Tag Archives: Debt reduction

The following is a guest post on a timely personal finance topic from Alicia, a tech writer from the UK with a fondness for finance. We encourage you to follow her on Twitter at @financeport for more debt reduction and personal finance tips and information. Without further adieu:

Get Out of Debt by Enhancing Your Credit Score

In the present competitive world many people are prone to being burdened with debts which come about for one reason or another. Irrespective of the reasons, these debts can cause real trouble by bringing down people’s credit score; this needs to be resolved immediately. The best way to improve your credit rating is by paying back all of your debts. Here are some helpful tips that can be followed to get out of debt and improve your credit score:

Stick to your budget plan: It is vital to design a budget plan that will suit your standard of living. It should include all the income and expense details which can be modified accordingly. Once the plan is prepared, stick to it with complete determination and dedication.
Keep reminders of overdue dates: Most debts that you owe should be repaid in monthly payments, which are a sum of interest charges and a portion of the principle amount. Dates are specified for these payments to be made. Be sure to keep track of them. Assuring that all bills are paid on time that will not only avoid penalties but will also have a positive impact on your credit rating.
Overpayments: People tend to pay the exact repayment amount, but it is advised to avoid this strategy and try to pay more than required as that will cut down principle amount borrowed, which will in turn improve your credit score. This can be done with the assistance of payday loans or by directly transfering money from your savings account to repay your debts.
Check credit history periodically: Your credit history should be checked periodically in order to avoid surprises and unforeseen consequences. Reviewing your credit report allows you to know the exact details of all the debts owed, and if there are any errors on the report they can be addressed before they become a problem. It is even possible to know if there is any crossing of credit limit, if so then it can be prevented
Opt for a debt consolidation loan: One of the best options many borrowers is to repay all existing debts through a debt consolidation loan instead of declaring bankruptcy. This type of loan provides a certain amount as a loan with relatively lower interest rates. The consolidator is capable of collecting monthly payments and distributing it among all the creditors for fast repayment and subsequent improvement of your credit rating.
Avoid credit card use: The latest survey conducted has proved that one of the main reasons for accruing debts is due to the use of credit cards, where card holders are prone to exceeding their credit limit. The ultimate result can be overwhelming debts. It is manageable to use credit cards wisely to some extent, however avoiding them would be the better choice.
Utilise liquid assets: You can find many liquid assets that are just lying around your home that have cash value; these assets can be sold to get money that can be utilised in repaying debts.

Author Bio:

My name is Alicia. I am a tech writer from UK. I am into Finance. Catch me @financeport

Bible Teaching, Healthy Habits, Personal Finance

Budgeting – Healthy Habits Part II – Income

April 18, 2012 David Mint

4/18/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

Today we had the privilege of sharing these budgeting tips that you, fellow taxpayer, are currently indulging in, with our wife’s mothers group. It was a great experience and we were pleased that nobody fell asleep during the presentation.

Let’s face it, budgeting falls closer to most people’s definition of chores than their definition of entertainment.

Mothers (and Fathers) are wise out of necessity. They are forced to plan for not only their own needs but also those of others. For most of them, budgeting is old hat.

As such, we found ourselves preaching to the chior, which is always a pleasant experience. We pray that you are in the chior as well, fellow taxpayer, as today’s installment on income is vitally important.

The M2 money supply measure is on the cusp of crossing $10 TRILLION for the first time ever. Bedford’s law states that it will take less and less time to cross $20 trillion, and so on.

What does it mean? It means that prices are about to shoot up in a nasty way, and it will be much more important to increase you income than to attempt in vain to control your expenses, as most will choose to do.

{Editor’s note: If you need a refresher on Expenses, please check out Part I of this series}

So how does one go about increasing their income? In a general sense, it can be summed up in the following phrase:

Economize and value your time!

More specifically, putting this phrase into action can take many forms, such as:

Moonlighting or Self Employment – What can you do to help others when you are not at work? Would they pay you for it?

Acquiring new skills at your present job and constantly seek advancement, which in most cases will increase your chances of getting a raise or promotion.

Generating passive income – For most, passive income is not an option until we collect social security or can draw on a 401K or other retirement plan. This is why you save, but it will not fill your income gaps while you are younger and working. However, the concept of passive income becomes very important when considering…

Investments – If you have some input as to how your retirement money is invested, it is best to choose investments that provide a growing stream of passive income. That is, investment in companies which make real things which people want and are willing to pay for. If there are no good alternatives, the next best thing to do is to purchase gold or silver coins and to take possession of them. Store them in a hidden safe on your property. Gold and silver will hold value against a depreciating currency and have the added advantage of incurring no maintenance costs or taxes while you hold them.

