Author name: Brian Del Terzo

We’re usually led to believe that debt is bad. Carrying a large load of credit card debt is something that just didn\’t happen a few generations ago. Older individuals might say something like, \”If you can\’t afford it, don\’t buy it.\” That’s usually good advice. It isn’t a good idea to carry a lot of credit card debt, but there are times when debt can be a good thing. Check out some good reasons for going into debt: A great investment opportunity. An investment opportunity could be in real estate, the stock market, a business, or some other prospect. Regardless of the type of investment, if you have a chance to earn more than you’re spending, debt could be profitable in the long run. For example, if you’re able to borrow money at 5% and invest it for a 15% to 20% return, that would be a good reason to take on some debt. 2. Buying a house. Most people won’t ever be able to save enough money to buy a house without borrowing some money. Because a house will usually appreciate in value, this is another instance where borrowing money can actually make you wealthier in the long run. If your mortgage payments will be the same as, or less than your current rent payments, a home loan could definitely be considered \”good debt.\” 3. Starting or growing a business. This is another example where you’d be borrowing money in an effort to make more money than you would payback on the debt. 4. Education. Borrowing money to go to college can be a good reason for going into debt. However, be cautious about taking on too much debt for college. Many students borrow carelessly, and it takes them decades to pay it all off. If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer you’ll need quite a bit of training. Those years you’re spending in college can be quite expensive. Going into debt can be a good thing if it allows you to get into a lucrative profession. If you\’re going to borrow money to go to school, ensure that your chosen profession is in demand and that you can earn enough to pay off your loans and still have enough left over to live on. 5. Using a lower interest rate loan to pay off higher interest rate credit cards. If you have credit cards with interest rates from 18% to 22% but you could get a home equity line of credit at 6%, taking on that low-interest loan could be considered good debt. Just ensure that once you pay off those high balances on your credit cards, you don\’t start charging things and running them up again. Use the low interest rate loan to help get out and stay out of debt.  People who tell you that going into debt is bad are genuinely trying to be helpful. However, there are times when going into debt can be a good thing. If you\’re going into debt just to pay your monthly bills or if you\’re running up credit card balances to buy a bunch of things you don\’t really need, this is considered \”bad debt.\” But, if you’re borrowing money for an investment, that can be considered \”good debt.\” Debt can actually be helpful as long as you’re using it to make a profit and come out ahead.

Personal finance still isn’t required in high school or college. This results in many young adults not having a good foundational knowledge of how to manage their personal finances. Fortunately, this subject isn’t complicated. A willingness to learn and do a little reading is all that’s required. With a small investment of time and energy, anyone can become fluent and knowledgeable on the topic of money. The payback on this small amount of time and energy is priceless. Money challenges are a major source of stress for most adults. You can avoid these challenges. Add these 8 simple tips to your financial knowledge: Be responsible for your finances. While there are many great money experts that can help you with your finances, the personal finance field is also full of unscrupulous people. Take the time to read topics that pertain to your finances. Pay your own bills. Stay on top of your money. Avoid leaving the responsibility to someone else. 2. Be aware of how you’re spending your money. Setting up a simple budget is the first step. Then track how you’re spending every cent, at least for the first couple of months. Everyone is surprised by how their money is being spent when they take the time to really examine the issue. 3. Learn the differences between ‘needs’ and ‘wants.’ It’s not always easy to deprive ourselves of the things we desire. But if you can say ‘no’ when it’s appropriate, you’ll eventually be able to purchase essentially anything you could ever want. Many financial challenges are created by poor impulse control. This includes purchasing things you can’t afford and things you don’t really need. 4. Keep track of your credit score. Credit scores become more important every year. It’s common for credit reports to have errors, so be sure to review your credit report every year. Take the time to learn about credit and how to build a strong credit profile. 5. Don’t wait to start funding your retirement. If you get started early, you can save a lot of money quite easily. A little bit grows into a lot over 40+ years. Compound interest works like magic. If your company offers a retirement plan, be sure to take full advantage. The tax savings and convenience are spectacular. Your company might even match your contributions. 6. Invest in your career. Spending money to further your earning power is money well spent. This can include job-related training, books, and formal education. Hiring someone to mow your lawn isn’t out of the question if it permits you to spend time on more important, career-related activities.  7. Protect your health. Health insurance is very expensive for most people, but hospital bills are even more. Do everything you can to be as healthy as possible. And find a way to afford health insurance. 8. Have reasonable expectations. It’s unlikely you’re going to be living like your parents when you first head out on your own. It will take time to accomplish what your parents have spent years building. Patience is critical. Many older adults wish they could go back in time and handle their finances differently. You’re in an ideal position to get started down the road to a healthy financial future. Take advantage of your unique situation. You can have a life of financial security. It’s much easier to avoid mistakes than it is to fix them.

