Search Results for: blog digging out of debt

When You Are Swimming in Debt

Have you ever seen HGTV’s “My First Place”? It’s about first-time home buyers looking for the perfect place to call their own, within a set budget. I’m always amazed by how seemingly transparent they are with their finances. I’ve seen a few episodes where the buyers freely divulged how bad their credit scores were as a justification as to why their budget for house hunting was so low. Another episode followed a guy as he tried to repair his credit while house hunting. The show documented the jockeying he did with lenders as he waited for his score to improve … Continue reading →

Pros and Cons of Paying Down Debt

I know what you are asking: “How can there be any cons related to paying down debt?” If you are not careful, there are several ways you can dig yourself deeper into debt trying to pay loans and other bills. In a previous blog I addressed the option of cashing in retirement accounts and other investments to pay down debt. While there are a number of benefits to doing this, there are also quite a few downsides as well. In fact, the Department of Labor went public recently warning Americans that making permanent withdrawals from their retirement accounts is not … Continue reading →

Digging Out of Debt

With gas prices creeping to the $5 mark, I have a feeling that many of us are going to be cash poor very soon. That’s if you aren’t already digging out of debt from losing a job or getting your hours reduced when the economy first started taking a nosedive. Getting out of debt can be very challenging. While some people, whose debt has grown out of control, turn to consumer credit counselors, others take matters into their own hands. Studies show more and more people are borrowing from retirement accounts in order to pay down debt. The problem with … Continue reading →

Christmas Debt

It’s that time of year again. Everyone is out and about trying to get their shopping done for the holidays. Some of you may have even braved the Black Friday sales last week. As a single parent money is always tight. Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck. There’s barely enough money to provide the essentials, let alone everything else. There is rarely any money left over at the end of the month as it is. The thought of having to find a way to finance Christmas on top of that can be more than a little daunting for … Continue reading →

Stress-Free Savings

There isn’t a soul out there who doesn’t relish saving cash. However, many people don’t take advantage of money-saving opportunities because they feel it takes up too much time or energy. For example, my dad refuses to cut coupons as he feels it is a waste of his precious time. What he doesn’t realize is that he could potentially save hundreds of dollars per month by simply sitting in his recliner and working a pair of scissors for a few minutes each week. If coupon cutting or rebate programs are not your cup of tea, then consider modifying your lifestyle … Continue reading →

Money in Your Golden Years

I once sat through a workshop sponsored by a company I used to work for where the guy in charge kept warning: “There are no do-overs when it comes to retirement planning.” He also added (in a very ominous tone) that if we messed up now we’d all be doomed to a life of penny-pinching in our golden years. Ah, memories of corporate America. Truth be told, the workshop leader’s scare tactics were quite effective. His advice was sound and bears considering regardless of whether you are self-employed or part of a multi-million dollar corporation. Retirement planning is important, as … Continue reading →

Improving Your Personal Financial Future

A recent poll shows that most Americans have been shaken by the recession and are no longer optimistic about the economy improving any time soon. In addition, researchers found that many people, especially women are fearful about their personal financial future. In many cases, women admitted to saving less for retirement because they are “just getting by” or are desperately trying to pay off current debts, including school loans. The poll’s results have many financial experts concerned that individuals are not building a large enough retirement nest egg. This is especially true for the female respondents who stand to suffer … Continue reading →

Can You Afford a Large Family?

Octomom can’t. The Duggars can. Go figure. Nadia “Octomom” Suleman, the infamous mother of 14 recently got nearly naked for the U.K.-based magazine Closer. Unfortunately, showing her skin only helped pay the bills temporarily and now the frazzled mom is relying on government assistance to feed her brood. Juxtapose Octomom and the Duggars and you might as well be comparing night and day. For years I’ve wondered how much Jim Bob, Michelle and their 19 kids raked in for allowing cameras to document their every move and broadcast it on TLC. Thanks to digging by E! Online’s staff, it’s estimated … Continue reading →

Seeking Financial Help

When you are desperately looking for ways to save money, it is often hard to see the forest through the trees. What’s more, wishing that trees grew money isn’t going to help your situation. If you are drowning in debt and are about to hit rock bottom, you may be overdue for some solid financial help. Believe it or not, assistance is not hard to find. In fact, most people don’t realize that there are almost as many ways to find debt relief as there are credit card offers that flood your mailbox. The trick is finding the option that … Continue reading →

Alleviating Financial Stress

Has anyone claimed the $336.4 million Powerball jackpot? The winning ticket was sold in Rhode Island earlier this month. Goodness knows it wasn’t sold to me… otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this post. Talk about alleviating financial stress. Even if the winner took the lump sum payout, he or she would still walk away with more money than anyone could possibly spend in a lifetime. Well, maybe. Living in debt and trying to survive paycheck to paycheck can be physically and emotionally draining. However, there are ways to stabilize your financial footing, even when it seems like the deck is … Continue reading →