Whether you want to get out of debt or want to avoid it, what matters is you’re inspired to be better. But how do you start? Well, I’m here to help you with that! Today I bring you 10 tips that will help you get out of debt and keep it that way. If you make life habits out of these tips, you will never have to deal with the headache and stress of debt ever again.
Check Your Statements Regularly
If you want to get out of debt, you need to start paying attention to detail. You won’t notice things such as a recurring fee on your credit card bill for that gym you don’t go to anymore if you don’t check your statement regularly. If you monitor your personal finances like a hawk, you won’t ignore View full post…
How to break through the financial conversation barriers with your partner
(BPT) – For most people, personal finances are a private matter. When you are in a relationship, it can be difficult to discuss this typically taboo subject of a financial conversation. Whether you have been married for years or are just beginning to date, fear of your partner judging your financial choices (big or small) runs deep.
Money challenges can create stress and cause walls to form in a relationship. Financial conflicts have even worse repercussions. Tackling the topic head-on can lead to a deeper understanding of each other’s financial history, emotions and goals for the future.
In fact, talking about personal finance, while not a particularly romantic topic of conversation, builds intimacy in any relationship, according to View full post…
Getting married is still at the top of the list for being one of the most important decisions that we make. It’s amazing how those two words “I do” or “I will” can change our lives in very significant ways, especially in managing money.
In some states, marriage can change our financial picture whether we intended it to or not. There are a number of issues that newlyweds will need to discuss, but we’ll touch on the five that should be dealt with first. It’s very important that both spouses get on the same page as quickly as possible to avoid potential conflict.
Some other caveats to consider. When filing jointly, both spouses are liable on the return. If, as an example, one of the spouses makes an error in reporting or not reporting income, both are View full post…
This is one topic that can stir up a hornet’s nest big time-and quickly. How to manage your money after marriage “has no one size fits all” solution. You can ask this question to a dozen couples and get that many different opinions. This topic is also responsible for many divorces so please read this with a broad and unbiased mind. (You can flame me in the comments below)
A married couple needs to be able to communicate with each other on how to manage your money, and in a way that each respects the others views. You won’t always agree, and that’s okay, just don’t be disagreeable. View full post…
When young adults begin to work and receive their first paycheck, they get a taste of a sense of real freedom & don’t usually think about money management. This feeling is usually not combined with the little voice that says, Save your money. They suddenly find that they are sharing their wealth and are buying things they could not afford in the past. Celebration is not bad, but it is only meant for rare occasions. Freedom comes with responsibilities.
If real money management is not practiced early, there is a real chance that spending will often be more gluttonous than necessity.
Counting Money Games To Teach Children About Money
If you have read the other articles on my blog, you know how much I advocate children learning early money management skills. The earlier children learn about money, the better. Small children can begin with counting money games.
They never develop poor spending and savings habits that lead to debt later in life.
They are taught an early sense of responsibility and make wiser choices.
They avoid the negative connotations of money and rarely have a financial lack mentality.
The current mentality in our society about living above your financial means and having a lot of debt will not be carried forward with this generation of children.
Reason number 4 is very important and affects us all. We can bemoan our current society’s spending habits but until we make the changes that bring about a new way of doing things, we are wasting our breath. Complaining about something is worthless unless we are backing it up with action. Teaching our children from the ages of 2 or 3 with counting money games brings about a change in their mentality. Pushing for early money management programs in our schools are equally important. Again, we should not wait for someone else to do what we can do, so teach your children financial responsibility and don’t wait for a school system to get on board before you do.
Teach Kids about Money – Strategies for Raising Smart Spenders at Every Age
It’s never too early to teach kids about money. Whether they are 5 or 15, you should have an honest conversation with them about finances. With young people digging themselves into debt with credit cards at an alarming rate, make sure that your children have the tools to make good choices when they are out on their own. Ask any adult in their 30’s, and you’ll find many of them still paying off the credit card debt they acquired in their 20’s. When you teach kids about money, it’s best to lead by example. Start by making sure that your own finances are in order. After all, how can you expect your child to have good spending habits when yours may be out of control?
3 Little-Known Factors That Could Affect Your Saving for Retirement
I don’t want to be the one that bursts your bubble, but even as we are saving for retirement, the plain fact of the matter is that many of us will be working until the day we die. I can hear gasps of disbelief, and yes, some are laughing at this silly notion.
We see the stock market at record highs, and even this fragile economy is showing some signs of recovery. So why the doom and gloom comment? I’ve been planning for retirement for a few years now, and have some money put away, so isn’t my retirement safe?
I wish that I could say yes, but there are many outside factors that come into play. The first problem is the social security system that our lawmakers have made a mess of. This system was set up to provide retirement benefits for workers that paid into it. Now, it is practically bankrupt because funds are paid out in benefits that have nothing to do with retirement.
It’s quite evident that teaching kids about money as well as the importance and need for money, should be done as they observe their parents using it. One of the best methods to teach a child about money and the value of a dollar is to show them the different ways a dollar is used, and it’s a good idea to begin when they’re young. Many understand a lot more than you realize.