Many of us are good at ignoring the negative trends in our lives. Maybe we refuse to acknowledge a growing waistline or a relationship that’s slowly deteriorating. Many people also ignore the signs of impending financial disaster. Most personal financial meltdowns happen over time. They’re rarely the result of a one-time event. The warning signs are quite clear. You simply need to look and be honest with yourself. Do you recognize any of these warning signs in your finances? You overdraw your checking account more than once a year. When you’re already struggling to pay your bills with your available income, overdraft fees only make the situation more challenging. Overdrawing your account can be a symptom of these things: Poor money management. Some bills simply take longer to clear than others. It’s important to do whatever is necessary to stay on top of your pending balance. It can also be a matter of simply failing to pay attention. Having good finances requires regular attention. Overspending. Do you have a budget? Are you sticking to it? Ask yourself why you are running out of money before you run out of month. 2. You’re at or near the limit of your credit cards. Your credit score starts to take a hit when you’re above 35% utilization. On a card with a $5,000 limit, that would be anything above $1,750. If you’re in this situation, you may be tempted to acquire another line of credit. In most cases, this is only a short-term solution with a poor long-term outcome. 3. Relying on a future one-time financial event. Counting on an inheritance or big tax return to balance your financial situation is a sign of significant debt. It’s important to arrange your finances so that your situation is under control without the need for periodic injections of extra income just to get by. 4. A failure to save any money. A deposit in your savings account can be viewed as just another expense. If you’re unable to make that payment, you’re headed in the wrong direction financially. All it takes is one unexpected bill or the loss of a job and you’re in dire straits. Savings is a better financial cushion than credit. 5. Borrowing money from family and friends is another sign of impending financial challenges. Not only is it a sign of financial struggle, but it can also be a real strain on your relationships. Most of us loathe asking the people in our lives for money, so recognize the seriousness of the situation if you’re considering it.  6. You’re dipping into your retirement funds to pay your bills. Stealing from your future is a good sign that the present is shaky. You’re killing the magic of compound interest and likely incurring penalties and taxes by making early withdrawals. You don’t have an unlimited amount of time to replace those savings. 7. Using a home equity loan to fill the financial gaps. Using a home equity loan to pay bills or to purchase something you can’t currently afford is a dire warning sign. Not only are you financially struggling, you’re also putting your home at risk. Think long and hard before borrowing from the equity in your house. If you recognize one or more of these financial warning signs, do yourself a favor and start working on a solution. When these financial conditions start to pop up, it’s usually only a matter of time before things get significantly worse. Make strengthening your finances a priority in your life. You’ll be glad you did.

