look that far ahead.

The best financial planning advice should start by evaluating your current financial situation. Then it should chart a course for achieving your career, family, and personal goals. By following a series of simple steps, you can take charge of your financial planning today.

* Evaluate your current financial position.

* Establish goals.

* Establish a plan to reach your goals

* Simplify your record-keeping system.

* Keep track of your income and expenses.

* Decide how to pay off credit card bills

* As you go along track your progress

Your finances affect every aspect of your life. There is no way to plan your finances without taking into consideration all other things you want out of life. So think about what you hope to accomplish in life for your family. Once you have your goals well in mind you are ready to set in motion a good financial plan to help you reach your aspirations.

It is important to start saving today. It doesn't take a lot of money each month as little as $100 will do it if that is what you can afford to do. Make an arrangement with your financial institution to deposit a certain amount of your income each month into your savings. That $100 will add up quickly over time and you will be in good shape for your retirement in the future.

Reaching Your Goals By Means of Good Financial Planning

If overnight you became millionaire what would you do? Quit your job? Payoff debt? Would you feel that there was no longer a need to plan for your financial future?

If the receipt of a large sum of money would quickly make you think of quitting your job what does that tell you about how you feel about your career? Are you unhappy with the work you are doing? If you are unhappy, yet you never get your sudden millions, you may feel trapped in a life you don't enjoy.

It is sad that so many are stuck in a job that they find no joy doing simply because it pays the bills and they have to support their families.

On the other hand, getting out from under a job you don't enjoy is not always the answer. There have been some that do get a large sum of money, maybe win the lottery, and are able to walk away from their jobs. But because their only goal was to not work and they had no other goals, financial or otherwise, they quickly spend their winnings and find themselves in a more pathetic state than when they started.

Financial planning is not just a way to determine how to spend your money or cancel credit card debt. It is a way to determine what you really want out of life and then set forth a plan to help you reach your goals. If your life has no real purpose no amount of money will ever bring you happiness.

There are financial advisors and credit counselors around every corner. Help and direction is out there for anyone who will listen. But listening is not the only requirement for success. If you do not apply what experts say you will not improve your financial situation one bit.

Once you've set your goal in life and you have that in focus you must listen to what the experts say and put their advice into action in your daily life.

If you set goals in life a good financial plan will help you reach them. But the first step is to decide what you really want out of life.

What is a Secured Personal Loan?

So maybe you need to get a loan and you are trying to learn out more about all the different types so that you can decide on the one that is going to be best for you. One of the most popular loans is the secured personal loan.

What it is

A secured personal loan is a fixed interest rate personal loan that requires the person to give up collateral or security of a savings account, stocks, bonds, and so on, so that the lender has some sort of confidence knowing that even if the borrower does not make their payments on time, they will have this collateral to cover the costs.

Benefits of Secured Personal Loan

There are a bunch of benefits that are offered by a secured personal loan. For one, with a personal secured loan finance you are able to know that it is safer and easier to obtain than the unsecured ones. Really the only people that can get unsecured loans are those whose credit is in good standing.

Personal secured loans are those which you can avail by placing collateral with the credit, and make sure that you take the time to choose wisely as to what you are going to put up as collateral.

Another benefit to the secured personal loan is that these loans have a much wider loan market and you can definitely find a secured loan which will be customized to fit your needs. Secured loans are also easier to obtain than other loans because creditors will always prefer the option with security.

Also, as a secured personal loan is backed by collateral, most lenders will approve loans even in such cases as C.C.J’s, defaults, and arrears.

A personal secured loan can help you to free up equity that would otherwise remain dormant in your property, letting you make use of capital that would otherwise remain unobtainable. These loans are ideal for people with a not so great credit standing, and it even gives them the chance to redeem themselves and get their credit into at least remotely decent standing,

Just make sure that you are as educated as possible on something like this before going through with it, and that you clearly understand all the terms. There is not much danger to secured loans but even still, you want to make sure that you have read all the fine print before agreeing to and signing anything, especially when you are handing over collateral.

Click here to discover more about secured personal loan

How To Save Money And Still Have A Life

You know how it is, there's never enough money left in the days or weeks before your next pay check arrives.

Even more so with the constantly growing fuel prices, food that goes up every week and the economic meltdown we seem to be facing.

But are there ways to save money?

