Finnovate 2009 –  the conference on “the future of finance” — has been featured in The Wall Street Journal. Mary Pilon, journalist and author of The Wallet, writes in the article,

“GoalSpring will demo DebtGoal, a site for getting personal debt organized, controlled and, hopefully, paid off. The site helps prioritize the various kinds of debt, including credit cards, mortgages and student loans.”

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs.  DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

I recently came across a post on MyDollarPlan.com that discussed one family’s plan to ditch their nanny in favor of more quality time together. Going beyond that single bit of advice, here’s a list of five changes that a family should consider doing to greatly reduce their recurring expenses in order to realize significant savings in these tight times. All of the items are non-discretionary expenses:

1. Skip the nanny. Labor costs are never cheap and depending on state, can come with more costs associated that merely the hourly wage paid for household work completed. Furthermore, the family can do the chores together or divided up, which deepens bonds at a time when people need more social support – especially those that struggle with debt.

2. Ditch the gardener. Do the trimming and lawn mowing on your own and save a ton of money. Go further and plant edible vegetables and fruits, which in turn can reduce your weekly grocery bill, not mention provide the freshest food.

3. Monitor and reduce heating and air conditioning usage. This tip may not be on top of households’ minds in spring, but come summer, the energy bills will start to creep up, sapping family income. Better yet, set a no-air conditioning policy for most of the hot season and save big. Try open windows, low energy fans, and cheap shade-creating installations on the patio. One final novel idea is to paint the roof white, which helps to reduce heat absorption and thus keeps the home cooler.

4. Avoid theme parks. In the heat of August, it may be tempting to all of a sudden cave into the kids’ nagging and make the trip to the local theme or water park. But the costs associated with a full day of entertainment can be large, after gas, parking, supplies, admission tickets, and food costs in the park are all taken into consideration. Instead, go to the beach or a lake with a picnic lunch from home, or invest in a water slide for the backyard that children can use again and again throughout the summer months.

5. Increase communication. This point is broader than a specific money-saving strategy, but having a space in which one can express feelings and goals, emphasizing the need for financial-conscious behavior on everyone’s part, and helping manage expectations in a tough economic environment are all benefits to getting and keeping family on the same page.

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs.  DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

Jessica Holzer at The Wall Street Journal today covered the just-released new set of incentives for mortgage servicers to help homeowners with unfavorable terms in their mortgage contracts. For someone with debt, this list can be used in mortgage renegotiation discussions over the phone in order to alert your lender to their new “wiggle room” for renegotiation in order to meet their interests as well as yours. Here’s a brief summary of Holzer’s main points regarding mortgages:

• The federal goverment will now pay mortgage servicers $500 upfront and $250 per year for three years if they complete the modification of a second mortgage, including home equity loans.

• Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase have already signed up for the program.

• there will be a $2500 upfront payment to servicers that refinance mortgage holders into the program.

Wondering what the federal government is going to do about the credit card debt crisis? NPR just covered credit cards in a webcast. The session starts with an introduction of everyday people – young adults – who took on small amounts of credit card debt in college in order to cover seemingly legitimate expenses like books, tuition, and minor emergencies. But reliance on plastic turned out to presage a steady slide into mountains of debt, leaving at least one of them holding a university diploma and over $17,000 in credit card revolving balances. Aside from this human face of the problem, they identify some key issues and facts. Some of the highlights from their discussion include:

• 6.3 is the percentage that credit card lenders are writing off of their books due to the problem of collecting on outstanding debt balances from consumers, and it is expected to rise to as high as 9 or 10.

• New York Congresswoman Maloney, working on Congress’ upcoming Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights, criticizes the consumer-credit card lender contractual system underlying the crsis, highlighting the transient terms of contracts that undermine consumers, including the hiking of interest rates on a whim.

• How credit card debt problems negatively impact one’s life in myriad ways. Not resolving credit card debt issues will invariably lead to credit score ruin. We’ve already covered some of the more far-reaching impacts of low credit scores.

• The NPR correspondent quotes the Federal Reserve’s description of credit card lenders’ practices towards consumers, describing them as “unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive”.

Perhaps you’re home has not foreclosed. Maybe you’re not even underwater on the mortgage yet. But any number of reasons can make you squeamish about the future prospects of holding on to the property: the loss of income, sudden expenses, or non-discretionary costs that continue to sap your earnings. Chad Graham at The Arizona Republic sets up a valuable process for getting up and doing something about unfavorable mortgage terms. Here’s a brief run-down:

1. Call your lender right immediately and inquire about any of the new government programs available to help struggling homeowners.

2. Get your paperwork organized.

3. Check out MakingHomeAffordable.com to see if you can qualify for help.

4. Find the toll-free number in your state for mortgage help and call it.

5. Check out HUD.gov to find out more information regarding help and programs.

6. Contact your lender repeatedly. The idea is to be polite yet persistent. Call with a clear agenda, ask lots of questions, but be friendly.

7. Trim from your expenses. Non-discretionary and discretionary costs should both be scrutinized. There’s no better time to set up and live by a budget.

8. Stay alert for mortgage scams.

9. Understand how the choice you opt for impacts your long-term finances. For example, short sales negatively impact your credit score very little compared to a foreclosure. Make sure to evaluate all options carefully before making a decision.

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs.  DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.