photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Whether or not you use credit cards is your decision. But the fact of the matter is that you can find yourself in a large financial hole if you use them to “get by” month after month. Your budget should be simple: you need to earn more money than you spend. If this is not the case, and you neglect to cut out any expenses, you will have to use credit cards in order to make ends meet. While doing this you may not feel much pressure, but over time, as your debt adds up, this is sure to change.

When you use credit cards to bridge the gap between your income and expenses you are only making things worse on you in the future. Remember, the more you use your credit cards the more you are going to owe down the road. This means that while you may be getting by right now there could come a point when you are using credit cards to pay off credit cards. See how bad this can get for you in a hurry?

If you don’t make more than you spend, change your budget. This is better than using credit cards to make up the difference.

photo credit: Andres Rueda

More and more credit card companies are trying to push plastic on college students. If you are a college student it is safe to say that you have seen credit card reps setting up shop and signing up unsuspecting passer-bys. The question is: are student credit cards good or bad?

Generally speaking, college students should stay away from credit cards. It is entirely too easy to spend recklessly when carrying plastic. Additionally, more and more students are ruining their credit history and score before they ever leave college. As you can imagine, this will put you behind the eight ball after graduation.

There are sometimes when a student credit card may make sense. For instance, if you need money to purchase books, or just want to carry plastic for emergencies, this may be something to consider. But before you fill out an application you want to think long and hard about the pros and cons.

Student credit cards can be both good and bad. As a student you will have a lot of pressure on you to obtain a credit card. Whether or not you give in is up to you. Just make sure you know what you are getting into, both the advantages and drawbacks.

According to a recent report on the legendary investor, Warren Buffet, it’s time to purchase stock in American companies. The method behind what might seem like a bout of madness for the aging investor is that when the total market value of US stocks drops to a level between 70%-80% of American Gross National Product, it’s time to buy. 

Buffet’s fantastic success as an investor is based, in part, on his practice of seeking out undervalued companies to invest in. He soon moved from turning over a profit through stocks in a company to purchasing undervalued companies and bringing the most-successful ones together into the Berkshire-Hathaway brand. But purchasing a struggling company is well out of the average investor’s financial reach. The only remaining option is to purchase a portion of that company as stock. 

It could well be said that nearly every company in the US that has the resources to continue operations is currently undervalued. With the total value of the stock market reaching the 76% mark at best, perhaps Buffet is right and its time to pull some money from under that mattress and invest it. 

Perhaps it comes down to a matter of faith. Once you decide whether or not you believe the economy will recover, the question of investing gains simplicity. If you cannot afford to lose a dime, then just like always, you should keep your money in a safe place and not worry about the stock market. However, if you have some cash on hand and want to research the possibility of creating genuine long-term wealth, it’s a great time to check out the stock market.  photo credit: ArtemFinland

Amongst news of lay-offs and increasing unemployment, it’s a difficult time to be choosing a career path. According to GE Miller at Mint, there are a few key areas that are a sustainable place to be looking for employment, both now and in the coming decades. The suggestions for safe, recession-proof job types are:

• Customer contact / sales representative positions: This might come as a surprise, but the thing is that when people are buying less or have less to spend, then companies actually need more sales people. So despite the coming of age of the internet, many experts believe that face-to-face sales people and jobs involving customer contact will have an important place now and in the future.
• Environmental jobs: Study engineering that can be put to use in solving global warming and green energy problems and you should be highly employable.
• Information technology / computer programmers / Network administrators: As you can imagine, there’s no end in sight for new contributions to this industry and IT graduates should happily find work from now and on into the next decades.
• Health care: The aging population is going to need a lot of extra health care, and they won’t just need doctors. Home aides and aged care workers will also be in high demand.

As we’ve seen, the old way of planning financially for your retirement has left many people in serious trouble, including postponing retirement or simply having to make do with less. Experts are now giving lots of tips for re-planning your retirement funding to avoid some of these issues and tips include:

• Make sure your retirement investments are balanced and mixed. Try to spread the money across two or three different strategies.
• Balance your portfolio in regard to yield and risk. Leave some in quality bonds or treasury bills (which don’t provide much yield, but are secure) and invest some in higher-performing (but higher risk) stock funds.
• Consider investing in municipal bonds rather than government bonds, especially if you fit into a higher tax bracket. You get decent security but a much better yield on your investment.
• Take particular notice of stocks that usually provide good dividends. These tend to be in consumer industries which continue to do well even in more difficult economic times. If your stocks give you a good dividend income, this offsets the risk of their value falling.
• Don’t be afraid to consider alternative investment strategies like real estate investment trusts or inflation-protected securities, but of course get good advice before you invest.

