Friday, October 29, 2010

The Importance of Being Calm in Economic Turbulences

Someone has said it rightly that anger is man’s worst enemy and if it is the result of stress related to debt or other financial crisis, it takes a deadly shape of destruction for both body, and mind. However we deny or dismiss the present situation of monetary dearth and deficiency, the overwhelming piles of debts are acting as steady creepers which makes a hole in our wallets and a deep chasm of financial insecurity and instability worldwide. The same has given birth to endless debt relief options and debt management plans. Thus losing one’s calm and composure in such a dire and grave economic environment is but obvious for any financially literate person, who is struggling hard to earn, save and to make ends meet for his family and their future. To add to our dismay, we have to keep paying those numerous bills and loans, which make our wealth flow away like waters, and then we face another blow in the form of huge credit card outstanding. Eventually we end up alone with heaps of debts to pay off, followed by continuous and repetitive reminders from creditors and harassments of collection agencies.

All these burdens of economic turbulences make our head spin with fear, insecurity and confusion backed with anxieties for future and our family. These are the times when a debtor faces the biggest challenge of holding his calm. He needs to work out a successful plan with the help of his wisdom, presence of mind and composed sensibility. The first thing that an angry and anxious person loses is his power of straight and rational thinking, which is the most needed weapon to fight off any situational trauma or dislocation.

In times of financial turbulences, a person should have a clear view of conditions and of his own financial state with a practical, realistic yet optimistic mindset. One must ignore all negative thoughts and emotions like anger, distrust, pessimism and loss to overcome the financial depressions. One can get back on track by focusing and looking for solutions together with the well-wishers rather than searching for more problems. Taking control of one’s mind and psyche is the first step towards taking control of one’s debts and money.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Claim Your Dues When You Are In Debt

With debt becoming a household name now, an individual is more likely to become a prey to it than he realizes. No doubt that we gain a certain amount of relaxation from various available debt relief options, debt settlement companies and credit counselors, but only to some extent, as we find ourselves helplessly sweeping in more and more debts with our uncontrolled financial habits and blunders. However, debt has become a vicious circle and thus many a times we find that we too can claim our dues from people who have earlier borrowed from us in the name of friendship or relation. For example there are people who hesitate to file a lawsuit or personal injury claim against an institute or organization which owes him/ her certain amount of money or payment, out of fear and humiliation from neighbors or fellow workers. At times filing a compensation claim, in case of an injury at workspace or outside, or for a faulty piece of hardware, is much easier for us than asking back our own money from a friend or relative who have once borrowed the same in their emergency.  
While being in debt is easier, claiming our justified dues is getting tougher, especially on personal levels, when people feel that asking it back would lead to embarrassments and hidden bitterness. But at times when the burdens of debts are becoming heavier, claiming back one’s dues from all sensible and legible sources is the most logical step towards relieving oneself of some deficiencies.

Without escaping the situation, try to sort out a diplomatic yet wise way out to talk to your friend about your present financial crisis which forced you to ask for the money back from your friend. It is better to be transparent and honest to your borrower than holding disregard and pretence for the same person for not remembering to pay back the favor at time of your need.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Why Is It Important To Organize Your Financial Documents?


We often waste a lot of time in hunting through piles of papers every time we need a receipt, an insurance policy or credit card statement. This not only frustrates us in time of emergency but in the course we also lose certain important information. In such cases it is time, you need to start organizing your financial documents. This will surely take some time to get classified, but the process and habit of regular organization will save your time, money and effort in the long run. Organizing and keeping records of your financial documents have manifold benefits like it can prove that you paid for a service or item, it saves time and eases the stress to locate records in time of emergency, it even helps you pay your bills timely, the records can update you about your insurance collection date and social security benefits, can be of help in solving credit card errors or producing banking statements and so on. Your financial documents also include certificates of marriage, birth day etc, which if misplaced can create havoc in time when you would need these to fulfill any financial requirements. Moreover, these documents act as witness of your financial status and stability and play a role in constantly providing you important facts and information essential to validate your financial statements and data.

Organizing these crucial financial documents and records thus make life hassle-free and easier by keeping family finances updated, by establishing ownership and by providing a basis for sound financial planning. The first step towards this practice is to understand the need and benefits of organizing one’s financial data and documents, followed by their situational requirements and needs in times of emergency and immediacy. This is the determining step towards organizing your financial future and thus one need to assess the importance of this process of meticulously keeping all small and big financial details according to their short, medium, long term and permanent effects.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Cut Your Expenses On Hobbies!

Hobbies have always played a wonderful and sometimes strange role in our life. Since childhood till today we spend a lot of time, energy and money to find pleasure from our leisure time. It is something that defines a strong part of our character and attitude towards life and its aspects. The possibilities to fill out the free time is endless, one just has to make a beneficial choice out of it. When we have nothing else to do, our hobby keep us from sinking into boredom, but the trouble starts when these hobbies take the shape of addictive obsessions and drowns us in unnecessary monetary crunches. As the saying goes that “too much of anything is harmful”, so is our unnatural drive and craving to chase our pleasurable pastime on the expense of our or our parents’ hard earned money.

