We accept your articles/write-ups for DebtCC Community and publish them in our blog. So, if you have got an interesting idea, news story, or any article related to financial topics (debt, credit, personal finance, etc.), you can share with us. Our editorial team will check them on the basis of the guidelines mentioned below.

Guidelines

The guest post guidelines for the DebtCC Community are given below:

• Original content: Article should be original, unique and well-written. Articles that have already been published elsewhere will not be accepted.

• Topic: Article should be written on financial topics preferably on debt, credit and personal finance. You can go through earlier posts in our blog.

• Length: The article should be at least 400+ words. It should be written in American English.

• Structure: The article must have a proper structure. It should be broken down into few paragraphs.

• Article can’t be re-published: The article can’t be re-published elsewhere.

• Editorial rights: We retain complete editorial control.

• Author’s bio: Give a brief author’s bio at the bottom of the article.

• Links: You can give only one link to a site in the author’s bio. You can’t include any link in the content. There will not be any affiliate links.

• Format: Articles must be sent in html or word document format.

• Guest writers won’t be paid: Guest writers will not be paid for the articles. The writer will get a link to a website and our blog will get a fresh voice.

Process of submitting a guest post/article

1. Please send a mail to jason@debtconsolidationcare.com or mike@debtconsolidationcare.com by attaching the article and author’s bio with proper details. Please don’t send self-promotional or commercial articles. We don’t publish them.

2. Our editorial team will check the article and publish it in next 7 business days.

Update (Date – 11.16.2010)

DebtCC Community will accept and publish articles in its latest section “ Publish” from now onwards. Henceforth, the Community will not publish articles in its blog. The new venture is a collaborative writing project where all the financial writers are most welcome to participate. The writers can write, edit and improve articles on various financial topics after becoming members of the Community. Know more…

The next time you go out to shop for your grocery, keep in mind that the amount you spend on your grocery bills can have a direct impact on your monthly budget and eventually, your savings. A recent study has shown that an average family of four in the US spends about $6,000 on grocery bills. This shows how big a chunk, the grocery bill, takes out from our earnings.

But, you might be surprised to know that grocery bills are much easier to cut down than most other household expenditures. Let’s now check out some of the most efficient ways by which you can control your grocery bills and increase your savings.

Essential ways to save on your grocery bills

The following are the useful tips which will help you to cut down on your grocery bills so that you can pay your other bills on time:

• Make a list before you go to shop

Make a list of grocery items that you need to buy before leaving your house. A little planning before going out for shopping may save you lots of dollars by preventing expensive impulse buys.

• Be informed about the sales

Most of the monthly staple foods that you buy, go on sales at a particular time each month. If you keep yourself informed about these sales, you will be able to buy the things at discounted rates.

• Buy generic items

Curtail your habits of buying branded items and instead go for generic items. You will be surprised to see that you’ll save around 10% – 40% on your shopping. Moreover, today, most supermarkets have their own brands covering sauces to towels. The product quality is as good as the branded items and it will cost you less.

• Try to shop at the same store

Make it a habit to shop from the same grocery store. This will help since you will be familiar with the products they carry and thus, spend less time looking for stuffs. On the contrary, if you shop at new places, you’ll tend to “look” more and thus buy more because you notice items you haven’t seen but want to try.

• Use coupons to get discounts

Discount coupons are a great tool to save extra dollars while shopping. You can find these coupons in weekly newspaper inserts, at the stores and on retailer websites.

Remember that if you lower your grocery bills, it will go a long way to manage your monthly budget. Moreover, with the recession in full swing and many families have been tightening their belts, it is the most effective and easiest way to retain some dollars in your pocket.

But, contrary to the popular belief, this might be the best time to buy your own house. The following are the 5 best reasons, given by the industry experts, on why to buy a home now.

It is a general notion, which is  quite right ofcourse, that debt is bad. In fact, the experts have identified the whopping consumer debt of the USA as a probable cause of the recent economic crisis of the country. However, debt isn’t always bad, rather  it plays a very significant role in a country’s economy. The Government borrows all the time. Debt is needed for a country’s economy to perform. Hence, this article is dedicated to the cause of highlighting the good side of debt.

Borrowing isn’t a crime; rather it is important for the economy to perform efficiently. Hence, the consumers would continue to borrow and the financial institutions would continue to lend. However, caution should be exercised on the part of the consumer not to allow debt to engulf their lives. It is unwise borrowing (also lending) which is the cause of our economic woes.

Borrow only at emergencies: Just when you feel the temptation to borrow, pause and think again, whether or not it is really necessary for you to borrow for the cause.

Borrowing for maintaining lifestyle and financing a holiday are some of the causes which don’t worth putting your financial security at risk. Hence, one must only borrow when it is extremely necessary, like- medical emergency or when the car needs immediate repair.

Borrow only for education or home: Often we can avoid being in debt if we restrict borrowing only for purposes like house and education.

You mustn’t also borrow on a short term basis to meet a long term financial obligation, i.e. when it comes to borrow to buy house or repair it, it is wise to depend on mortgage loans or home equity loans. One must avoid putting these long term expenses against their credit cards.

Positive debt is good: Always carry some amount of debt on your credit report because the lenders look at it positively.

Lenders lend to earn profit in terms of interest but if you pay your cards in full everytime it may put off the lender from lending you. Hence, when the habit of maxing out your cards is bad, paying it in full always isn’t a good idea as well .

We live in an economy of competitive consumerism and easy accessibility to credit, hence, its rather easy for us to run up debt. However, if we can practice little caution while borrowing, we can actually save ourselves from falling into a debt trap. As the economy is gradually recovering, we must get ready to reap its fruits and make a promise to ourselves that we wouldn’t be callous with our money again in the future.

As the economy is recovering from the aftershocks of recession, credit card issuers have geared up to attract more consumers through their direct-mail offers. But before you accept such an offer, be very careful. Once you sign up, you may be in for some unexpected surprises like a sudden rise in interest rate or a fee you never anticipated! The only one way to avoid such a situation is to read the fine print thoroughly before getting a new credit card. Read the following section to know what things to check out for before signing up for a new card.

Things we often miss out while reading the credit card fine print

Given below are some of the things, known as well as less-known, that are included in the fine print, but are often overlooked:

• Factors affecting  APR: Most of us are well-aware of the Annual Percentage Rate or APR which we use to compare different credit card offers. But what we are least bothered to know is how the rate may change in course of time. There are a number of factors, like missing a payment, paying late, etc., that can change the APR. The fine print always lets you know under which situation you may see a hike in the APR. Unless you read the fine print carefully, you are likely to miss this important point.
• Balance-transfer fees: If you wish to combine all your debts into a single monthly payment, the prospect of a balance transfer might entice you. But before you do so, you better check the fine print to know if you will be charged any fee for this. Many card issuers charge up to 5% on the balance you transfer. Thus, if you transfer a balance of $10000, you will end up paying $500 in fees! Read the rest of this entry »