Ideally without becoming a complete hermit.

Here are a few tips to help you save money:

1. Cut down on your credit cards

The standard advice is to stop using credit cards altogether. But let's get real here, cutting down on them will be fine. Gradually, you should be looking to pay off some or all of your card debt. Start with the highest interest rate cards first. And if you're offered the chance to swap your current card debt to a 0% card to help you do this, take up the offer while you can.

2. Trade down

Near enough all grocery shops have a range of their own products that has been formulated to be as close to the more expensive brand leaders as possible. Give it a try. And also check out some of the really basic lines as well - some of these are very close to the regular things you buy - milk is milk for instance. Others (like watery orange juice) aren't, so don't go mad before you've trialled them.

3. Shop infrequently

If you use things regularly then bulk buy when it's on offer. Boring stuff like toilet rolls, canned foods, etc. And if you have to make a shopping trip, make sure your stomach is full. It may sound weird, but you'll buy less on impulse.

4. Stop impulse buying

Ouch. These are getting harder to do! If you know you're likely to buy things on impulse, leave your credit cards at home and tell your shopping friends they aren't allowed to subsidize you "until you get the cash out". If that seems like a complete impossibility, stop your trip to the shops altogether - even if you break out into a cold sweat at the thought, but quit shopping for a while, regardless.

5. Get help

Talk with friends - they have likely spotted a pattern developing where you go into auto-pilot and just buy things. Maybe you shop when you're feeling depressed. Whatever, find out and work on it.

There's also a cheap hypnosis download to help change yourself to save money. Download it now and play it to yourself immediately. Get your save money hypnosis track here.

Save Time And Hassle With Internet Banking

There are many things that can be done online these days, and amongst the many things that you can do online nowadays is your banking. This method of banking provides a valuable and convenient alternative to traditional banking for many people, and you will find that it is possible to save yourself the hassle and stress of being stuck in queues either at the branch or on the phone. Many people these days struggle to keep on top of their finances, and this is made all the more difficult through the constraints that come with regular banking.

Consumers are able to save themselves stress, time, and hassle when they use online banking facilities to manage their current accounts and finances. More and more banks have been offering online banking facilities over recent years, enabling more people to manage their finances effectively, quickly, and conveniently through the use of the Internet rather than rushing around and trying to get to a branch or contact the call centre within opening hours.

Most consumers will find that they can access online banking facilities with their own high street bank, but there are also some banks that operate mainly online, offering a full banking service via the Internet. When you use online banking facilities you can save yourself a lot of time, hassle, and inconvenience, plus you get to enjoy far greater control of your bank account and finances.

You can conduct pretty much all of your financial matters when you use online banking, and this includes transferring money, making bill payments, setting up direct debits and standing orders, checking your statements, ordering banking stationery, and more. This has eliminated the need for many customers to have to contact their banks in person or by phone.

Consumer confidence when it comes to online banking safety and security has increased over recent years, and with banks using increasingly sophisticated security software consumers can be increasingly confident with regards to the safety of their details. In fact, more and more people have started using online banking either from time to time or even on a regular basis.

Providing you exercise common sense you should find that the security risks with online banking are low, and that his method of banking provides a fast, secure, and convenient way of allowing you to deal with your finances at any time of the day or night and from the comfort and privacy of your own home. One of the great things about online banking is that you are not restricted in terms of times, so you do not have to worry about getting in touch with your bank within certain timescales.

Whilst many banks do offer online banking facilities, there are some that may not, so you need to ensure that you check with your bank with regards to whether online banking facilities are on offer. You may prefer to sign up with a bank that operates exclusively online, and there are banks such as First Direct that offer this service. With online banking you can enjoy a more convenient and speedy way of operating your current and your saving accounts without even leaving the home.

Making Savings On Your Expenditure

With the financial climate in the state that it is in we could all do with some help when it comes to saving a little money on our outgoings each month and making our money stretch that little bit further. The rising cost of things such as food, petrol, and energy, coupled with the effects of the global credit crunch, have all taken their toll on most households' finances, and for many people the time has come to take action and try and streamline what goes out of their accounts each month.