It is fine when you find someone with a healthy hobby of reading books, or writing blogs or listening to music or playing video games, until you come to know that these hobbies make a person shell out an unnecessary amount of money to persist them. Funnier would be those people, who do not mind spending a fortune for regular expensive hobbies like scuba diving, recreational flying, mountaineering, yachting, expensive shopping spree, trying out top-class restaurants or clubbing. 

It looks pretty insensible to spend money just to pursue a flashy yet hollow set of hobbies, that too in the current phase of economic slowdown. Hobbies or any other recreational activities are considerably helpful in building creativity and productivity in a person, but one should not take this for granted to a limit of extravagance which fulfills no real purpose of character building.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Few Irresistible Money Saving Tips

Holding on money is becoming as tough as holding on a grip of sand in your palm. The difficulty one faces to save money by overlooking all temptations is quite understandable. Saving some bucks for your precious future is always a welcoming idea to avoid the pangs of debts in present financial hard times, however farfetched it may sound to today’s youth. Thus after a lot of observation, experiences and experiments, I am disclosing few undeniable money saving tips, that will not only make you financially more disciplined but would also teach you to curb your greedy materialist cravings.


     Check your extravagant attitude and eliminate your bad spending habits along with the tendency to compare, contrast and exhibit your material possessions with your fake friends. If possible stay alone or with few good friends, to avoid crowd around you that expect your financial support in lieu of their hollow expressions.

     Get rid of your impulsive buying nature. Ward off your fancies and addiction towards expensive branded outfits and accessories; instead go for street-shops that give away the same stuffs in lesser price. After all you do not show off the price tags while using them.

     Resist your unnecessary cravings to dine or eat in expensive restaurants, rather enjoy the process of experimental cooking and eating together with your loved ones, in the close comfort of your home. This does not only save your hard earned penny but also your health and hygiene.

     Stop buying books, CDs and DVDs. Cultivate the habit of taking help of your nearby local library which is always a cheaper means to indulge yourself, without hampering the quality of knowledge or entertainment.

And if everything that is written above fails, then be a monk , sell your belongings to enjoy a peaceful and meditated life , as this can be the most desirable outcome after being hit by debt.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Saving Money can make a Difference

Saving Money can make a Difference
 For all Americans, debts have been the single most reason to worry in the recent past; however, compared to that, efforts to avoid debts were little. Perhaps, there were not enough indications for consumers to understand the intensity of the economic downfall. But then as experts have rightly quoted that earning money is only one aspect of your financial health, the other part is necessarily to manage money, a policy often ignored by people, but recession has had a significant effect on paychecks and with increasing rate of unemployment and extravagant spending on credit card, a majority of people have fallen back on their repayment and incurred massive debts which became almost unmanageable and consumers had to depend largely on professional services such as debt consolidation to get rid of their debts. Some others have turned for bankruptcy options which have resulted in loss of property and a scarred credit report.In order to avoid debts and not to let your money go, it is important that you are aware of pitfalls:

·         When you are paying back a loan on credit card, you end up paying not only the principle amount but the interest and the taxes levied on that amount.

·         The more you delay on repayments the higher the rates of interests are accrued, therefore try and avoid delay or delinquency at all costs.

·         Furthermore if you are not sufficiently acquainted with debt issues, there are several credit counseling services to help you fix your debt issues but take care to select genuine agencies.

Thus, instead of leveraging on the reasons to avoid debts try to think of ways to save money by avoiding excessive usage of credit cards, to lessen your financial woes, and to eliminate added interests on credit card. Next is to have a money planner or a family budget to have a better orientation of cash outflow, cut higher expenses on dining outside or watching a film or may be shopping for your home furnishing. Occasionally you can also try to have a look at the backyard of your house to sell off junk; though it may not fetch you much money but it surely helps to add to your savings. So one thing is clear, it doesn’t actually take much to save, but to let go off your savings and your hard earned money is certainly painful so try to be judicious on your spending habits before getting into the complications of debt.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Credit Repair: A Few Facts

Growing debt problems and diminishing paychecks are an aftermath of recession. There is an increased urge to find out new and convenient ways of credit repair. Unlimited credit spending by the consumers has resulted in a tarnished credit score with the accumulation of huge debts and non payments, along with delinquency. There are spectrums of professional credit repairing services or options available for the consumers. At times they are practically bewildered with such a wide variety that very often it leads them into traps, and more than credit repair it results in an utter chaos and confusion. Before pining on a particular credit repairing agency, one must go through a series of researches to get hold of one, which can guide them through proficient and rightful methods of credit repair. It is also important that the agency should have sufficiently good records with BBB and other related accreditations. 

However every consumer should be convinced about the plan of action adopted by these agencies and the difference of settling the debt issues without any professional help. Statistics reveal that those agencies which have maintained a fair record and a better success track are of much help as they are well versed with the legal consequences of adopting unfair means to pull in consumers. However, BBB has got the largest number of complaints of unlawful methods of settling debts during this year. A new code of law has come into effect, which stresses on certain mandatory and specific disclosure for debt settlement agencies intending to carry their procedure through telephone.In brief, for taking care of matters related to personal debt and finances you can hardly afford to make mistakes.