Losing control is an awful feeling. Have you ever felt that way about your spending habits? At first, you had them under control. But, little by little, that control may have seemed to go by the wayside. The good news is that with some slight adjustments to your life, you can turn your finances back around. Follow these suggestions to take charge of your spending: 1. Talk to a professional. As extreme as it sounds, it might help to seek assistance from a professional. You may want to visit a psychologist to help you understand why you’re spending and if you\’re possibly suffering from an addiction. In talking with your psychologist, you might discover that your poor spending habits are tied to something else missing in your life. Seek the support of your family and close friends as you try to correct the issue. 2. Assess your spending. Take a look at the things you spend your money on and consider the benefit they bring to your life. Be honest and rate the necessity of each. You\’ll likely find that a lot of unnecessary spending takes place! Look at all of the things you’ve bought over the years. How many of your purchases provided prolonged fulfillment? As spending gets out of control, the importance of what you’re buying diminishes. It becomes a bad habit that’s difficult to break. This assessment can help you come face to face with your demons. Take your expenditures at face value. You\’ll probably find yourself asking, \”Why in the world did I buy that?\” 3. Consult a banker. One of the easiest ways to take control is to put your money away in the bank. Talk to a banker and figure out ways to add to your savings each month. Consider options that prevent you from touching the money in the short term. Automatic deposits are usually best becausethey promote serious savings. And they also give you risk-free returns on your investment. Set up a system where you immediately send a specified amount of money to your savings account each time you get paid. Start small if you have to, but designate something for savings. Keep a family member in the loop and ask them to help you commit to your savings plan. Having support is important when you’re trying to change your habits.  4. Get in touch with your spirituality. Sometimes overspending ties in with a lack of self-awareness. What kind of person do you want to be? What’s important in your life? Take some time to build your spirituality. It may open your eyes! Spend some time each day meditating. Block out everything around you and focus on what\’s inside your soul. Live for those things that are most important to you because they represent your truth. Negative spending habits tend to get worse unless you take conscious action to turn them around. Take the necessary steps to eliminate overspending and replace it with positive action. You’ll be glad you did.

$5 here, $10 over there, and a fistful of change slapped into the palm of a department store employee. Before you know it, all of that hard-earned cash has disappeared, and your wallet is a mess of receipts and lint. Wouldn\’t it be nice to keep track of your finances in order to create a savings plan? It can be incredibly difficult to save a significant amount of money without keeping track of your income and expenses. There are several excellent applications online that will help. These applications can be installed on your computer or smartphone. Google Drive Google Drive is a free application designed by Google that allows you to create files and store them on a cloud. The files can be downloaded and edited from anywhere in the world. Google Drive is similar to Dropbox but it\’s primarily designed for worksheets and other work-related files. So how can you keep track of finances with this application? Create a spreadsheet. It’s relatively easy to create a spreadsheet with Google Drive. Just head to the website and click on \”create a new spreadsheet.\” Then follow these steps: Create a column for each aspect of your finances that you wish to track such as income, expenses, or investments. 2. Beneath the label for each column, put in a simple formula to add all the amounts listed in that column. This formula is one of the simplest to use in a spreadsheet: \”=sum(A2:A30)\”. Not sure what that means?It\’s easy: \”A\” is the column letter, \”A2\” is the beginning range, and \”A30\” is the ending range. In other words, this formula will add all of the numbers that are put into the row range A2-A30. It can take a while to get used to the formulas and math, but the benefits are worth your effort. Plus, once it’s set up, you can use the spreadsheet forever without additional math. Mint.com One of the most popular applications for personal finances is called Mint. It can synchronize all of your bank accounts and credit cards into one place. However, the application is only available for people who live in North America.  What can you track with Mint? Check the list below. Income Bank account balance Loans Investments Personal spending funds Bills Budget goals Simple and effective budgeting options And much more! What\’s best about Mint is that it’s completely free and you can track your stats from mobile devices as well. It\’s one of the best budgeting applications out there. GOODBUDGET One of the simplest old-school techniques for keeping track of personal finances is to place money into individual envelopes for saving purposes. Most people still use this technique! But it can be inconvenient, if not risky, to stockpile envelopes full of cash in your home. GOOD BUDGET makes it easy to place money into virtual envelopes for effective budgeting. Consider these GOOD BUDGET features: Shared envelopes make it easy for loved ones to save for a mutual interest Save for large expenses, such as college tuition Simple and elegant budgeting system This program costs around $5 a month – not much for excellent budgeting software. These apps are 3 of the world\’s best personal finance applications. Pick one based on your personal preferences and start keeping track of your money today. You\’ll always know where your money ends up with these applications!