Jesus’ teaching on money via a response to a question on tax evasion:

We have recently explored the phrase “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to the Lord what is the Lord’s” in the context of eschatology, or the end times. Now, we will briefly examine this phrase as it applies to our relationship to money and property.

With the above statement, Jesus recognizes that everything is God’s, and at the same time, that God recognizes and enforces private property rights in dealings between men. This is often a point of confusion.

He also creates an eternal separation between a person’s soul and their money.

Below is the full text of this brief but important interaction as it is translated in the NIV. Please read and let us know below if you arrive at a similar conclusion:

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Wait, we are talking about budgeting, right? Why are the words of Jesus important and relevant? Tune in tomorrow for a final dose of healty habits as well as an explanation of the practical benefit of tithing, the curious ritual in which the devout give 10% of their income to a religious institution.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

Key Indicators for April 18, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.66

Oil Price per Barrel: $102.82

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.01

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.98%

FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,642

MINT Perceived Target Rate*: 0.25% AWAY WE GO!

Unemployment Rate: 8.2%

Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.3%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,033

M1 Monetary Base: $2,355,700,000,000

M2 Monetary Base: $9,926,800,000,000

Healthy Habits, Personal Finance

Budgeting – Healthy Habits Part I – Expenses

April 17, 2012 David Mint

4/17/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your Mints…

Now that we have dealt with what will happen in the monetary realm as the world comes to an end, we must leave eschatology in its proper place, namely the future, and return to our daily toils.

Today’s installment of The Mint is out first attempt in this space to tackle budgeting.

Every person, family, company, and nation needs some sort of budget. Some do it for show, but a great majority create and attempt to adhere to a budget as a matter of survival. In the final analysis, the ability to properly create a budget or forecast is second only to the ability to perform to or understand deviances from said budget in terms of importance to one’s economic existence.

Many people understand that they need a budget, but have trouble gathering the courage and mustering the time to create and maintain a proper budget. In this space, we offer some tips which we pray you will find helpful as you sit down to this seemingly daunting task. Enjoy!

Tips for budgeting beginning with compiling expenses:

Think Easy Maintenance – If you are using a computer spreadsheet, use one you are comfortable with.

Include the kitchen sink – Throw into your budget anything you are currently doing as well as those things you think you may want to do which involve shelling out cash. Finally add the things you hope you won’t have to do but, if you have to, you will have to shell out cash for them, too.

Be a Conservative – It is better to underestimate your income and overestimate your expenses and to be pleasantly surprised than to assume everything is going to go well and to get shocked when an emergency drains your accounts.

Don’t forget taxes – Whether they be of the sales, income, property, or use variety, taxes are unfortunately a large part of the average American’s budget. While somewhat difficult at first, you will have a clearer picture of your finances if you record your gross paycheck as income and then record the deductions before net pay as expenses or transfers. It is a bit painful, but it will greatly help you make some key decisions making in the future.

Or depreciation – Perhaps the most overlooked expense line in a family budget is that of depreciation, or what may be more easily understood as “the wear and tear expense.” Depreciation is simply recognition that anything, a car, house, etc. deteriorates over time and will likely need repair. Contemplating depreciation allows you to unconsciously develop a rainy day fund to deal with unexpected repairs or regular maintenance.

Large ticket purchasing tip: The difference between a good investment and a bad one is often determined at the time of purchase. Learn to buy large ticket items, cars, houses, etc. out of season (that would be the winter in most places) and be sure to negotiate a price reduction for any major repairs. This will make your depreciation expense (which is a function of the purchase price of an asset) more tolerable and help you sleep at night.

Note: Depreciation and asset valuation are part of what I call “balance Sheet budgeting, which we will get into more tomorrow.

A note on Health insurance – This is perhaps the fastest rising cost for most families. Consider focusing on a healthy lifestyle and reducing your health coverage to major medical or other type of high deductible plan. However, do not give up so much coverage that you risk forgoing necessary treatments in the case of an emergency, you do not want to be faced with a tough life or death decision and have it boil down to finances.

Assume inflation – Ever since the Federal Reserve took over control of the nation’s money supply in 1913, the US Dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power. In 1971, then President Nixon officially took the US Dollar (and world’s monetary system) off of the gold standard, the decline accelerated. The value of the dollar continues to decline at a rate somewhere between 2% officially and 10% unofficially each year. It is important to recognize rising costs as a fact of life and consciously plan to increase your income accordingly.

Which brings us to income. How exactly does one increase their income at a 2-10% pace each year?

We will address that any other questions tomorrow as we explore the Income side of the budget and respond to the ever present question, “How are we going to pay for all of this?”