Posts Tagged ‘personal finance’

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Blog Carnival Highlights

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

There have been many informative carnivals over the last couple of weeks on debt and other personal finance topics. Here’s a list of some highlights:

Personal Finance News Carnival

Carnival of Debt Reduction

Money Hacks Carnival

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Everything Money

Solid Planning Tips and Tricks Carnival

Bankruptcy and Debt Carnival

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.

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Posted in Debt Management, Press | View Comments

Family Entertainment for the Budget-Conscious

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Yesterday’s list contained some quickfire suggestions for cheap entertainment. But advice on entertaining a family that grapples with significant financial challenges merits some creative thinking as well. Heather Orr wrote for Suite101 an excellent list of ideas for fun on a budget. One of the most interesting and inexpensive ideas is to take the family on a tour of local historical sites. The price of admission to many landmarks is low, and there is usually more for children to learn beyond the initial school-sponsored field trip. To add to her thoughts, here are some additional possibilities.

  • Dollar movies. While going to a matinee performance is clearly a better deal than the full-price evening show, the dollar movies are an even better option. Enjoy a snack from home before going and eliminate the temptation to load up on expensive snacks at the cinema. Even better yet, get in the habit of waiting for all films to switch from the premium theaters to smaller, cheaper screens several weeks after their release date or wait and rent the DVD version.
  • The Zoo. Pack a lunch from home and go on discounted or free days.
  • High school sports. Most high schools have rivalries and not only are the games cheap or free to attend, but some match ups can be just as exciting as professional league events.
  • Board games. Playing board games at home is one of the best options. Every family has favorites, and having already purchased the game, the marginal cost of playing each additional time is low.
  • Camping. Depending on location and weather, this is a cheap option with the benefit of an overnight stay and outdoor activities. Researching particular spots on the Internet can reveal information on camping costs, including permits, reservations, and the popular activities for campers that tend to be less costly. Caravan to the campsite with other families and children will relish a weekend spent with others their age.

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.

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Posted in Debt Management, Saving | View Comments

Is Looking at the Impact of a Stimulus Package on Personal Finances the Right Approach?

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Brent Arends just wrote a piece in The Wall Street Journal on the topic of a stimulus package and personal finances. He rightfully turns the issue around to focus on how one can manage costs, which is much more insightful than figuring out the indirect impact of new infrastructure investment on one’s bank account. Here’s a quick summary of some of his best advice:

  • Review and update (or create) a will and estate plan.
  • Focus on paying down all credit card debt now, and especially before placing additional funds in any type of investment vehicle.
  • Review and trim your expenses, and focus specifically on reducing any recurring monthly items.
  • Adjust insurance plans to ones with higher deductibles to cut costs, unless you have a solid reason to believe that higher deductibles will cost you more.
  • Go over and understand your existing investments despite the recent turmoil in the markets. Accounts should be periodically rebalanced irrespective of market conditions.
  • Sit down with a blank piece of paper and write out all of your long-term goals. This is an excellent exercise for planning anything, including a debt reduction strategy and personal finances more broadly. It will encourage you to think about what cuts in expenses you will need to make now in order to stay on course towards becoming debt-free, retiring, or paying college expenses.
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.

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Posted in Debt Management, Paying Down Debt, Saving, Spending | View Comments

Debt and Sex

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Do debt and sex have anything to do with one another?

The short answer is yes, but probably not for the reasons you might expect….

  • According to the British tabloid The Sun, one in four people who contacted a debt helpline admitted that some of their financial problems were caused by spending money on sex.
  • In another entertaining twist on the subject, Tom Elsvin reports that debt now seems more important to people than sex.  He comes to this conclusion by analyzing the spam he gets sent every day, and has seen a sustained increase in the number of unwanted emails about debt issues lately.
  • Credit card debt ranked highest on taboo topics, according to a poll by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media for CreditCards.com. People would rather talk about their age, weight, religious views, even health problems before openly discussing their credit card debts. Even some of those who don’t carry a balance on their cards said they wouldn’t want to broach that topic with someone they just met.

Over here at DebtGoal.com we’re still trying to decipher what all this means … but we welcome your insights on the topic.

Steve Richmond is a co-founder of 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.

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Posted in Credit Card, Debt Management | View Comments

Making Debt Reduction Your Goal for 2009

Monday, December 29th, 2008

New Year’s resolutions run the gamut from the outlandish (sky dive, climb a mountain) to the traditional (lose weight, help others more). An atypical resolution that will make a difference this year is more than a one-line “pledge to get out of debt” – it is a straightforward plan to do so.

 

Promising to end debt a boring and cliché resolution? Be stylish and realistic in your pledge and design a good plan. Here’s an idea:

 

“My 2009 resolution is to improve my personal finances and the first step is to aggressively eliminate my outstanding debt. Once I am completely free of debt, I’m going to save up for and pre-pay a tropical vacation to celebrate. Staying out of the red is going to be a cornerstone of my lifestyle moving forward. I pledge to the following plan:

 

a)      Write all of my debt down on paper, with the name of the lender, outstanding amount to be paid off, and terms of repayment.

b)      Prioritize the debts from most to least pressing to pay off. (Number them)

c)      List my monthly expenses and income. Set up a budget that trims unnecessary expenditures and comes up with a consistent amount that I can contribute towards monthly debt reduction.

d)      Start this action plan with the month of January 2009, with a modest reward for myself if I follow through with the game plan for each of the first six months of the New Year.”

 

Research shows that half the battle is proving that you can set up a plan and follow it.

 

If your debt is enormous, this is not a reason to avoid the most important resolution you can make. Simply adjust the resolution to represent a pledge to eliminate a large percentage of it (e.g., 50%) within the next year.

The best part of using a New Year’s resolution as a promise to eliminate debt is that you can let your promise be known to friends and family in a way that feels less difficult because everyone makes a resolution. It feels good because it comes off more as a declaration than a confesssion.

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.

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Posted in Debt Management, Paying Down Debt | View Comments

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