There is one effective way in which you could reduce the amount of money that you pay out on your debts each month, and this is through consolidation. With a low rate debt consolidation loan you can pay off all of your smaller, high interest debts such as credit cards and store cards, and you can then enjoy having to make just one debt repayment each month rather than several. More importantly you could find that consolidation could help you to save a considerable amount of money on the amount that you have to pay out on your debts every month.

Switching services has become another popular way of cutting back on monthly costs, as you will find that the cost of services and products can vary quite significantly from one provider to another. By using one of the many price comparison sites that are in operation these days you could try and find cheaper deals on all sorts of services and products, from your gas and electricity to your broadband, mobile phone, insurance cover, mortgage, and much more.

We all know that the interest rates on some credit cards can be very high, and if you are making monthly repayments on one or more high interest credit cards you could find that much of your income is going on paying the interest alone. Consider transferring your existing credit card balances onto any of the balance transfer credit cards available, as you can then enjoy a period of interest free credit, which can save you a fortune in interest and could help you to clear the credit card debt more quickly.

It is more important than ever these days to ensure that you make timely and responsible repayments on your debts, and that you do not exceed credit limits on cards and overdrafts. Not only can this result in damage to your credit history, but it can also result in you being hit with hefty charges and fees every month, which can really put a dent in your income. Try to be more careful with your spending, and spend some time reviewing and monitoring your income and outgoings each month.

Shopping is another expense that has spiralled out of control over the past year, and with inflation on food at sky high levels many families are paying a fortune for their shopping. You may be able to reduce your shopping bill considerably, however, by switching from one of the better know supermarket giant to one of the discount supermarkets that have sprung up over recent years.

Get The Right Value On Your House

Just twelve months ago many homeowners had a pretty good idea of what their properties were worth, and after a decade of home price gains most were very happy with the level of equity that they had in their homes. However, over the past year property prices have been falling and this has resulted in many homeowners simply losing track of what their home might now be worth.

There are many reasons for the falling values of properties for homeowners, mainly being the current credit crunch, which will new house buyers off the market as there are no mortgages available anymore.

There are a number of reasons why you may be looking to get your house valued. You may be thinking about putting your house on the market and moving on, in which case you clearly need an idea of what you will get for it. You may be thinking about borrowing against the equity in your home, and will need to provide the lender with details on the value of the home. You may simply be curious to find out what your house is not worth of nearly a year of month on month house price falls.

Of course, there is little point in getting your house priced unless you can be certain that the valuation you receive is an accurate one. Although you can easily contact a local estate agent to come and price the property you may find that you do not get an accurate valuation from just one estate agent, as the valuation may be too high or too low depending on whether the estate agent is prioritising on getting a higher level of commission or a quicker sale on your house.

This is why it is a good idea to get a valuation from around three different estate agents in the area. Once you have received the figure from each estate agent you can compare them to see whether the valuations are vastly different from each agent or pretty much the same sort of figure. You should not let on that you have already had a valuation to the second and third estate agents otherwise you may find that they provide a valuation based on the one that you have already received rather than a totally independent valuation.

Many local papers advertise properties for sale, and it is also a good idea to check out the local paper and see what price properties that are similar to yours in your area are being sold for. You can also do this online on one of the home websites, and this will enable you to see whether the value on similar houses is along the same lines as the valuations you have received on your own house.

Don't be surprised if the value of your property is considerably lower than you may have anticipated, as house prices have been tumbling and many homeowners may have no idea how much their property value has dropped. If you plan to sell the house you should remember that if you inflate the asking price to way above the value of the house you are unlikely to be able to sell it in the current climate.

If your property does not sell at your desired price and you still have equity in your home, then secured loans could help to improve your current home removing the need to move. For more information on property prices and finding out your properties worth read the articles on tips to get on the property ladder

Simple Steps To Help You Get Out Of Debt

There are some straightforward, common sense steps you can take to get out of debt.

Stop incurring debts

Step one to escaping debt is to stop borrowing. Simply put, the more you borrow, the more you may owe. You will not borrow your way out of debt, but must instead pay off your current liabilities whilst not borrowing extra funds.

If you're an everyday consumer, you engage in plenty of borrowing by making purchases with credit cards. You need to try and break this credit habit. Most card corporations and store cards will scale back your loan limit if you ask them to do so. I don't know if this is true or not, but I'm inclined to think that credit card companies purposely set up their payment schedules so that if you only make the minimum payment each month, you may never pay off the debt in your lifetime.

