Monday, April 27, 2009

Teaching debt solutions from a young age.

These days, it seems that people are getting into debt at a younger and younger age. Studies show that by the age of 20, many people already have a large amount of debt under their belts. That debt only seems to grow with age, especially when they begin to get student loans, mortgages and car loans. Is there a way to stop this? Is there a way to make it so that young people are not saddled with debt from a young age?

By teaching ways to manage and avoid debt at a young age, it is possible to keep young people from falling into a debt spiral before they can even drink in bars legally. Here are some tips to get you and your kids on the right track with debt.

First, have your kids start living by a budget. This will be very easy because at an early age, especially before the age of 15, there are very few expenses for young people. On top of that, there is little income for them as well. The point is not that you need to have a lot of information in the budget, but that you are teaching the kids to use the budget. Teaching the kids to use a budget at a very early age will keep them from letting their expenses get out of control. That way, you will be able to not only help them manage their money, but you will teach them one of the most important things you can learn to keep away from debt.

The next most important thing you can teach them is how credit works. The problem with many young people and credit is that when they get it, they go a bit out of control with it. As a result, they can find their credit card is out of control before they have a chance to bring it under control. Sometimes, a first credit is the beginning of an unstoppable debt spiral. With very young children, give them a pretend credit card that they can use around the house. You can also incorporate a credit card (fake one) with the allowance so that they begin to understand paying back the credit card. It may be a game early on, but it can help out by giving your kids the skills they need to understand how credit works for them, and against them as well.

Lastly, teach kids about saving money. By having them put away a certain amount of money each time they get their allowance, they can see their savings grow. This is a very good idea if you want to teach them the value of a dollar.

Saving money, having a budget and learning about credit at a young age is something that kids need to learn before things get out of control in young adult years. Sometimes new money or credit can be overwhelming in the temptation to spend, but you can prevent that from happening with some good credit and financial tips.

If you or anyone that you know would care for more information regarding this post, feel free to visit http://www.creditrepairbydrjen.com

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Is the recession good for your credit?

Many people are wondering if the recession is something that is actually good for them or not. While many people have lost their jobs, there are also many people who have learned to cut back on their consumption, to put their credit cards away and to think before they get themselves into debt. So, can the recession be good for your credit and your debt?

Naturally if you go through foreclosure or bankruptcy, it is not good for your credit score but it can be good for you because it teaches you that you don’t need to live with credit, that you can get by without it. It is a fresh start that allows you to begin building your credit back up and clearing away the debt that you were saddled with before.

In a recession, you are going to be saving your money and by saving your money you save on accumulating debt. Instead of walking into a store with a credit card like you may have done in years past, you are walking into a store with your credit card thinking about the payments you will have to make, about how much this is going to cost you in the long run and whether or not you really want to buy that item that you may not even really need.

During recession, you should take a look at your finances and your expenses and determine where exactly you can begin to cut back. For example, if you find that you eat out a lot, and that it is costing you $200 a month, then maybe you should cut back on eating out and instead choose to make your own dinners at home which can be much healthier and much cheaper as well. These are the kinds of decisions that you are going to have to make during the recession if you want to save money, eliminate debt and improve credit.

You should not think of the recession as a hard time for all because it can be a wake up call instead of a death bell. You are learning that you can save money, not spend money on things you don’t need and even lower your debt by practicing the following rules:

1. Think before you spend.

2. Don’t use your credit card.

3. Cut back on expenses to save money and eliminate debt.

By doing these things, you will greatly alter your life. If you were close to being overrun with debt before the recession hit, then this is the perfect time to get everything in order and to take a hard look at your spending habits. By cutting back in a recession, you will find it much easier to take those same ideas and philosophies into boom times. Then, when another recession hits you will be ready for it and you won’t have very much debt because you learned from the previous recession. Recessions can be good, all you have to do is look for the silver lining in the dark cloud.

If you or any one that you know would care for more information regarding this post, feel free to visit http://www.creditrepairbydrjen.com

Monday, April 6, 2009

Learn how to save money to starve off debt.

