1. Reduce overall spending.

This should be your first step if your credit cards are getting you in trouble. Becoming a smarter shopper and cutting out useless spending will give you less overall expenses. With less expenses, you will have less reason to use your credit card. Make a conscious effort to become a smarter shopper by clipping coupons, looking for deals and comparison shopping. Dine out less, skip the 2nd $8 martini, go to a cheaper gas station…all of these small adjustments can drastically improve your financial standing and lessen your dependency on credit cards.

Debit cards have almost totally replaced check writing. Debit cards are very similar to checks in that they have a dedicated account and can be used instead of cash. However, using a debit card is much easier than having to constantly write out checks.

Although a powerful financial tool like a debit card is very safe, it is not without fraud concerns. Much like credit card fraud, there are ways in which your debit card can become compromised. There are steps you can take to protect against debit or ATM card fraud, and here are 4 of the most useful.

If you find yourself in financial trouble, counseling is something you should consider. Credit counseling is a service offered by a NACCC certified credit counselor that could help you get your personal finances back in good standing. Your credit counselor works as a middleman between the creditor and debtor to satisfy both parties. Signing up for a credit consolidation program won’t negatively affect your credit score. However, if your owed balance is lowered, it can show up negatively on your credit report. With that being said, credit counseling is a far better alternative than bankruptcy. Having higher interest on major purchases is better than being denied outright. Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, while the effects of credit consolidation are only visible for 7 years. On a side note, ALL of the counselors at DebtConsolidation.com are NACCC certified.

While computers and online banking software has made it easier than ever to put money into a savings account, there are still some things you should avoid when it comes to saving money. Since most of you already know the right way to save money, here are 4 wrong ways to save money.

1. Putting more than you can in your savings then making withdrawals.

The point of a savings account is to “save” your money. I’ll never understand why people put money into a savings account just to make withdrawals to buy unnecessary items. The best way to utilize a savings account is to make regular deposits, leave the money alone and let it gain interest. If you keep taking money out of your account, your savings will be nullified. It is a wise decision to budget your money so you don’t need to delve into your savings unless for an emergency. You should also read “4 Tips For Breaking Bad Spending Habits” to help you work on your budget and spending.

But then something happened in the 1970’s to change all of that. It was the birth of the credit card. Sure there was department store cards back then but nothing like today. Suddenly we realized that we could have everything we wanted today and we didn’t have to pay for it until later, waaaaay later. The problem is, instead of taking the money that we used to save, to earn interest, we are using that same money to pay interest on the money we borrowed to buy our stuff.

The reason people don’t worry more about going into debt when they borrow money on their credit cards is that they don’t realize how hard it is to pay off a large debt.  Sometimes people will even take out loans to pay back another loan, which just defers responsibility even further and makes the situation worse.

People who have an excessively large debt need to get help before they become financially ruined. Debt relief counseling agencies are the best place to receive this help and can offer assistance when almost no one else can. They can offer debt counseling, debt consolidation plans, and many other programs to help people deal with their debt issues.

Here are some answers to the most common questions about debt relief counseling:

What is Debt Relief Counseling?

Debt relief counseling is a service provided by a professional to help get someone out of debt. A debt relief counselor considers your financial situation along with your debts and then suggests the easiest and fastest ways for you to pay off the debt. They also try to limit the harm that is done to your credit in the process of paying back your debt. It is very important to be honest about your finances with your counselor because they need accurate information in order to give you the best advice possible.

Who handles the Counseling?

The person taking care of the counseling should be a trained professional who knows the ins and outs of the credit industry. Find a counselor who is both experienced and certified with the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors (NACCC) so that you get the best service possible.

How Long Will It Take?

The first consultation you have with your counselor usually takes between one and two hours. Your counselor will spend this time going over your finances with you and then explaining the various options you have for getting out of debt. You should expect to have several follow up sessions with your counselor while the two of you work out the best payment plan possible.

Is Debt Relief Counseling a Smart Decision?