Often, your credit cards will carry the highest interest of any of your debt, and so it'll make sense to pay them off first. You may also wish to think about the likelihood of a debt consolidation loan. You can help get over the enticement of shopping on credit by cutting up your visa cards and instead making your purchases with money. As formerly discussed, you may also have your credit limits dropped. If you want help making a workable budget or sticking to the budget, as formerly advised, you may need to work with a debt management service.

Budget Your Income and Expenses

Map out your income, expenses, and payments on your existing debts for a typical month, and create a balanced household budget. Remember to budget some money for emergencies - if you are fortunate enough that no emergency occurs, you can either save the money for future emergencies or (if you are afraid that you will spend it) use it to pay down some of your debts.

If you are paying credit card debts, budget to pay more than the minimum required monthly payment. Minimum payments are usually set in an amount such that, if you don't make an additional payment toward the credit card balance, you will never pay off the debt. Usually, your credit cards will carry the highest interest of any of your debt, and thus it will make sense to pay them off first.

If you cannot figure out how you can possibly pay your bills and still have enough money to survive at the end of the month, you may wish to consider using a credit counselor or a debt management service. You may also wish to consider the possibility of a debt consolidation loan.

"Budgeting" A Means to Fantastic Financial Management

"Budgeting" A Means to Fantastic Financial Management

When building a house from ground up, a carpenter will always use the design plans to ensure everything is done right. Otherwise, there may be dire consequences and a small but vital detail may be overlooked.

Rocket Scientists would never begin construction on a new booster rocket without a detailed set of design specifications. Isn’t it amazing then, to think about how most of us don’t even begin to make a workable plan for our finances or even have an idea on where to start.

Not very smart of us, is it?

That is why we need to have a money management plan or ’budget’, to help us better reach our financial goals and to get out of any debt we may have.

Without a plan we will drift without direction and end up marooned on a distant financial reef.

It is advisable then, to create a budget and if you are married you need to work together with your spouse on all your personal finance goals. First you will need to take some time to figure out what your short and long term goals are to get out of debt and ways to save money for future purchases you may want to make.

Then plan your route to get to those goals. Every journey begins with one step and the first step to attaining your goals is to make a realistic budget, that both of you and your spouse can live with.

A budget should never be a financial starvation diet. That won’t work for the long haul. Make reasonable allocations for food, clothing, shelter, utilities and insurance and set aside a reasonable amount for entertainment and the occasional luxury item. Savings should always come first before any spending.

Even a small amount saved will help you reach your long term and short term financial goals. You can find many budget forms on the internet. To find one on the internet you only need to type in "free budget forms" in your favorite search engine.

You will be able to see there are several choices to select from and should easily be able to find one that will work well for you. Print one out and work on it with your spouse or significant other. It is important to agree on a financial plan that will work best for both of you and one you can maintain over a long period of time if needed.

Bill Gates was once quoted as saying, "Patience is a key element of success", this is something to think about when it comes to financial success, so by having a good budget you are taking a step in the right direction.

The financial counselling Fantasy;

The financial counselling Myth;

Debt Consolidation in Canada has become a general method of dealing with debt but could not be the proper solution for people to control their debt. In a growing number of cases clients will look for debt consolidation loans to control their debt and start with a clean slate. Although this takes care of the initial problem it repeatedly developes much larger problems down the road. There are two reasons why this happens.

First off, individuals are creatures of habit. By getting a consolidation loan you're only covering up the primary problem, your habits. Although a debt consolidation loan will satisfy your original debt it doesn’t deal with your spending habits. Generally speaking Canadian's getting debt consolidation loans to pay off their debt end up in twice the debt they began with.

This being the second reason consolidation loans do not work. Once individuals pay off their revolving credit it gives them freedom to revolving credit, causing the process to start over again. Usually individuals end up with their un-secured debt maxed again, as well as, the debt consolidation loan that they were issued to pay off their debt. The most frequent comment I hear as a debt manager is "I need to get a consolidation loan to repay my debt", "I don't want to use revolving credit again". In theory this is fabulous but often times doesn’t happen

Unless an individual is prepared to tackle their overall problem (i.e. their spending habits) they will not succeed with a debt consolidation loan. In actual fact this is one of the main reasons that the banks have stopped issuing debt consolidation loans. They have, for the most part, stopped this because they recognise that this is only feeding the problem and not solving the problem. If you truly want to deal with your debt, cut up your credit cards, stop access to any revolving credit, make your monthly payments to pay the debt down and track your spending. It is only through the tracking of your spending habits that you will truly understand the fundamental issues of your debt. In order to deal with your debt problems, you must first understand how you got there in the first place.

