Neal Frankle is a financial blogger who considers himself lucky that he started as a Certified Financial Planner. He lost both his parents while he was 17, and have come a long way to learn about finance through his own experiences. He believes in sharpening the financial skills so as to become successful financially. He generally writes on such personal finance topics like how to get out of debt, saving money, investing and retirement planning issues.

Let’s take a look at what Neal has to say about his experiences with blogging and managing personal finance.

Sarah : From where did you get the idea of blogging?
Neal : I started working on a book and my publisher suggested I do the groundwork for it by starting a blog.

Sarah : Your blog’s tagline says, “A journey to self, health and wealth”. What preparations are you making to achieve this goal and how?
Neal : Personally? I try remain balanced. Remember to be grateful. Do the best I can and forgive myself when I make mistakes.
On the financial side, I have a financial plan and have involved my wife and family and this is great progress.
I also work out and try to watch out for the brownies who try to get me to eat them all up.

Sarah : What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?
Neal : I am a Certified Financial Planner. I got started 25 years ago because I needed a job…… I met a friend and he told me about the opportunities so I just started. Lucky.

Sarah : Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?
Neal : Maybe a little. I spend a lot of time doing it. It has helped me focus. Blogging can drain ALL your time if you let it. I’ve cut back and try to focus on the important things. That has helped me in other aspects of my life too.

Sarah: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made in your life?
Neal : a. Sold a house we owned because I was afraid of holding it when prices were low.
b. Sold a profitable business for almost nothing because I wasn’t paying attention.
c. Speculated on investments
(These 3 were more than 15 years ago…..I guess that mean I’ve learned something!)

Sarah : Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?
Neal : I hope to travel w/my wife a lot more. I hope to visit my kids where ever they might be. I hope to still be blogging and working as a CFP at that time.

Sarah : Give Me One Good Reason Why people Should Read Your Blog?
Neal : Well…there are many great blogs out there but I there aren’t many of the super popular ones that are run by people with personal and professional experience. I have both. I have been a professional advisor for more than 25 years. On top of that, I know what it’s like to have no money and lots of fear. I was broke and semi-homeless at the age of 17 when both my parents died.

Sarah : So Do You Have Any Famous Followers?
Neal : You.

Sarah : Please advice our readers how to pay off their debts from your past experiences?
Neal : The most important step is to put a tracking system in place and also get everyone in the family on the same page.

Sarah : How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?
Neal : Not sure I understand the question……I need to understand more about what you guys do.

Below are the top 4 news of this week:
1. Major decrease in credit score – According to survey, the credit score of average Americans have decreased considerably. The industry experts are of the opinion that more or less around 35% of the debtors have a credit score below 650. Thus, they are considered as sub-prime borrowers. This low score will have a long lasting negative effect on US credit.

2. Credit for small businesses – On Monday, 12th July Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke advocated that lenders should ease credit flow to small businesses. According to him, the lack of flow of credit to small businesses is hampering US economy. He said that lending to small businesses had dropped to less than $670 billion from $710 billion in the first part of the year 2010.

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Balance transfer is one of the ways in which you can pay down your credit card debt easily. You can transfer the balance from high interest credit cards to a card offering 0% introductory rate. Such cards don’t charge any interest in the introductory period. Thus, the monthly payment gets lowered. Moreover, instead of making several payments towards different cards, one can make a single monthly payment. However, while trying to consolidate debt through a balance transfer, you need to check the do’s and don’ts of balance transfer.

Do’s and don’ts of balance transfer

Before you can sign up for a 0% balance transfer card, you should know the do’s and don’ts of balance transfer. They are:

The do’s
1. Compare offers – Before signing up for a particular 0% balance transfer card, you need to compare different offers. The terms and conditions vary according to the companies. Some credit card companies may offer a longer 0% introductory rate period. The transfer fees, and interest rate after the 0% period will also vary. Thus, it is wise to shop around for such offers.

2. Check credit score – Before applying for a balance transfer, it is better to check your credit score. If you have a low credit score, your application for the 0% balance transfer card may get rejected.

