Read the fine print

Read the fine print. The smaller the print, the higher the price.

No one reads credit card agreements or loan terms yet everyone goes ballistic when companies enact or enforce what was in those agreements.

Make it easier on yourself. Don't borrow money and then you don't have to read the fine print or play silly games.
More Debt Management

A Bank

Name a store where you walk in and beg them to sell their product to you.

Answer: A Bank

Think about it.
More Debt Management

Cashing out the investment

You are paying 20% interest to a credit card. You are making 8% interest, on average, on non-retirement investments.

Again, why aren't you cashing out the investment and paying off the 20% card?


More Debt Management

No one makes you borrow money

No one makes you borrow money. So, don’t bemoan the fact you now have to pay it back.

No one makes you take possession of things that aren't yours in exchange for spending more than the item is worth each month. No one twists your arm and makes you wear other people's clothes that you pay for with VISA.

In short, if you did it you are to blame. No one else. Now go fix it.
More Debt Management

Write down what you spend

Write down what you spend. Write down every item, no matter how big or small. Even things as small as a newspaper. Do this for one month.

You soon will find out where your money is going. Then you can begin to tell your money where you really want it to go.

This is an enlightening and liberating experience. Start today. Write it down!
More Debt Management

Facts of life

A car payment is not a fact of life. Utilities, food, gas, clothes, education. Those are facts of life.

Get your priorities straight and put your money where it is supposed to go. Some value the kind of car they drive more than taking care of life's necessities. Worse, they sacrifice their family's comfort to look good driving down the road.

This behavior is inexcusable. Don't be one of these people.
More Debt Management

Budgeting for groceries

When it comes to groceries consumers pretty much buy the same thing week after week. So, budgeting for groceries should be easy.

However, budgeting anything can be frustrating and you're not going to get it right the first time in all areas. Food can be one of those areas, but it's also an area you can adjust by what you buy. Budget high for food. If you aim high adjusting downward gains you dollars.
More Debt Management

Get them out of your life!

The rate of interest assigned to your credit accounts reflects the level of risk a creditor is assigning to you. In short, if all you can get is a credit card with a 20% interest rate, that tells you creditors think you're a deadbeat and not very likely to pay them back.

Why are you letting them do this to you? Get them out of your life!
More Debt Management

If you can’t pay for it, don’t buy it

If you can’t pay for it, don’t buy it. What more do you need to hear?

Don't let these words be drowned out by those trying to convince you that you should go on the cruise or deserve the new car. They have no stake in where you are financially and most definitely will not be there if you end up in a bad situation someday.

Drown them out, do the right thing, don't spend what you don't have.
More Debt Management

Quit being selfish

Quit being selfish. Living your life financially out of control may be ok with you, but consider the people who depend on you. They deserve better. Take control of your spending immediately.

Too many people think they are hurting only themselves when they really are hurting those who depend on them financially and emotionally.

It's sad to think these horrible habits are being passed on to the next generation.
More Debt Management

Planning it to be right now

Your financial well-being in the future is going to end up exactly where you are planning it to be right now.

If you are in debt and doing nothing about it you will always be in debt. If you are financially out of control and doing nothing about it you will crash and burn.

If you want a say in how you are from this point forward you had better look at where you are right now.
More Debt Management

A calculator

Figuring out where you are financially is easy, all it takes is a calculator. Income minus outgo equals how much you have to play with.

Many folks are worse off than they think, but some are better off then expected. The secret, though, is in the calculation.

Remember...write down how much you bring home each month. Then write down how much you spend. The result (add drum roll here) is . . .


More Debt Management

Bankruptcy sticks with you forever

Did you know that student loans are not wiped away by bankruptcy. And, actually they're not the only items
that aren't whisked away by filing bankruptcy.

Do your own research on what is and is not covered before going down this road. Don't rely on companies that profit from your misfortune for this guidance.

Bankruptcy sticks with you forever. It is a very serious matter. Don't take it lightly.
More Debt Management

Emergency fund

You need a minimum three months of living expenses in an emergency fund. How much more you contribute is a personal decision, but the three-month minimum is required if you want to be financially prepared.

Some call it a "Rainy Day" fund, but no one should be calling it a "Vacation" or "Christmas" or "Clothes" fund. It's not for expenses for which you have planned.

Emergencies are just that, emergencies.
More Debt Management

While in debt

You can't succeed financially while in debt.

If you have $1,000 in the bank but owe $10,000 the $1,000 is not yours.

If you have $10,000 in the bank but owe $100,000 the $10,000 is not yours either.

Even if you have $100,000 in the bank and owe only $10,000 you really only have $90,000.

Quit fooling yourself. You can't succeed financially while in debt.




More Debt Management

A separate account

Keep 1% - 3% of your home’s value in a separate account for home repair, maintenance, and upkeep. Once you spend some, replenish.

