I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Decreasing Debt Demands Daily Due Diligence

Short of a once-in-a-lifetime windfall or brilliant business idea, nothing is likely to alleviate the average American debt burden besides on-time repayment. It’s a daunting task, but not impossible. All it requires is dedication to debt elimination. With that said, it must become a part of your daily routine. Far too much spending happens on a day-to-day basis for anyone to safely assign their personal finances to weekly and monthly projections. In order to position yourself for true debt elimination, you ought to commit to the following daily actions and decisions:

You ought to consider every cent of spending – past, present, and future: Spending your lunch break calling up several companies on your cell phone to fetch free insurance quotes may seem like a money saver, but not when you wasted 50 of your precious daytime minutes to not take advantage of a deal. Always calculate the true cost of any action before deciding to follow through.

You ought to predict high pressure purchases: When your brakes are over two years old, the air conditioner starts to act weird the last week of summer, or any other obvious future expenses are expected, it’s absolutely foolish to kick the can down the road. Such action usually results in credit being used to make the purchase, which will only add more time to your debt elimination clock.

You ought to come clean: If you’re getting letters in the mail or phone calls on a daily basis asking for you to settle past debt, then you need to stop ignoring these communications and figure out a way to pay the bill off with the least amount of damage done to your credit as possible. It never pays to put off these past mistakes.

You ought to set an example: You can’t expect your significant other or other loved ones to commit to sound personal finance policies if you aren’t able to set an example on a daily basis. While avoiding becoming a nuisance to your own family, never waste an opportunity to display financial responsibility in front of those living under your roof.

You ought to finish every day in the black: Keep a tallied breakdown of how much you earn everyday, and how much is spent. Expenditures should even include daily utility usage. Make sure that, at the end of every day, you always manage to spend less than you make. If you commit to this, then there is absolutely no way you won’t ultimately pay off your debt.

Any and all possible ways to eliminate debt ought to always be considered. But until the day comes when you come up with a genius way to make millions, a self-imposed daily determination to stay on top of debt is your best bet. By adhering to such self-discipline when it comes to debt elimination, it’s impossible not to succeed in your efforts.

Saving Money Through New Year’s Resolutions

The New Year is here, and for many that means trying to recover from the excessive expenditures brought on by the holiday season. Another task synonymous with the new year is the creation of resolutions, and to help you get your finances back in order, sticking to a few of those resolutions may not be such a bad idea after all. Most resolutions double as money savers and great ways to improve yourself overall. So if you are interested in choosing a New Year’s resolution that will increase your wallet, consider one of the following:

Losing Weight

While most people think that losing weight will save you money solely because of a reduced food bill, it actually has several other money saving benefits. Sure you will avoid the vending machines, the movie popcorn, and excessive eating out which will save you, but by slimming down you will also avoid having to pay high medical bills later on as many overweight individuals tend to suffer from high costing medical conditions later in life such as diabetes and heart disease.

Finding a Better Job

The job market has been horrible over the last couple of years which has forced thousands to make finding a better job a top priority. Obviously, finding a job, whether it be selling real estate or one of numerous Huntingdon Life Sciences jobs, will better your overall personal wealth. You will be able to obtain a higher salary, obtain health insurance, and start up that 401(k) which will all increase your personal wealth in the long run.

So if you really want to change your life this year, stick to your goal of finding a new job. So far this year, more jobs are being added so those in need of a job should have a better outlook.

Quitting Smoking

Smoking has always been known as an expensive habit, and by quitting you can easily save yourself upwards of $200 a month. Quitting in the new year will also save you money as it will keep you from having to foot expensive medical bills and higher insurance premiums in the future.