If you want to live debt free you must recognise your unnecessary spending habits and make changes to eliminate them from your life. If you were to ask me what lesson I teach my clients the most, it’s how to track their spending and identify unnecessary spending.  

 



Greg Martin
Debt Consolidator
Phoenix Credit and Debt Counsellors

 Debt Consolidation Canada

The Secret Of Eliminating Debt

Taking control and learning how to get out of debt and save money is a popular question in these diffiicult financial times. Remember the old quote "Where there is a will, there is a way". So that is how easy it is to find a way to eliminate credit card debt. What you really need in order to get out of debt is “Will Power”. No matter what method you adopt to eliminate credit card debt, no matter what debt assistance company you approach, no matter what your friends tell you, “Will Power” is essential if you want to learn how to save money and eliminate debt

eliminate credit card debt. In fact, this starts from the word go. Just examine the last part of my previous statement “… is essential IF YOU WANT TO eliminate credit card debt”, this statement itself implies that “IF YOU WANT TO” or we can rephrase that as “if you have the will power to” eliminate credit card debt.

Will power is what you need to control your urge to buy everything from the market. Will power is needed to persevere. Will power is needed to analyze your current financial situation. Will power is needed to sit and plan the ways and means that you can adopt to eliminate credit card debt. Will power is needed to approach a credit card debt assistance company. You also need will power and patience for researching the market for the best balance transfer plans. So really, will power is needed for every aspect of credit card debt elimination. Since “Will Power” is the only thing you need to eliminate credit card debt, we can say that it is easy to eliminate credit card debt. However, this is easier said than done for will power for anything (be it will power to eliminate credit card debt or something else) is hard to come by. With a strong will and focus you can eliminate your credit card debt, focus on your debt-free life to come. Portray the peace of mind that you will get after you eliminate credit card debt. How much fun it would be!! Moreover, the sense of achievement would be no lesser either (after all not everyone is able to eliminate credit card debt). Concentrate on the positive to build your self-confidence and take control of your debt levels. There is really nothing as powerful as will power. And remember “Where there is will, there is way”.

4 Ways to Saving Money

Saving is basically putting aside money or a way to utilize your present income for a future lifestyle. We need to budget a set amount each week to meet our goals.

We save for several reasons such as for a college education, buying a new car, for a new TV set you wish to buy in three to four months time, for a down payment on a home, or to provide for yourself when retirement comes around.

As much as there are several reasons for saving, there are likewise many methods in which we can save. In most instances, the best method can be determined by whatever plans you have for the future.

1.    Savings accounts. When saving for just a short period or for emergency purposes, consider opening a savings account passbook, as it is with this method that you can easily gain access to your funds.

Great for both long and short term savings, you can deposit and withdraw money to your account and earn interest, based on your average daily balance. A minimum balance is required to be maintained though, and you are charged with a penalty should you fail to maintain it.

2.    Checking account with interest.  Here you can benefit from checking account conveniences, while your deposits gain interests. Generally these types of accounts grants privileges such as limitless withdrawal and check writing, access to ATM and bill payments that can be done online.

This method typically requires a daily maintaining balance of at least $2,000.

3.    Money market insured accounts. For long-termed goals, this method is ideal, as it generally offers a much higher rate of interest compared to a regular or standard savings account.

The interest rate usually is dependent on the amount of money in your bank account; larger balance means higher interest.

4.    “CD” or Certificates of Deposit.  This is a savings method requiring you to “lend” your money to your financial agency for a certain time frame, usually ranging from thirty days up to five years. Here, the longer the time span again, means higher interest.

Keep in mind that usually insurance companies offer better deals on interests compared to banks, so before you invest, compare rates first!

At certain times, when your goal is many years away, it can be a wiser decision to save money in a certain way that you are not drawn on using it other than the main reason for saving it. Deciding on the right financial agency such as a bank, credit union or insurance firm can bring about a lot of benefit in your finances.