Personal Finance Articles

Finance » Personal Finance | By Ann Marosy @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 4:55 PM

Financial Crisis is characterised by a problematic financial position where all you seem to be doing is going from one financial problem to the next. Finances are tough. You are barely surviving from payday to payday. There is a strong sense of scarcity; there never seems to be enough and there doesn't seem to be any way out. When my clients are in this stage, it is often all doom and gloom. It is extremely difficult to motivate them at first because this is when all their fears a... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Ann Marosy @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 4:26 PM

A good money management program is successful if it's able to break a long and complex journey into manageable stages. People need to see progress, and it needs to be measurable. Over the years, I have read as many books about money management as I could lay my hands on. A lot of them had the right answers but I could only follow them for a short time before people fell back into their old bad habits. I now know that what these books did not explain was the natural sequence of eve... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Dee Power @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 2:40 PM

Facing a mountain of debt? Hiding from collection agencies? Dreading the phone ringing? There isn't a way to magically make all your debt go away but there can be relief. Consider credit counseling. Because of the state of the current economy, more and more people are choosing to utilize this service. You are certainly not alone in your decision. A credit counseling service will work with you in determining a realistic but strict budget based on your income and assets. They may... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Allen Wright @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 12:55 AM

Let's look at a typical debt consolidation scenario for someone with a car payment, a couple of credit cards, and a home equity loan. We can separate these accounts into secured and unsecured debt: the car loan and the home equity loan are secured debt. That means they have a physical asset that backs them up, and if you fail to make the loan payments the lender will take the asset back to pay for the loan. Secured debt is generally at a lower interest rate than unsecured debt beca... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Darren Yates @ Sunday, 7th September 2008 @ 10:09 PM

The US and the UK is now facing the collapse of the wave of credit it has been riding for years. Banks, credit card companies and short sighted lenders have all played a role in creating the conditions for this crisis to occur. The pace of lending has been unsustainable and we are now paying the price. This nation's consumers have been taking advantage of the readily available credit offered to them from all parties and spent far beyond their means as a result. As competition ... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Stephanie Foster @ Sunday, 7th September 2008 @ 12:33 AM

For most people, the answer to this question is "YES! Obviously!" Having one parent stay at home can be quite the sacrifice for the entire family. Despite the popular myth, many stay at home moms do not have husbands whose jobs pay extremely well. Many live on an extremely tight budget. And while sometimes staying at home costs less by the time you consider expenses such as daycare versus what the second income is bringing in, it's all going to feel like a sacrifice. A... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Richard Martin @ Friday, 5th September 2008 @ 7:12 PM

In July 2008, The New York Times posted a large interactive chart showing that debt levels in the US have reached more than $100,000 for some consumers. It's hard to decipher who the post was describing. That is, it's unclear whether the chart was talking about the average household, homeowner, or consumer. Regardless, the message is clear- debt levels for many consumers have increased in recent years. And this isn't the first article by a major site illustrating the moun... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Hector Milla @ Thursday, 4th September 2008 @ 10:46 PM

What is the worst situation for a person that is trying to manage debt? Undoubtedly when all what you do did not work out and now you deal with your creditors in court, there is no debt management program that can assure you success and getting you debt free, you need to accept that sometimes it is too late and that you crossed line where some debt relief is possible. However, if you need to face such situation, it is important to understand the whole process in order to know if you have... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Mike Carter @ Thursday, 4th September 2008 @ 6:28 PM

When consumers get in over their heads in debt, many of them turn to some form of unsecured credit card debt consolidation as a method dealing with mounting bills. Unfortunately, the debt consolidation process can be extremely confusing for the average person. Few consumers know what their options are when it comes to consolidating unsecured debt and credit cards. As a result, many consumers are caught by surprise at some point in the process. These surprises can often end up costing t... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Stephanie Foster @ Thursday, 4th September 2008 @ 1:08 AM

A complaint I hear very often from working friends with kids is that they can't afford to have one parent stay at home. They need both incomes in order to meet the car payment, mortgage, food bills, daycare and so forth. And some of them are right. Others just need to rethink things. Daycare, for example, is expensive. When you're figuring out if someone can stay at home with the kids, you have to remember that certain costs go away. Being a stay at home mom also can mean... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Bill Miller @ Wednesday, 3rd September 2008 @ 3:06 PM

