Owning up to Debt
Which headlines are you reading in the paper or online these days? Which are alarming and which are putting you in fear and giving you anxieties? ….Probably all of them. There seems to be this heavy cloud above our nation these days, whether it be for our economy or our election or even the war. YIKES….where do we turn? Here are some of the headlines the past week: “Stocks Loses Ground Amid Financial Uncertainty”, “Dollar sinks sharply to euro”, “Bailout Bill Passes–Now the Hard Part”, “IMF predicts a Recession”, “US Retails Report Decreased September Sales”, “Retirement Account loses near $3 trillion”, it goes on and on. People are panicking, people are hopeless, people are looking to bankruptcy, to bailouts. What is this world coming to?
Do your kids value money?
My husband was jogging while my 9 year old was riding his bike. My husband had to stop to see what was slowing down my son. When my son reached my husband, my husband asked, “Why did you stop?” My son answered, “There was a penny on the ground that I picked up.”
This is the same son that I overheard talking to his 6 year old little brother. Little bro says, “If you want that game, just ask mommy if you can get money from your bank account.” Big bro says, “No, I’m saving for college. Do you know that college costs a lot of money?”
Who wants to become a Millionaire?
I ran into an article on CNNMoney. The article is about a couple that are both 27 years old, on their way to retiring at the age of 40. Yikes! I’m just over 40 years old and I’m just barely holding my head up above water. How do they expect to do it? Read their story. It’s pretty amazing and puts my spending in perspective. Again, why do I need a new pair of jeans when I have lots hanging in my closet? They spend $300 a year on clothes. That puts me to shame! They have a couple of rental properties and are paying rent to their parents for a minimal amount, until they find a home that’s suitable for them. They don’t feel the need to keep up with the Joneses, they don’t care what people think about them. They are happy with their life and have set their goals. They’re hoping to see their prize in 13 years. Only 13 years to sacrifice…13 years to financial freedom of not having to take on a job for money.
A New Way to Manage Your Money…that’s free.
The last entry I shared with you was a website where you could join a community, a community that has people with the same goals of striving for a healthy lifestyle through eating habits and activity.
Today’s entry is a website where you can join a different kind of community. This community supports financial goals and concerns. Www.wesabe.com combines easy-to-use budgeting tools with a community of supportive people, anonymously sharing ideas and advice with each other to help everyone get more value for their money. Whether your financial goals are to get out of debt, learn how to save better, or figure out how to spend wisely, you will be able to have FREE resources at your fingertips. You can input all your credit cards in this one place, you’ll be able to see where your money is going, you can get saving & spending tips, and/or you can set goals. It is a secure and private website.
Rich man, Poor man
Here’s the scenario:
There are two guys, we’ll call them Butch and Rich. Two of these guys are filing their income taxes in my friend’s office.
Butch is about 60 years old, retired, dressed conservatively, gets out of his 1984 Mercedes convertible drinking his coffee in a styrofoam cup.
Rich is probably about 50, driving his new convertible BMV, wearing a Tommy Bahama silk shirt with his gold watch and gold chain, holding his coffee in a Starbuck’s cup.
My friend knows all too well to judge a person by what he drives or what he wears. The financial statements tell all that happens behind the scenes.
About 1000 Quick Tips to be Frugal
I’ve found another great website. I already spend lots of time on the computer with personal stuff. With the websites I’m finding, I could probably spend a whole week skimming these pages.
This website was titled “Debt Free Living”, it use to be called “Cheapskate Monthly”. It offers the different financial calculators, tips on getting out of debt, bookstore of beneficial finance books, directory of finance coaches, etc.
The section that I really liked was the 145 pages of random tips on being frugal with every day stuff. I took notes because there was just too much information for me to remember. I ended at page 29. I have to go through it all, I don’t want to miss anything.
How to Make Money Fast
You guys have heard of Wikipedia, right? It’s the online encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers, that would be people like you and me.
Not as well-known, there is WikiHow. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Wikipedia but you can gain some tidbit knowledge by reading some of the topics. Examples are “How to Make Money”, and if that’s not good enough, “How to Make Money FAST“.
“How to Convince People you are Not Rich” (I’m assuming you have to be rich first)
“How to Get Money without Working” (Can you define ‘work’?)
Should I go in Debt?
I found a little article that listed the 3 good reasons to go into debt. It piqued my interest because debt is considered something to avoid. What could be ok to get into debt for?
The listed reasons to get into debt were a student loan, home loan or a business loan. OK, that made sense.
Three years ago I would have totally agreed. Yes, student loans will better your future and to invest into a student loan would be beneficial. Yes, home loans tend to be a sound investment. By the time you pay off the loan and likely sooner, they *probably* would have increased in value. Yes, loan for a promising business sounds wise too.
Getting out of Credit Card Debt
Can I get out of credit card debt?
Yes, you can get out of credit card debt.
It’s so easy to get into credit card debt and it’s difficult to get out of credit card debt.
BUT, it isn’t impossible.
To get out of credit card debt you need determination (your mindset - that “I can” attitude) and planning (that turns to action and commitment).
Try to think of personal reasons for getting out of debt and try to see the benefits of being debt free. (No more phone calls from creditors, no more past due notices, no more late charges, no more outrageous interest, no more HOPELESSNESS)
Los Angeles Bans the Plastic Bag
HOORAY!
Can they really do that?
YES, San Francisco did it last year and it was in effect last November.
Consumers’ options are to buy those reuseable canvas bags or pay for a paper or biodegradeable bag at 25cents a bag. Yikes! 3% of the bag fee cost will go back to the retailer, 3% will go to the state, and the rest will go back to the city to fund an education campaign. I think that’s a mighty good idea. If people can’t chose to do what’s right for our earth, then we’ll make them do it. How much do you want to bet that people will be using those canvas bags?
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