Money Management

Five Reasons You DO Need a Credit Card

By Kevin M

I’ve written much on the subject of credit cards—mostly that they aren’t your friend, but more like having an enemy living in your own camp. I’m not backpedaling on any of it; credit cards have been the enabler that has led many to financial ruin. But are there times when you’re better off having a credit card?

Absolutely. Even a zealot like me is prepared to admit to that.

There are at least five reasons why having a credit card is a “must”—just as long as you don’t overdo it by running up your balance and applying for- and loading up on- more cards. (No, credit card rewards isn’t one of them—I’ve never bought that argument.) Used responsibly, there are situations in which a good credit card is well worth having.
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Are “Stealth” Expenses Killing Your Budget?

By Kevin M

Do you ever find yourself wondering—perhaps when you look at your paycheck or even your W2–I make a good living, why don’t I have more money saved up?

You might look at your income and your regular expenses and think that you should be saving more, but somehow it all seems to just disappear, almost as if there are termites gnawing away at both your wallet and your checking account. And perhaps there are a few termites infesting your finances. Call them “stealth expenses”—stealth because we usually underestimate them—if we even notice them–expenses because that’s just what they are.

We all have fixed expenses that we know only too well—house payments, car payments, student loan and credit card payments. There are also day-to-day survival expenses, like groceries and gas. We’re very familiar with all of these, but it’s those others, the variables, that slowly suck the life out of a budget. Those are the stealth expenses, the ones that aren’t always so easy to measure or even to prepare for.

”Where does all my money go?”

Get the RIGHT Loan for Your Needs

Guest Post by Jodie McDonnell

Many people across the United Kingdom fall victim to financial strife, often due to factors that are out of their control. A loan—when taken out for the right reasons—can help individuals who are in need of money for obtaining a mortgage, car loan, or other loan among other things.

Even more important is getting the right loan, a loan that will solve your problem and not make your financial situation worse. In order to do that, you need to approach borrowing with the proper attitude and a few tools that will help you to get the best deal to work within your circumstances.

Many times the reason people get into credit difficulty happens at the very time a loan is taken. The person could have been borrowing more than he could afford to repay, or doing so with stiff repayment terms he could never meet. You’ll only have one opportunity to prevent that from happening, and that’s when you are applying for the loan. It is therefore critical that you get this right at the very beginning when it counts most, and that means getting the very best loan you can.
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How to Make Money by Spending Money

“You have to spend money to make money” is a popular business adage but the wisdom of this advice can be applied to your personal finances as well.

Spending money in business is all about assessing risks, taking chances which will grow your brand, and looking for opportunities. These are all attitudes you should take toward your personal finances in order to make your money work even harder, and to have the skills and knowledge to make the best investments.

Successfully making money by spending it will mean following these four tips to ensure you choose the right spending options which will make you money.

This is a guest post by RP who is a regular writer for various finance related communities. She holds a degree in Marketing and Finance and is currently working in a reputed bank as a relationship manager. She writes articles on debt consolidation, debt settlement, frugality, savings, economies of states etc.

It can be quite a complex situation that you face when your relatives ask you about your financial situation. If your finances aren’t in the best of shape, you may be embarrassed to answer their questions. Financial discussions of any type can put us—or even the people we’re talking too—in an embarrassing situation. You can find ways to channel the discussion into something that can save some embarrassment to all parties involved.

Much of our willingness to discuss finances with the people who are closest to us may depend on the state of our financial affairs—whether we’re struggling with money, or if we’re doing well.

Happy New Year – It’s Time for a Financial Luggage Check!

By Kevin M

Okay, the holidays are over—and the free spending with it! It’s time to clean up the mess before it becomes an even bigger one!

Despite everyone’s best intentions, overspending at the holidays is pretty standard. It isn’t until January when the bills come in that the extent of the damage is fully realized. There’s always an extra gift or two (or three or more) that we forget about, a holiday dinner out with friends or co-workers, some extra heavy travel expenses not budgeted for—it all adds up, but heck, we’re human. But not to worry, we have an entire year to get things back in order before…the next holiday crush.