By now everybody knows that credit card debt can be crippling, and with a poor economic situation this is especially the time when you do not want to be creating any more debt than you absolutely must to survive. Although most advice on avoiding credit card debt is becoming common sense, it never hurts to hear it again, according to CNN’s Gerri Willis who has some more tips on controlling your credit card, including:

• Take a look at your credit card habits and calculate how much they are costing you. For one thing, only paying the minimum repayment each month will result in huge interest payments and a long time to repay your debt. Try to increase your monthly repayments as much as possible to cut down on debt and interest payments.
• If you have a credit card problem, then try using cash to pay whenever you possibly can. Research apparently suggests people will spend up to 18% less if they have to hand over cold, hard cash rather than a credit card.
• Try to negotiate a lower interest rate on your credit card. Before you do this, make sure you’ve been making payments on time for at least six months, preferably longer. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, and they say that half the people who ask for a lower rate actually get one.

I was pretty surprised to read that the cost of running your water heater can be as much as 13% of home energy costs. It made me feel a little bit guilty about the hot showers I sometimes enjoy perhaps a little too long so I hope to follow a few of these tips soon:

• Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater - although the standard setting is 140F, you can usually live just as well with it turned down to 120F and save up to 10% on the heating costs.
• If you go away on vacation, turn the water heater off for the period you’re away. Similarly, try to turn it off when it’s not needed for hours, for example by having a timer switch it off at night while everybody’s sleeping.
• Insulate your hot water heater, especially if it is an older model with poor insulation - touch the outside and if it’s hot or warm, you could save energy (and therefore money) by insulating it. Alternatively, consider upgrading to a new and more efficient model.
• Use less hot water by taking quicker showers - try using a timer to notice exactly how long you’re spending in the shower. You can also turn the water on and off while you’re soaping up to save some of the hot water.

photo credit: Medmoiselle T

Paying for college is something that many students worry about. At the same time, parents all over the country are worrying about the same thing. If you are going to attend college in today’s day and age there is a very good chance that you will need to apply for some student loans.

Why are student loans more necessary today than ever before? One reason is that college is becoming more and more expensive as each year goes by. Simply put, most students, even with the help of their parents, cannot afford to pay for college with cash. If you can you should thank your lucky stars.

Should you take out a student loan for every last dollar of your tuition? While possible, you should try to avoid doing this. Instead, attempt to pay for some portion of your tuition via other methods such as cash, financial aid, grants, scholarships, etc.

Student loans are more common than ever because the cost of college is increasing, and the number of students attending is also on the rise. If you are a student looking to attend college in the near future you may have to obtain a few student loans to get by. And as a parent the same may hold true for you.

If you are trying to save money, start by paying your bills on time. You can cut coupons, rummage through dumpsters, and buy dented cans of beans to save $35 only to have those savings gobbled up by a credit card late-fee.

Don’t have enough money to pay all your bills? Pay the credit cards first. Consider this:

If you had 5 hungry mobsters standing outside your house waiting for money but only 4 pieces of lasagne, you’d feed the 4 meanest-looking ones first, right? Think of your utility company as the 5th jolly mobster who doesn’t mind waiting a few days to eat.

Avoiding late fees, increased interest rates, and return-to-service fees is just like winning free money! A few simple steps will get you on track to maximizing your winnings: (more…)

photo credit: bonimo

College students are notorious for spending money without thinking twice. This is why so many companies target this demographic. As a college student you need to have a budget in place from the first day you step foot on campus. And remember, setting a budget is only the first step. After that you must then follow through with your budget. Do you have what it takes?

If you are not sure of how to set a budget you can ask for the help of your parents. They can give you information on where to start, as well as how much money they will be supplying you with on a regular basis. Of course, to go along with this you also need to consider any income you will be brining in as well as your regular expenses such as books, supplies, food, etc.

College students who learn to budget early on will have a more enjoyable experience while in school. To go along with this they will be much better prepared for the real world when they finally walk across the stage to receive their diploma. Are you a college student without a budget? If so, you should change this at once.