Paying Off Debt

Paying off debt now will obviously save you money in the future as you won’t have to pay excessive interest, but doing so will save you money a few other ways too. By lowering your personal debt-to-income ratio, you will have a better chance at qualifying for better interest rates for larger installment loans, such as a mortgage or car loan, which can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

Going Green

In an attempt to better protect our environment and to better promote our own health, many people are choosing going green as their New Year’s resolution. While choosing to live more sustainably isn’t always cheap if you choose to install solar paneling or a geothermal unit, by making a few inexpensive switches you can save yourself quite a bit of money while doing something great for the environment. A few easy switches that will save you money off those utility bills include changing your lightbulbs to CFLs, lowering the thermostat in winter, and adding weather stripping to your doors and windows.

Ringing in the New Year often brings a sigh of relief to many. The old year is over, and with the new year comes renewed hope that we can do better for ourselves. This year get your financial house in order by sticking to a few of those New Year’s resolutions.

How to Save Big on Home Energy Without Big Spending

For strictly the sake of long-term cost-effectiveness, taking steps to convert your home habitat to a more eco-friendly form is an incredibly intelligent decision. The only drawback is that something like a solar panel installation is a $16,000 and upward investment. Even with tax incentives factored in, going green is by no means a small investment for the average American family. In order to make the big changes that equate to expensive installations, families have to save money – which becomes more difficult as energy costs continue to rise.

While they won’t compare to the cost benefits of green improvements to your home, the following are simple steps to save on home energy that are certain to make saving for such investments a much more likely possibility:

-You need to make the switch over to compact fluorescent lamps. Soon you won’t see any alternatives on the market, but why wait? It’s a more expensive upfront cost, but think of it like how you would compare mortgages: paying less up-front for an unfixed interest rate is an immediately smart decision, but you’ll never know how long the “deal” will last. Investing more upfront grants you more peace of mind. CFLs are guaranteed to last longer and save you $40 each over the course of their lives. Multiply that by the number of light sockets in your home.

-You need to choose sweaters over heaters. As winter sets in, we get shocked by the cold front into happily turning up the heat in our homes. Keep your thermostat at a lower-than-comfortable level, and make up the difference in sweaters and thick socks. These are items you can pickup at Wal-Mart for less than $10 and will keep you from spending ten times that over the course of the winter.

-You need to pack your refrigerator. This is a useful tip for some summer time energy savings, as the temperature of the air outside the refrigerator tends to be much higher than within. One-sixth of your home energy use comes from the fridge, and most of it is used to return the internal temperature to a set level after the door is opened. Make it easier on your fridge by keeping as many items inside as possible, which will contain more cold. Jugs of water work just as well as food.

-You need to become vigilant about chargers. Most things we have plugged into outlets constantly, such as televisions and lamps, have mechanisms that keep them from using power despite being shut off. By the nature of what they do, chargers do not obey this rule, and instead continue to draw power from the outlet even if a device is not currently connected. Make it a habit of unplugging all chargers – for phones, laptops, and anything else.

-You need to make sure your ducts are sealed. This ranks numero uno on the list of ways to save big on home energy without spending a whole lot of money. For a $2.00 roll of duct tape and $25.00 worth of insulation material, you can make it a weekend project to inspect all ductwork and encase the joints with tape and insulation. It’s a sure way to prevent up to 30% of your heating and cooling literally being lost in space.

Taking small steps to save on home energy won’t turn you into a millionaire, and it won’t make up for the cost benefits of going green. But the money you can keep from spending can be saved for eventually making those big improvements to your home’s energy efficiency, that, over time, are certain to keep you from spending thousands more on home energy use.

Vacation This Winter Without the Travel – Or The Expense

With December upon us and the holiday season approaching, it’s hard to deny that winter has nearly arrived. For those of us who live in colder climates, this means frigid temperatures, swirling snow, and plenty of warm layers every time we step outside. It also means vacations, as many people with the time and the money endeavor to take a trip and go someplace warm.