Ideally, everybody would be debt free and no one would need debt relief counseling. However, debt relief counseling is a very good choice for people in tough financial situations, especially when the alternatives are bankruptcy or debt settlement. Both of those options can severely damage your credit score for up to a decade. This makes getting any type of credit near impossible. Debt relief counseling can actually help you improve your credit rating and avoid the other negatives associate with bankruptcy.

Click here and join the millions of consumers across America and use Debt Consolidation, Credit Counseling and Debt Settlement as a way of getting out of debt!

You may call us 24 hours a day at (800)-CUT BILLS™ (800-288-2455) for your free consultation.

Don’t compare your personal finances to others.

Your financial situation is your own business and you shouldn’t worry about how it compares to other people’s finances. Don’t think that just because your friends can afford certain luxuries that you should be able to as well. You have no way of knowing if they are putting themselves into debt or have an extra source of income they haven’t told you about.

The most important thing to understand is that you should only join your friends in spending money when it is a financially sound idea to so. If you’re friends are constantly going out to expensive places, you don’t always have to join them. There’s no need to cut out all recreational expenses, but make sure that when you do spend money on entertainment that you can afford it.

Think of alternatives to routine expenditures.

Try to find ways to save a few dollars from items that are constant drains on your cash. You’d be surprised how much money you spend on coffee, cigarettes, and other items that you routinely buy. If you go out for coffee every morning, start brewing your own at home and you can save around twenty dollars a week. If you like to blast the AC or the heat, consider turning it down or off when you sleep to save money on your utility bills. Avoiding seemingly minor expenses like these can save you a whole lot of money over time.

Keep a personal budget.

Making a budget and sticking to it is an absolute must for anyone who wants to develop good spending habits.  By keeping track of exactly how much you spend and how you spend it, you can make informed decisions about what to spend money on and you can discover where you can save extra money. Once you make a budget, be sure to follow it or else it won’t do you any good. If you are disciplined and honest with your budget, your money management will improve the instant you make one.

Challenge yourself to spend less money.

If you make saving money a personal goal, passing up unnecessary expenditures becomes even easier. You should be proud of yourself for making smart financial decisions and meeting that goal so you can be motivated to continue growing your savings. Knowing that good spending habits are important and that they make you feel financially secure can help you remember to clip coupons, take advantage of discounts when possible, and live more frugally. The sooner you start saving money and feeling good about it the better off you will be.

Learning to save more and spend less is the most important part of avoiding debt. Saving money does mean that you may have to give up a few luxuries and conveniences like dining out, but with some thoughtful effort you can increase your monthly savings a significant amount without too much difficulty. The following tips can help you get started:

Make a budget

Create a list of all of your monthly expenses and then prioritize them. Put necessities like house payments, credit card payments, and retirement savings first. Then after seeing how much money you have leftover, you will know how much you can spend on non-vital items and services. Also make sure to save money each month for emergencies. Unexpected and costly events can put you much further into debt if you do not have any money set aside to deal with them.

Reduce your energy usage

In addition to budgeting for your monthly bills you can take steps to lower them by conserving energy and gasoline. By wearing heavier clothes in the winter and using the heater less you can easily cutback on energy costs. Taking shorter showers and unplugging appliances that aren’t being used can help as well. Riding your bike or carpooling when possible is also a great way to reduce the amount of money you spend on gas.

Moderation is the key

Avoiding debt does not mean that you have to live in destitution; it merely means that you have to moderate your spending. For example, instead of going out to a movie and dinner, spend the time learning to cook a gourmet meal for yourself.  Many people pay a high premium for minor conveniences solely because they have become accustomed to having them. Be mindful of your habits and watch where you spend your money and you may find that even a slight bit of work on your part will result in a lot of savings.

Breaking with old habits may be hard at first, but once you begin to practice these tips all of the time you will find yourself with more money and feeling more self-reliant. Debt consolidation and debt relief can help you with your existing debt, but only you can make sure that you stay out of it.