Not only should we be teaching kids about money, but more importantly, they need to understand that money is earned, and not simply given for whatever reason. Items that we need in every day life, whether they be a product or a service, are exchanged for money, with the value of the exchange determined by the seller or provider. The only way that a product or service can be purchased without money, is to exchange some other product or service for it, and this is known as bartering. This is not to common here in the USA, but in some parts of the world, it is more prevalent.
Teaching kids about money should include the importance of saving. They can take their allowance and spend it all on candy or some cheap toy, but then it is gone quickly. They need to be taught that by saving a certain part of their allowance, one day they will be able to buy a more expensive item such as a bicycle that will last much longer.
Have them establish a savings plan such as 10% of their allowance which will be much easier for them to calculate. Whatever amount that they earn can be calculated simply by moving the decimal point one space to the left. The savings account isn’t used for some short term item, but is used for the longer term items. Even though the amounts saved by the child now are very small, it will teach them the importance and value of self discipline. When teaching kids about money, such as saving for retirement, at an early age might not be a good idea because this may be a concept they can’t fully comprehend.
Teaching kids about money at an early age is good because by the time they get their first job, they will find it easier to continue with those principles. Another part of money management is to teach children about charitable giving, in order to make them a responsible member of society.
It used to be that you could take your child to the bank and open a savings account with around $10.00. In today’s economic environment, banks won’t generally open accounts with small balances, as their service charges will take it all rather quickly. Some banks service charge savings accounts until the balance reaches $1,000.00, but check around, you may find a credit union that is a lot more generous and responsive, and more receptive to teaching kids about money.
It used to be as well, that banks paid a decent rate of interest on savings accounts and you could show your child that as a benefit of saving, he/she would receive additional money. Now, with savings rates below 1%, there’s not much to see unless the account balance is substantial.
The next area of good money management when teaching kids about money, is the use of credit cards. This is one area where interest rates are not low, and in many cases, well over 20%. The child should be able to understand just how much a purchase would cost if it is not paid in full when the first statement arrives. It’s very easy to see those large monthly charges, and if the balance gets high enough, by simply paying the minimum payment called for, it will never get paid in full. Teach them this trap until they completely understand it.
In my opinion, credit cards should only be used as a convenience to purchase and then paid in full when the statement arrives. In my practice, I see young couples with seven to ten credit cards all maxed out to the tune of $50,000.00 plus, and they wonder why they have marital problems. Trying to keep up with their friends or neighbors with the over sized house, big SUVs, and all the latest toys, usually leads them to a divorce lawyer or a bankruptcy lawyer, sometimes both. I believe that teaching kids about money early on, will avoid some of these problems.
Most of the blame can be placed on the credit card issuers who mail out cards to anyone who is breathing, with little regard to their credit ability. Individuals see the amount of credit granted, and the temptation is too much. They begin spending on their wants and not their needs, and are soon in trouble. Teaching kids about money in a way that they will learn to exercise extreme caution with credit cards is critical. They need to learn to keep just one for the convenience of not having to carry large amounts of cash.
Reasons You and Your Spouse Shouldn’t Fight Over How To Manage Money
Do you and your spouse ever fight over how to manage money? If so, please read on to see what damage this may be causing to your marriage. It may be a lot more than you realize.
A study done by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, reported that approximately 27% of Americans say that a disagreement about financial issues, usually blows up into an argument. This issue tops the list of other causes of arguments like children, work, household chores, and friends. This not only applies to married couples but also to cohabiting couples as well.
Spousal arguments are never easy, but arguments over money tend to be more distressful and generally linger on. Another study that was done by the Utah State University, found that disagreements that occurred once a week between married couples, over how to manage money, would end up in divorce twice as likely as those that argued less than once a month. Big difference.
This is due in part because arguments over how to manage money generally include more than just finances. Money has come to represent so many other things such as power, control, love, freedom, and even self esteem. Decisions made concerning money, are very personal, and this is why those can lead to nasty fights.
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When young adults begin to work and receive their first paycheck, they get a taste of a sense of real freedom & don’t usually think about money management. This feeling is usually not combined with the little voice that says, 
If you have read the other articles on my blog, you know how much I advocate children learning early money management skills. The earlier children learn about money, the better. Small children can begin with counting money games.
It’s never too early to teach kids about money. Whether they are 5 or 15, you should have an honest conversation with them about 
I don’t want to be the one that bursts your bubble, but even as we are saving for retirement, the plain fact of the matter is that many of us will be working until the day we die. I can hear gasps of disbelief, and yes, some are laughing at this silly notion.
It’s quite evident that teaching kids about money as well as the importance and need for money, should be done as they observe their parents using it. One of the best methods to teach a child about money and the value of a dollar is to show them the different ways a dollar is used, and it’s a good idea to begin when they’re young. Many understand a lot more than you realize.
Do you and your spouse ever fight over how to manage money? If so, please read on to see what damage this may be causing to your marriage. It may be a lot more than you realize.