Do you know that there is a similarity between medicines and debt? The similarity lies in their expiration date. While you may have lamented when your medicines have crossed the expiration date, chances are less that you have felt feel equally bad when your debts crossed the Statute Of Limitations (SOL) period.

It is true that you can’t reuse your medicines. However, the same thing can’t be told about the debts. Your old debts can revive again because of some costly mistakes. Once the SOL clock on the debt restarts, you become legally liable for the debt again. This means that the collectors/creditors can legally enforce you to pay off the debts. Read along to get acquainted with some tips that can help you prevent old debts from getting a fresh lease of life. Read the rest of this entry »

The 5 financial tips for the 3rd week of October are given below:

Tip no 1 – Understand the importance of money in order to stay away from debt.

Money helps you buy bread and butter. It helps you to have food, cloth, shelter and other things. People say that money can buy every possible thing on this planet. If you have money and can manage it properly, then you can lead a good financial life. However, if you don’t have money or mismanage it, then you’ll have to face the debt monster and fight with it.

Understand the importance of money and spend it cautiously. Make sure you spend money only on the necessities. Pay all your bills on time and refrain from taking out a loan which you can’t afford to pay.

Tip no 2 – It is not necessary to have common financial goals in a marital relation, but both should work together to achieve them.

You and your husband are 2 different individuals with different tastes, likings, dislikings, etc. Both of you think differently and look at the world at a different perspective. So, it is quite natural that you and your spouse will not have common financial goals in life. You may want to have your own boutique one day. Your husband may want to purchase a mansion after 20 years or so.

Both you and your husband should work hard for achieving your respective financial goals. Sit together and develop a strategy to reach your financial goals. Talk about the ways in which both of you can achieve your financial goals within a specific period of time.

Tip no 3 – Making payments on time can save you from a major financial crisis.

Paying bills within the due date can help you avoid getting into a major financial crisis. If you miss your payment, then it may jeopardize your credit life. For example, if you don’t pay your credit card bills on time, then the creditors will impose late fees and penalties on the cards. The bill amount will keep on increasing with every month. Other than that, creditors will inform the credit bureaus about it. Negative items will appear on your credit report and your score will get hurt.

Tip no 4 – Know where your money goes.

You may know the exact amount you earn every month. However, do you know the exact amount you spend each month? Can you point out the areas where you spend every month? If not, then get to know about it for the sake of your financial health.

Note down your total income and expenses in a given month. Whenever you spend money, note it down in a paper or your cell phone. Keep on a daily tab on your expenses. Calculate the total amount you have spent at the end of month. This way you can check whether or not your expenses are more than your income.

Tip no 5 – Maintain your health in order to save money.

Health is wealth. If you want to live on this earth heartily, then maintain a good health. This will prevent you from getting sick time and again. If you don’t maintain a good lifestyle, then your immune system will lose the ability to fight with bacteria and other germs. Illness will be a regular occurrence. You will have to visit doctor and go through various medical treatments, which are quite costly. This implies that you have to spend a good amount on medical treatments every month. The health insurance companies will also hike the premium if they find out that you tend to get sick frequently.

Consumers are facing problems in paying their credit card bills. The latest reports of the country’s leading credit card companies have revealed this fact. The reports reveal that the credit card late payments have surged in the month of September 2011. This has happened for the first time since February 2009.

Credit card late payments have increased yet again

The leading credit card companies have reported that there has been a small rise in the number of people paying their credit bills 30 days late. There can be 2 possible reasons why the credit card late payments have increased in the month of September. Read the rest of this entry »

Given below are the 5 financial tips for the 2nd week of October 2011:

Tip no 1 – If you have multiple credit cards, then use a pay-down strategy to reduce your debt.

If you are using multiple credit cards at the same time, then it is important to develop an intelligent strategy to repay all the bills on time. If you don’t develop a strategy, then it will be very difficult for you to make the bill payments. You’ll start missing payments and the creditors will report them to credit bureaus. Negative items will be reported on your credit report and hurt your score.

There are lots of pay-down strategies which you can use to protect your financial health. For example, you can use bi-monthly strategy to repay your bills. You can pay off the bills twice a month. This way, you won’t have a pay a huge bill at the end of the month.

Tip no 2 – Get paid what you’re worth and spend less than you earn.

If you are working hard at your office but feel that you are not paid well, then it is better to discuss about this matter with your employer. If you are performing well at the company, then you deserve to be paid well. Sometimes, the employers are not aware that the employees are not happy about the pay scale. So, unless you tell your employer about it, he/she can’t take any step to solve the problem.

It is important to get paid as per your capability. However, it is equally crucial to spend much less than what you earn every month. Unless, your expenditures are less than your income, it will not be possible for you to save money and build emergency fund.

Tip no 3 – Don’t hide your credit problems from your spouse.

If you are short of cash and going through serious credit problem, then don’t hide it from your spouse. Your spouse will come to know about it one day. If your spouse comes to know about it from any third person, then it may create serious problems in your marriage.

It is tough to tell your spouse that you are going through a financial crisis. Still, you should discuss about it with your spouse. Your spouse may suggest some ways which can help you get out of financial crisis.

Tip no 4 – Get insured and guard your health.

Medical services are quite costly nowadays. It is just impossible for the average Americans to pay for health care expenses out of their own pocket. In fact, thousands of people are forced to file bankruptcy due to unpaid medical bills every year. So, if you are a regular serviceman and not a millionaire, then purchase a health insurance policy to protect your health and wealth. Go to various insurance companies and compare the premium rates from one to the other. Purchase that health insurance policy which provides adequate coverage to your health and give you a peace of mind. Make sure you pay the premiums regularly. Otherwise, the insurance may refuse to pay any money when you are sick and going through medical treatments.

Tip no 5 – Learn self control to establish solid financial footing.

Everybody wants to lead a happy and peaceful financial life. If you are currently in a bad financial position, you’ll want to get useful tips and advice from your near and dear ones to get your finances back on track. One tip that will certainly help you to restore your financial house is self-control. You’ll have to develop financial self-control to establish a strong financial footing.

For example, you’ll have to control your overspending habits and save a certain amount every month. You’ll have to stop buying all the items you see in the departmental store. Besides, you’ll have to create a new spending plan.

Food inflation is a reality. You can hate it but can’t ignore it. Food is the necessity of life. You’ll have to buy and consume food to survive in this world. So, you’ll have to deal with this nasty culprit no matter how much you hate it. You simply can’t avoid it. Have a look at the article to know about the 6 tips to deal with the food inflation.

Tips to deal with the food inflation

Here are the 6 tips which you can use to deal with the food inflation with competence:

1. Purchase substitute products: Americans love to eat beef. They want it in their sandwiches, soups, pizzas, etc. However, the price of this much wanted food item has increased by around 8% in the year 2011. The price of beef has already increased by about 11% in the last year. So, this means that the overall price has increased by about 19% in the last 2 years.

If you love meat but don’t want to pay extra for it, then you can go for the substitute food items such as chicken and turkey. These meats are much cheaper than beef. You can cook various items of chicken and turkey till the price of beef comes down. Read the rest of this entry »