Bankruptcy

Debt consolidation is an excellent choice to deal with debt, but declaring bankruptcy is the widest known method. However, many people do not understand how harmful declaring bankruptcy can be to their future.  Declaring bankruptcy has several disadvantages when compared to debt consolidation.

1. You may lose your assets that are’t protected by state law. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy then you may have to liquidate any property that you are not specifically entitled to keep in order to pay your creditors.
2. Your credit rating will suffer for years. Filing for any type of bankruptcy can hurt your chances of qualifying for loans in the future because it harms your credit rating severely. A bad credit rating from bankruptcy can last up to a decade.
3. You must file for bankruptcy in a federal court. In order to receive the federal protection that bankruptcy provides, you must first go through the court system. This means that you will probably also have to hire a bankruptcy attorney for an additional hefty fee.
4. Your retirement savings are not necessarily safe. Bankruptcy protection does guarantee that you can keep the money in your 401k and up to $1 million in your IRA, but anything else that you have saved for the future can be taken to satisfy your debt.

Declaring bankruptcy is one way to try and manage your debt, but this extreme measure is not your only recourse.

Debt Consolidation: A Better Alternative

Debt consolidation can help provide you with a way to get out of debt that gives you more control over your finances than bankruptcy does. Debt consolidation works by taking your existing debts and placing them into a single loan. The debt consolidation company then uses that loan to pay all of your monthly bills and to negotiate lower interest rates with your creditors. There are several benefits to using this method to handle debt:

Lower monthly payments

Debt consolidation can reduce your monthly payments so that you have the ability to pay what you owe each and every month without having to struggle as much. By using one large loan to pay off multiple debts, you can give yourself more time to become financially stable. You also no longer have to worry about making sure that you pay several different bills on time each month.

Pay more towards the principal

Debt consolidation allows you to put more of your money towards reducing your debt instead of using it to pay off interest. If your debt becomes bad enough, the minimum payment on a credit balance may be lower than the finance fees. If this happens, your balance may rise even if you are no longer using your credit card. By securing lower interest rates from your creditors, a debt consolidation company help make sure that your money goes to getting you out of debt and not towards paying over the top fees.

Rebuild your credit rating

While bankruptcy damages your credit rating, debt consolidation can actually help it. Debt consolidation guarantees that all of your credit card bills will get paid on time, so you should actually see your credit rating improve. With an improved credit rating you can get better rates on loans once you are out of debt.

Click here and join the millions of consumers across America and use Debt Consolidation, Credit Counseling, and Debt Settlement as a way of getting out of debt!

You may call us 24 hours a day at (800)-CUT BILLS™ (800-288-2455) for your free consultation.

How to start saving those pennies

In order to start saving money you obviously need to have money that you can set aside for the future. You could feasibly get money to set aside by increasing your monthly income, but it’s probably easier to start spending less instead. The number one rule of spending less is to make sure you see loans as expenses you will have to pay back and not as temporary increases in income. That may sound easy, but many people treat loans as free money and then are astounded when they find themselves in debt when they have to pay the loan back.

The worst type of loan is based on unsecured debt. Unsecured debt is any debt without collateral, such as credit card debt. Unsecured debts are considered high risk because there is no property that has been promised to the creditor in the event that you cannot pay back the loan. As a result, creditors charge a high interest rate for these loans. A good rule of thumb when it comes to credit and loans is that if it has an interest rate over 10%, you do not want to take it. High interest rates and late fees are some of the easiest expenses to avoid if you plan carefully. Keep yourself out of debt by learning to live comfortably with the money you make.

Getting those pennies to earn

Discretionary capital is the money that you have left after you have accounted for all of your expenses. If you are able to make all of your monthly payments on time and still have discretionary capital, then it is time to start saving. Put some of that extra money into a low-risk account that will pay you interest. This way, you’re earning money every month on your savings instead of losing money every month paying back the bank or credit card company. If you’re just starting to save, the amount you set aside and the interest it earns may not seem like much at first, but the power of steady accumulation should not be underestimated. Confucius once said, “the person who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” The same is true of your bank account; the person who wants a large savings begins by making small deposits.