College education is important to everyone. However not everyone has the capability to enter college because of the lack of financial aid. This is where private student loans take place. Private student loans are being granted by banks and other non-profit financial institutions. This type of student loan can build a bridge to finance additional expenses in terms of education. As a matter of fact, private student loans have a more rapid growth compared to Federal student loans. H... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Ann Marosy @ Wednesday, 3rd September 2008 @ 12:37 AM

There are typically 6 stages in the development of any endeavour. Successful businesses follow this - and they can easily be converted into personal finance terms. In fact, running your personal finances like a mini business will ensure your way to creating lasting financial freedom. The stages consist of: 1 Beginning your endeavour 2 Correction of any teething problems 3 Establishing a strong foundation to build upon 4 Reviewing and revising your performance to date <... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Tony Beb @ Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 @ 11:35 AM

Many people want to refinance auto loans and wonder if it is possible to lower payments or even qualify for a new loan. It takes a few steps but the process can be pretty easy to accomplish. Be sure to look over every step of the process and go through all the details on the forms. Lenders want to get new business so they will do everything they can to help you out. It can help to get multiple lenders to see who fits your needs the best. The first step would be to gather all of your ... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Tony Beb @ Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 @ 11:26 AM

Most of the time people will not refinance a loan when they could save money. People with bad credit have a harder time obtaining a lower interest rate on a new loan. Generally lenders will offer better rates for people with better credit. If your credit is good your rate should be good. There are many lenders so searching for the right one is a possibility to get a better rate. You will just have to do some research to find the right lender for you. On the high side of interest rates som... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Tony Beb @ Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 @ 11:24 AM

Many people suffering from bad credit want to buy a car or refinance an old loan. Most will wonder if they can refinance loans to get a better rate or monthly payment. Often times people are unaware of their credit and how it affects loans. Lenders understand many factors can contribute to a persons credit history and are always looking for new business. Some times people take loans without knowing the proper information before applying. The best advice is to research everything and get multipl... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Wilfrid Baptiste @ Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 @ 10:49 AM

Today's high gas prices are giving many of us added incentive to go out there and find ways to reduce our spending in order to be able to balance our budgets and reach our financial goals (even if said financial goal is simply survival). But some money-saving measures are harder to implement than others, thus easier to fall by the wayside once we decide we "deserve" to be living comfortably. In this spirit, here's a list of 10 relatively painless ways to save money. They'r... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Abbi Rouse @ Monday, 1st September 2008 @ 2:13 PM

The Bank of England will be more able to reduce interest rates once the "spike" of inflation has passed, it has been claimed. A spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicted that the Bank's monetary policy committee will not yet be able to reduce interest rates, as inflation is still a cause for concern. However, once this spike of inflation has been passed, there is the opportunity for the base rate of interest to be reduced, the spokesperson said. Currently, th... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Ki Gray @ Monday, 1st September 2008 @ 10:25 AM

Many Americans are foregoing luxury expenses like high car payments, vacations, and gym memberships in order to combat the struggling economy and rising costs of everyday expenses like food, gasoline, and other essentials. Fast food restaurants are beefing up their value menus in attempts to lure budget-conscious consumers through the door, and people everywhere are feeling the crunch of fewer and fewer resources. But being on a tight budget doesn't mean you have to abandon your fitness reg... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Abbi Rouse @ Friday, 29th August 2008 @ 6:44 PM

The effects of the credit crunch are still having an effect on people's personal finances and the country's economy has not yet returned to its normal state, it has been claimed. Economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research Charles Davies said that both consumers and businesses are being affected by the credit crunch, with growth continuing to slow. And not only is the credit crunch biting people's finances, continuing inflationary pressures are also having a... more...

Finance » Personal Finance | By Ann Marosy @ Friday, 29th August 2008 @ 3:19 PM

A few years ago, I designed a game to teach people how to master wealth creation. For this, I used the basic Monopoly game but changed the rules somewhat to create a situation that follows the six stages of the Money Program. In my version of Monopoly, in order to win, the players need to negotiate between themselves in order to obtain a complete street before they can build houses and hotels. Invariably, the players' normal behaviours rise to the surface that demonstrate what situat... more...