But vacations can be expensive, especially for those of us currently plagued by debt. Along these lines, if you don’t have plane tickets lined up to an exotic locale, don’t despair: there are many ways to take a winter vacation without emptying your wallet or going too far from home. To be sure, you won’t get the sun and warm weather that some of your friends and co-workers may get. But when it comes to doing something relaxing, different, and family-focused, there are plenty of options for taking a short trip within driving distance and saving some money in the process. Here are a few suggestions:

Take A Weekend On The Town

If you live in a metropolitan area, spice things up by spending a weekend in the city, acting as though a tourist would. Go out to dinner, partake in cultural events, and tour around with the family or just with your significant other. You may even want to go all-out and stay in a hotel for a couple of nights while you’re at it. The weekend won’t be dirt cheap, but it’s still probably less expenses and less of a hassle than getting on a plane and flying somewhere warm. Not to mention, many cities offer free admission to some of their most famous museums and cultural attractions.

Go To A Bed And Breakfast

If staying at a hotel for a couple nights sounds like a good idea, but you don’t live near a big city or care to check it out, spending a weekend at a nearby bed and breakfast may be a better bet. Bring a couple books, sit out by the fire, and relax for a few days away from home with your significant other. At the right bed and breakfast you may even come to enjoy the fact that it’s cold and wintery outside; it can make the ambiance inside only warmer and more inviting. This trip is a good one to choose if you seek a romantic winter getaway.

Have Family Time

If your main objective is to relax and spend some time with your family, there’s nothing wrong with taking a weekend vacation – and not even leaving your house. Rent a few good movies, make some hot chocolate, turn up the heat, and huddle around in the living room, watching the movies, reading books, or even taking a nap. It may not be the most exciting “trip”, but it’s still, for many people, a worthwhile experience.

Go Skiing

For families that seek more activity, you may want to consider one of the few sports that is best done during the winter: skiing. Almost every colder city in the country has skiing opportunities within driving distance – no matter how flat the surrounding terrain – and a weekend at a ski resort can be enjoyable even for those who do not partake in the sport.

These are just a few of the options available to those who want to get away without spending too much money or going too far. Although a local weekend trip may be less warm and exciting than you may desire, it’s still a good way to change up your routine, do something special, relax, and, of course, be frugal along the way.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Your Kids a Home

One of the most popular gifts baby boomers are giving to their children these days are homes. Many are deciding to outright purchase a home or pay the down payment for their kids. While this may seem like a very gracious act, it is actually incredibly dangerous, and can put retirees at risk of losing their retirement. In fact, those considering buying their children a home shouldn’t for the following reasons:

You’re Spending Your Retirement

We all want to help our kids, but there is a fine line between help and too much help. Your children have the rest of their lives to purchase a home and save for retirement. You don’t. The years in which you can save are limited, and by investing in a home for your child, you could be risking a large portion of your savings. While we would all like to believe that our children are responsible enough to make mortgage payments, the truth is that the foreclosure rate is still high due to low wages and job loss.

Gift Could be Taxed

If you decide to pay your kids’ down payment, your children may be taxed for the gift you gave them. Since they couldn’t afford the down payment themselves, there is a good chance that they won’t be able to afford the taxes on the gift you gave them either. Instead of paying their down payment, help them start a savings account for a down payment. This way you can pay a little at a time so that your kids won’t get taxed, and they will have to learn to save for themselves.

A Lack of a Life Lesson

If your kids can’t afford to buy homes, then they probably don’t need to be owning one. Homeownership is expensive, and if your kids are already struggling to make ends meet, they probably aren’t going to be able to afford all the monthly expenses that are included in homeownership such as the mortgage, private mortgage insurance, utilities, and regular maintenance. If your kids default, that could leave you responsible for the mortgage if you co-signed which may be a payment you can’t financially handle.

While your kids may be looking at you with pleading eyes when they say that they want to buy a home, it truly is in your and their best interest for you not to buy a home for them. If they can’t afford to put a down payment on a home, then they don’t need to be buying one through a conventional lending program. They need to instead try to obtain financing through a more affordable option such as FHA or USDA – not the bank of Mom and Dad.

Don’t risk your life savings to put your kid in a new home. You worked hard for it, and you need to make sure that you are protected and will be able to live comfortably before you purchase a home for your child. Otherwise, both you and your child may wind up without anyplace to call home.