Monthly Archives: September 2018

Got a gym membership you never use? Cancel it.  Don’t watch your Netflix subscription? Drop it. Got Amazon Prime but only order stuff once every month or two? Drop it. Subscribed to DailyBurn but rarely exercise? Drop it. Unused subscriptions and memberships do nothing but devour your money month after month. Take a stand and cancel memberships that you no longer use or are interested in. You will save money that can be set aside and placed in your emergency savings account.

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Figure out how much you earned last year after taxes, then subtract from that all of the costs of commuting, professional clothes, work-related meals, and other expenses you paid out of pocket. Then, figure out how many hours you worked (including those at home), plus the hours you commuted and attended other business meetings. Divid your your after-expenses income by your total hours work to get your true hourly wage. That’s how much you actually sell an hour of your time for.

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We all get bills. Some of them aren’t useful at all. Many of them have extra expenses tacked on that we don’t really need. Go through each of your monthly bills with a fine-toothed comb, looking at every line. If you don’t know what the expenses is, call up the company and ask to have it removed. If you don’t think you need the bill at all, call up the company and cancel the service. This is a useful thing to do on at least on a yearly basis.

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If you have an emergency fund in hand you should next focus on eliminating your high-interest debt. Set up a simple debt repayment plan by organizing your debt by interest rate, then attempt to make a double payment (or more) on whatever debt has the highest interest rate. Make that double payment every month, then when that debt is gone, add the total amount of that payment to the payment you’re making on the next debt on the list. Keep repeating until your high-interest- debts are gone.

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If you do not have a cash emergency fund just sitting in a savings account at a local bank somewhere, this should be your number one priority. Cash is king for solving all of the problems that life throws at you. Unlike credit, cash is available in situations of credit problems or of identity theft. You can start building an emergency fund by setting up an automatic weekly or monthly transfer from your checking account to your savings, then leaving the savings alone until an emergency beckons.

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A financial planner can also help you with your budget, which is another plus. Remember that investing is a long-term strategy to building  wealth. You can also find financial help elsewhere. A local church or community center may be offering classes on personal finances and budgeting. Start with goals – The first thing you should do is to write specific goals about what you want to do with your life and your money. Finances can affect many different areas of your life. Your goal to travel the world affects how you will plan your finances. To be successful…have a plan for your personal finances!

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How is it we live in a capitalist society and know very little about our personal finances? It is important to spend a few minutes each day learning more about budgeting, debt reduction and debt management. When you learn something new, pass it on to your family and friends. Knowledge is POWER!

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Always communicate with your credit card company, mortgage holder, car loaner, and or utility if you are unable to make a payment on time or unable to make a minimum payment. It is likely the debt company will allow some leeway when you are honest with your situation. Then, always keep your word and keep the promises that you make. The debt collector will likely give you a ‘grace period’ for you to make your next payment. Even if you make a minimum payment, bill collectors welcome a smaller payment rather than no payment at all. Another tool is to combine all credit card payments to s single, zero percent credit card to give you a few months to a year without interest. This will provide ample time to make payments. Avoid adding new debt to your current debt. Before you know it – you will succeed in paying off a few debts.

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Be honest about your debt commitments and then you can begin to start fresh. Try to avoid adding more debt to you current debt load. Select the smallest debt balance and pay that debt off in one, two, or three payments. Acknowledge ways in which you spend money that can be avoided or reduce significantly. One area that is easy to address, that is ATM fees. Use your own bank ATM which will likely offer no-fee service for account holders or a system ATM which may not charge a fee or charge reduced fees. Depending how often you use the ATM, you can save $30-40 per month and hundreds of dollars each year. There are apps to find the best rate on gas prices, clothes, food, restaurants and other services. There are many ways to save money that will reduce your daily, weekly, monthly and annual costs each year.

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Yes, the day has finally arrived and you can freeze your credit a report at Experian, Transunion, and Equifax for FREE! It costs absolutely nothing to freeze your account! You will have to contact each credit reporting agency separately. You will then receive a pin number to unfreeze your account whenever you wish. You can also check and freeze your minor children’s account to ensure they do not become the victim of consumer fraud.

Experian: www.experian.com/freeze/center.html#content-01

TransUnion: www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Equifax:assets.equifax.com/assets/personal/Minor_Freeze_Request_Form.pdf.

You must also mail supporting documents to verify your and your child’s identities and that you’re the legal guardian of your child. That can include copies of:·

• Power of attorney.
• Foster care documentation.
• Your and your child’s social security cards.
• Your child’s birth certificate or other government document showing parentage.
• Your driver’s license or state- or government-issued identification card.

Children who are 16 and 17 must request their own credit freezes online at the three national credit bureaus. In some cases, they may need to mail in copies of a driver’s license or state-issued identification.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/21/credit-freezes-are-now-free-theres-one-case-you-should-do-it.html

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