Is your income too low to use any of the typical money-saving strategies? Here are 10 ideas that take cost-cutting to a whole new level. By Maryalene LaPonsie on March 2, 2016 / Photo (cc) by stevendepolo Are you squeaking by on minimum wage? If so, it might seem like there is little hope for you to get money into savings. After all, working full-time on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour brings in a whopping $15,080 a year before any taxes. But even if your budget is down to the bare bones, there are still things you can do to build up your savings. Here are 10 ideas worth considering: 1. Get out of debt If you’re only making minimum wage, you can’t afford to be sending money to a car financing company, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. Think about it this way: If you had no house payment, no car payment, and no credit card payment, what’s left? The only bills you might need to pay would be utilities, taxes, insurance, gasoline for your car, and food for yourself. In many areas of the country, you could do that on $15,000 a year. We’ll talk a little more about affordable housing options in a minute, but for everything else in your life, make living debt-free a priority. 2. Hoard gifts of money, tax refunds and other windfalls To get out of debt and build up your savings, make smart use of any extra cash you get. For example, if you make minimum wage and have children, chances are you’re entitled to the Earned Income Tax Credit. That could mean you get thousands of dollars from Uncle Sam each year. Until you get on firm financial ground, resist the urge to spend windfalls. Put a couple of hundred dollars in the bank as an emergency fund and ship the rest off to your creditors. If you’re debt-free (hooray!), bank at least half of it before you think about spending a cent. 3. Save your pennies Start a change jar and put your coins into it every night. At the end of the month, roll up the coins and put them in a savings account. You won’t retire rich off the money you collect, but you could end up with $10 or $20 a month to pad your savings account. That’s not much, but when you’re making $7.25 an hour, every little bit helps. 4. Skip processed food Processed food often is unhealthful. You will feel better and save money on health care costs in the long run if you say goodbye to canned, boxed, and frozen meals. If you need some menu inspiration, check out budget cookbooks from your local library. “Family Feasts for $75 a Week” and “The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook” are two you may find worth reading. 5. Park the car After housing, your car is probably your biggest money pit. You need to pay for insurance, registration, and gas, plus you might even have a monthly payment on it. You’ll free up tons of money in your budget if you can get rid of your car or at least drive it less often. Depending on where you live and your personal situation, you may be able to: ·         Use public transportation exclusively. ·         If you’re a two-car family, sell one vehicle. ·         If you have years left on a vehicle loan, sell the car and buy a cheaper one. ·         Carpool with a co-worker or friend and split the car costs. ·         Combine errands and appointments to minimize gas and parking costs. 6. Rethink child care Child care is crazy-expensive. If you have two income earners in your house, and both are making minimum wage, you might come out ahead if one adult stays home with the kids. Not only will that eliminate daycare costs, but you’ll also save on gas and other work-related expenses. 7. Sell what you can Get serious about saving by scrutinizing everything you own. You could have a yard sale to sell old clothes, trinkets, and kitchen gadgets, but think bigger. Sell the furniture you don’t need. Sell your movie collection. Sell the TV. I’m serious! The kids will find something else to do. 8. Find a roommate Finding affordable housing can be a nightmare. Subsidized housing is available, but waitlists are long and the properties aren’t always in ideal locations. If you can’t find a place with cheap rent, the next best thing may be to get a roommate. Another option. if you live in a house, might be to rent out a room. Either way, you get a break on your monthly payment as well as on the utilities. You can find potential roommates on websites like Roommates.com and EasyRoommate.com. Sites like Craigslist or your local paper may be good places to place ads if you have a room to rent. 9. Move somewhere cheaper Maybe despite your best efforts, you simply can’t find an inexpensive place to live. In that case, it may be time to do something radical. You may want to move to a new city or a state with a lower cost of living. That isn’t permission to simply pack up and go without a place to stay or a plan for what to do when you get there. Instead, do your research first and line up a job in advance. 10. Make more money Finally, if none of these suggestions sounds like much fun, it’s because it’s really hard to get by on very little income. You know that. To make more money, you could work harder or you could work smarter. Choose the second option. Rather than spending your life working two or even three jobs to get by, get the right education and training for a career that will let you live comfortably. Look into jobs that require only a two-year associate degree. Talk to your local community college to find out which careers are in demand in your area. Its financial aid office should also be able to help you learn about programs