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According to a recent study, credit card debt dropped nationwide by $93 billion in 2009. Though this is good news enough, one should know a hard fact. The industry experts are of the opinion that the charge-offs reached at its highest rate in the later part of the year.

The use of credit cards has been under scrutiny since the recession set in. After scrutiny it was found that 90% of the decrease in credit card debt was because of bad debt being charged-off. This write-down reached a record level in February, 2009. It reached to a level of 8.82%, which is 300 points higher than that of 2008. Thus, in reality the total decrease in debt is only $10 billion.

On an average, each American household has about $10,700 in credit card debt and 9 credit cards in total. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, about 56% of the consumers have been carrying unpaid balance on their credit cards in the last 12 months. Even the delinquency rate has increased. It had already crossed the 6% mark in February last year.

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Gone are those days when one had to take either cash or traveler’s checks to spend money while on a vacation. Carrying a lot of cash abroad is not the safest thing to do. It’s also not a good idea to rely on traveler’s checks as using them can prove to be quite a hassle. It’s now a lot safer and simpler to spend money while on a vacation using your debit cards.

What are the benefits of using debit cards while on vacation?

Debit cards offer you a number of benefits, no matter whether you are in your home country or traveling on a foreign land. Given below are some of the benefits of using debit cards abroad:

1. Debit cards allow you the option of withdrawing local currency from an ATM.
2. If your debit card is part of a network like Plus or Cirrus, it can be used in several countries.
3. Debit cards cannot be stolen easily.
4. Unlike credit cards, they help you keep track of your expenses and stay within budget. When you use debit cards, you’re using money from your own checking account. So, once you’ve spent all the money in your checking account, you cannot spend any further or go over the limit.

What should you remember while using debit cards abroad?

It’s quite simple and convenient to withdraw money from your local ATMs. But while you’re on a foreign land, you’ll be charged the following fees when you withdraw money from an ATM:

• ATM Fees: When you are on a foreign land and use a foreign ATM to withdraw your money, you will be charged a fee, which can vary with location. Apart from this, your home bank will also charge you a fee for using a foreign ATM to withdraw money from your account.
• Currency conversion fees: When you withdraw money from a foreign ATM, you are getting the cash in local currency. Your bank will charge you a currency conversion fee for this type of transaction.

How do you protect your debit card while traveling abroad?

Using debit cards while traveling is a good option. But given the risk of theft and loss, you need to be careful while using them. Given below are some of the tips that can ensure safe usage of your debit cards while you’re on vacation:

• Keep your PIN a secret: When it comes to safeguarding your debit card, the first thing that comes to mind is protecting the PIN. Do not ever share the PIN with anybody and be extra careful while using it at the ATM.
• Monitor your card activity: It’s important to keep an eye on your card activity even if it is not stolen. Check your balance regularly. Take advantage of online banking for this purpose. If you find anything unusual, inform your bank immediately.
• Keep your card in safe place: When you’re not using your debit card, keep it in safe place. When you go out of the hotel and you don’t wish to use the card for the that day, make sure you keep it your room safe. If there’s no such room safe, you can use the hotel’s safe and keep the card locked in there.
• Keep limited balance in account: It is advisable that you keep a limited amount of money in your checking account. Keeping a lot of balance is not safe as you may lose all the money if the card is stolen. You can keep most of your money in a savings account. When you need money in your checking account, you can always transfer the balance from savings account into the checking account.
• Don’t take out a lot of cash: When you’re traveling abroad, it’s easy to take out money using a debit card. You may think of withdrawing a lot money all at once so as to minimize the ATM and other fees. But, you shouldn’t withdraw too much of cash all at once; rather you should take out just as much money as you immediately need. It is safer to keep the money in your account, rather than carrying it with you all over the place.

A vacation can be fun, provided you take precaution to protect your money while traveling. Use your debit cards safely and wisely to make your trip a memorable one. Otherwise, your vacation may easily turn into a nightmare that’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.