It’s all about being financially prepared. Furnaces and hot water heaters break. Yards need to be mowed and landscaped. Windows need to be replaced. Walls need paint. The list goes on and on.

Don't let the house of your dreams become a house of horrors.
More Debt Management

Don't be one of them

Who said car payments are a fact of life? They don’t have to be.

The people who view car payments as a fact of life drive cars they can't afford. Don't be one of them.

Start by paying off your current car. Then begin saving in a separate account every month the amount of a car payment. Vow that your next car will not cost more than the value of your current car plus the amount of money in the car fund.

More Debt Management

Suck it up and get the second job

Suck it up and get the second job. Any embarrassment you feel pales in comparison to having your belongings stacked on the curb later on.

No one wants to work all day long, but you are the one who put yourself in a position of having to make more money in order to pay your bills so take care of your problem before it escalates to the point of no return.
More Debt Management

DON'T do it

It doesn't matter how much sense it makes to lend kids money. Do them a favor and DON'T do it.

For example. Grandpop loans his grandson money to buy a car. All are happy until the grandson quits making payments. Now Grandpop is disappointed and the kid's parents are upset. Nobody is talking to each other. Why do this to your family?

On paper the deal may make sense but emotionally it could cost you.
More Debt Management

You don't own it

If you are debt-free you own what you have. Unless you've paid for it in full, you don't own it.

Do you like wearing rented clothes, walking in other people's shoes, driving someone else's car, using other people's money to eat? This is what you're doing if you live on credit cards.

People who are debt-free value things they own much more than those who are not.


More Debt Management

Pay cash and watch the reaction

Pay cash and watch the reaction of the checkout clerk.

It's sad, but paying cash has become such an oddity the simple act can prompt confused looks and head shakes.

Those who use cash are more likely to spend less than those who use plastic. Studies show even debit cards tend to make buyers spend more than they planned.

Cash only. Try it.

More Debt Management

Debt is debt

While student loans or home mortgages are the only kinds of debt you should ever have, they aren't to be kept forever.

Debt is debt regardless of a good interest rate or whether you can deduct that interest at tax time.

Remember: Home loans should be 15-year fixed mortgages and the total payment shouldn't exceed 25% of your take-home pay. Student loans should not exceed one year's salary of your chosen field.
More Debt Management

No excuse works here

You flat out owe it to your family to keep them out of debt.

No excuse works here.
More Debt Management

Our grandparents

Our grandparents didn't spend what they didn't have. They weren't constantly bombarded with credit offers either.

They paid their own way throughout their lives, and when the end came they owned what they had outright and didn't owe a soul. How are you going to go out?
More Debt Management

Buy a home as a home

Don't buy a home as an investment. Buy it to be your home. If you happen to make money on it someday that's a plus but you have to like, and be able to afford, where you live first.

Too many homebuyers are talked into buying more home than they can afford because they constantly hear it referred to as an investment. Then they end up in foreclosure because they let someone else tell them what to do with their money.
More Debt Management

“Same as cash”

Subscribe to the “same as cash” program all the time. How? Use cash, that’s how.

Using cash as your personal financial barometer is a good measure (pun intended) as to what you can and can't afford. If you have the cash you can afford it. If you do not . . . you get the idea.




More Debt Management

Do your own research

Do your own research. Finance is really very simple. Don’t let others who create financial schemes or give financial advice for their own livelihood confuse things.

The world of money has its own unique language but it all comes down to a basic principle, "Don't spend what you don't have!"
More Debt Management

You are the only one who really cares

You are the only one who really cares about your own finances. So quit waiting around for someone else to come up with solutions to fix your problems.

Money is one of the easiest problems to solve. If you want to have more money you need to earn more. If you want to have less debt you need to pay back those you owe.
More Debt Management

Quit complaining

Utilities aren't forced upon you. They are choices.

You don’t have to have running water, electricity, hot water, heat. These are services most people pay for because they like to be warm, washed, and otherwise comfortable. So, quit complaining about how much they cost.

Complaining should be saved for your debts.
More Debt Management

No fun there

Do you really want to go to a job every week to make money you've already spent? No fun there. Get ahead of this one, your sanity depends upon it.

If you buy on credit you are promising to pay with future dollars you will someday earn.

If you use cash you will pay with dollars you have already earned.

This concept alone should make you rethink purchases you were considering making using credit.
More Debt Management

Always know where you stand

If you use cash you always know where you stand financially. No mystery there.

Studies show those who use credit cards, even debit cards, spend more than those who use cash. The idea is that you are more aware of what you spend if you actually see it leaving your hands.

You also set a good example for your children. If they see you using plastic what behavior will they think is acceptable when it is their turn?
More Debt Management