The best defense against debt and finding yourself falling deeper and deeper in your finances is saving money. Saving money is by far the best tool you have at your disposal to achieve financial freedom in your life. Sadly, in the past 50 years the amount of money people have saved has steadily fallen to the point where it is today, where people aren’t saving money anymore, but spending more than they actually have.

The first step towards saving money in your life is to begin making a budget. A budget is what you will use as a guidepost for how much money you can spend. If you make $40,000 a year and you want to save $1,000 per month so that you can build your savings to $12,000 in a year, then you need to budget for it. You need to cut down on your expenses so that you don’t spend into your $1,000. This may not be easy at first, you may find that it can be hard to stick to the budget but it is very important that you do. Before you make the budget, you will have to begin to look at your expenses in detail to find out how much you are spending each month. This will take you a month but it will help ensure that your budget is completely accurate. It will also show you how little costs can add up over time without you realizing it. For example, buying a five dollar latte seven days a week. However, when you add up five dollars by 30 days you find out that you are spending $150 per month on lattes. That amounts to $1,800 per year spent in lattes that you drink for 30 minutes! That is a lot of money and that is $1,800 that you could put in your savings!

You should also look at cutting back on your bills. The less bills that you have, the more money you will have in the bank. Do you need to have cable? Instead of running the air conditioning why not open a window? Instead of turning up the heat, why not just put on a sweater? There are many ways that you can save money on your bills and that helps you save money in the long run. As well, by saving costs on energy bills, you also lower the amount of carbon dioxide that you release into the atmosphere and that helps the environment.

If you want to get rid of your debt and keep it from happening again, then you need to start saving money. Saving money will help you because you can use the saved money to pay off the debt. Once you have used that money to pay off your debts, you can then use it to build a savings. If you can save $12,000 per year, then by ten years of saving money, you will have saved $120,000. Within twenty years that is $240,000. By forty years you will have $480,000. That is a lot of extra money saved and that is a lot of debt eliminated in your life.

If you or anyone else that you know would care for more information regarding this post, feel free to visit http://www.creditrepairbydrjen.com

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Finances are one of the leading causes of stress for both individuals and families. When most think about the stress caused by finances, they will usually think about someone having a difficult time making enough to cover bills and being unable to provide themselves or their family with what they think they should have. While this is true, and becoming more common with the economy going the way it is, financial stress can be caused by things outside of work and the worry the job is not paying enough. For those who are fairly stable with their income and manage to live within their means, there are certain purchases that can increase stress because of the impact it can have on the financial situation at home.

As the years pass and one is able to build their credit, they begin considering purchases or investments they would like to make; investments and purchases that are no different than what the last generation wants. Firstly, many would like to establish their status in the community they live in, which is often done through money and what they own. Secondly, and this will sometimes have nothing to do with the first, there are people who would like to purchase a vehicle to make their lives easier, to make their job possible and to hopefully save on repair costs in the future; there is, of course, also the investment in a house that most hope to do because it can offer stability and freedom to them and their family. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make life a little easier and comfortable, but it is becoming more difficult to obtain these things because of job insecurity, expensive necessities, such as food and shelter, and so on. Frustration in knowing that some of these are unattainable right now can cause enough stress, but those who have been able to invest but are unable to keep up with the costs because of being laid off, for example, can feel even more stress as their credit becomes damaged and they are realizing they may lose what they worked so hard to get.

It is true that financial stress begins when spending goes out of control and when the bills start to mount. Questions, such as how one is going to afford things, begin to arise. Depending on how bad the situation becomes, relationships can become strained and those with the financial burden can fall into depression and/or anxiety. Speaking with a counselor before the situation becomes too bad would be a good idea for anyone looking to alleviate stress before it goes too far. Many are turning to online websites for some answers or advice, because not only is it easy to access, especially as many sites will offer some free help. Many will prefer to consult an online counselor because it is confidential and they can communicate with them from the privacy of their home. Online help for financial stress offers a great opportunity for anyone looking for some help to relieve some of their stress. All one has to do is ask for help; the first step in getting the help one needs.

If you or anyone that you know would care for more information regarding this post, feel free to visit http://www.creditrepairbydrjen.com