Entries from December 2008 ↓

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Over the years of reading everything about personal finance that I could get my hands on, I’ve come upon many ideas to help save money and pay down debt. The following list has been compiled some of the best tips I’ve come across.

They are in no particular order and they are not a step by step guide. If you like a tip, apply it to your life. Continue reading →

Its payday. The money is deposited into your account and now the thinking begins. Which bills are coming do that need paying? How much do you need? Whats left over? Is there going to be any left over to save? I wonder how many people have struggled with this problem.

Like many, I used to have this problem and spent years doing mental math to determine how much of the money in my account was mine to spend. Then as I neared the end of my college days I got really interested in the area of personal finance. By this time in my life I had racked up some substantial debt -debt that I am still working to pay off- and had bills owed to many different companies. To say the least, it was stressful.

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There is a great post over at Christian Personal Finance about the Bible and Money. It is an older post, but it is well writen and very beneficial.

I would highly reconmend this article to all:

5 Bible Verses About Money Every Christian Should Now.

Buying I house? I am. Rather, I am hoping to soon. God willing, we will be in a home by February. My wife and I have been looking for our first house. I am not sure what I am looking forward to most: having a house or getting $7,500 for buying it. 

Okay, thats a lie. I can’t wait to finally move into my first house, but getting a big fat check from the IRS has still got me excited. 

For those of you that don’t know, earlier this year legislation was enacted that allows for a refundable tax credit to first time home buyers. Continue reading →

People think I am strange. Even though I hate budgets themselves, I love making them. I like the feeling allocating money and knowing there will be enough for the coming weeks. I love the feeling of finding out that there is more money avalible then I first thought. So yeah, I’m strange. But hey, I went to school for accountanting, so that is to be expected I guess.

Anyways, it is time to create your budget. Actually, it is time to prepare to prepare your budget. What I mean by that is… its time for a scavenger hunt.

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I hate budgets. By their nature they are designed to fail. With a traditional budget you allocate certain amounts to certain expenses and you pray that you can stick to it.

A lot of times budgets are unrealistic, expenses are forgotten, people get frustrated and quit. In short, budgets fail. Often, they fail because they are dependant on human interaction. Continue reading →

What is a snowball?

Starting a snowball is a method over paying off debts. Starting small leads to big payoffs as the debt reduction snowball rolls down hill… growing bigger as each debt is paid off. It is the process of paying the minimum plus a little extra each month on one of your debts while paying only the minimums on all the rest. Once the first debt is paid off, the entire amount that you were paying on that debt -the minimum plus the extra- is added to the minimum on the second debt. In this manner all of your debts will get paid off, faster and faster, as the snowball of debt reduction rolls down hill.

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If you have been around the field of personal finance for any amount of time I am sure you know the concept of the emergency fund. If you have an adequate emergency fund you will be covered in case the dryer breaks down, or the car, or -God Forbid- you loose your job. The point of the emergency fund is just that, to care for you in times of emergency.

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 Is your debt taking over your life? Try asking yourself these questions: 

• You are always broke, living paycheck to paycheck
• You consolidate your debts only to keep using the old credit lines
• You carry a balances of more then 30 percent of your credit limits
• You only pay the minimums
• You use your credit to afford things like food
• You charge more then you make (If so, you need a budget(LINK))

Did you find yourself nodding your head yes as you read that list? If so then there is a good chance that your debt is getting out of control.

If so, don’t kick yourself too hard. According to MSN Money about 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year and the average household carries $8,000 in credit card debt.

Congratulations… you are average!

Continue reading →