And maybe we can even make some permanent changes for the better along the way.

Try a few of these in the next few months and see if they help…

Tame The Gadget-Greedy Monster In 5 Easy Steps

These days, gadgets are high up on people’s wish lists. Thanks to gadgets, a good number of American consumers have racked up a lot of credit card debt. This is an alarming development, but fortunately, there are ways to resist the temptation to buy, buy, and buy more stuff. Here are our suggestions for taming and controlling the gadget-greedy monster in ourselves.

1. Schedule your gadget purchases and follow it strictly. Say you have a weakness for mobile phones. Set a schedule of buying mobile phones that cost over $50 around once every few years. If you’ve managed to stick to that schedule, take it up a notch and see if you can stretch the use of your phone out a bit longer. Should your phone break down before then, replace it with a cheaper version. There are basic Nokia phones up for grabs on eBay. Who knows? You could get lucky and get one for dirt cheap!

Save Money on Vacations

By Kevin M

Vacation season is upon us and plans are now being laid for what could be the single most expensive week of the year for more than a few people.

Vacations are often the biggest single component in the family entertainment budget, and often (and easily) can run into thousands of dollars for a single one week trip. In many homes, the family vacation has become an annual rite, bordering on necessity.

But in a lot of households, the past few years have been draining on the budget, with one or more periods of unemployment and possibly investment losses as well. Recovery from such hits is often only gradual in coming and it may be best to come out of the gate slowly if you’ve experienced either or both situations.

From a pure financial standpoint the best advice would be to not take a vacation. Vacations are NOT necessities, no matter what the prevailing attitudes in your community or in the culture at large, and you should not be leaving bills unpaid or your bank account empty to make them happen. This truly is an expense that should not be incurred unless all other expenses are paid AND some money has been put away for savings AND the trip can be paid for without incurring significant debt.

With that caveat on our minds let’s focus on ways to take vacations at much lower cost.

Advantages of Business Credit Cards

By Alban (Guest Post)

A standard credit card gives you the security and ease of use to access funds at anytime, anywhere, online, over the phone or in person, and while not all credit cards can be opened for business use, there is a wide range of business credit cards to choose from to keep your corporate spending documented, and give your business the same purchasing freedom you have come to rely on with your personal credit cards.

Benefits of Business Credit Cards

Don’t worry that your business is too small or doesn’t make enough purchases to warrant a business credit card, because there are so many different types of business credit cards available you are sure to find one to suit your business. So check out all the benefits your business can get from using a corporate credit card:

Making Money-Goes-to-Money Work For You

By Kevin M

How do we define rich and poor? The dividing line is more subjective than real in that we tend to think of rich as anyone with substantially more than we have, and poor as anyone with substantially less. Since we always see ourselves as more or less in the middle, how do we determine at what point we might transition into “having money”?

Trying to fix a dollar amount that moves us into that status is probably a waste of time.
A more useful metric might be the point at which:

we earn more money than we need to live,
we have savings in excess of predictable contingencies, and
we’re debt free.

For example, a middle income person living beneath his means, and having above average savings with zero debt probably has more economic options, more day to day freedom, less stress, and probably even more unencumbered cash flow than a high income person living above his means with below average savings and an excessive level of debt.

In this example, the middle class person has reached the all important tipping point where money is now working in his favor, rather than against him, often described by the term “money goes to money”.

Pages

Money Management

Five Reasons You DO Need a Credit Card

Are “Stealth” Expenses Killing Your Budget?

”Where does all my money go?”

Get the RIGHT Loan for Your Needs

How to Make Money by Spending Money

Should you tell your friends and family about your finances?

Happy New Year – It’s Time for a Financial Luggage Check!

Tame The Gadget-Greedy Monster In 5 Easy Steps

Save Money on Vacations

Advantages of Business Credit Cards

Making Money-Goes-to-Money Work For You

Financial Management