Motivational Money Management
I still remember the shock of realizing how much debt we had – after all, it is not every day you hear you are in $160,000 of consumer debt. How is so much debt to be paid off? (I am not big on suspense, so I’d tell you: we paid off $160,000 of consumer debt in three years, and we have lived debt-free since February 2013.) But let me get back to when I found out we are in so much debt. At first, I went numb. Later, I got angry. I was furious with my husband, with myself, […] Read more »
Are you a loyal and dedicated Enemy of Debt reader? Thank you for sticking with us. Today I’m writing to let you know about some changes to the team and re-assert our commitment to educating, inspiring, and entertaining you on your debt-busting journey. Let me introduce myself first. I am Maria, and I have owned Enemy of Debt for seven years now, but while I wrote the occasional post for it, I preferred to stay in the background. Enemy of Debt had been the blogging home of Travis for much longer, and there was no reason to refuse him a […] Read more »
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the median salary in 2016 for young adults with a bachelor’s degree came in at $50,000. Compared to $31,800 for high school-only graduates, that’s a significant improvement in earning potential simply for graduating from a four-year college program. It’s evident that higher education leads to more lucrative careers, but what’s not so obvious is which areas of study are the most profitable. A four-year college degree is a serious investment — today, the average student graduates with $37, 172 in student loan debt, according to CNBC. To ensure that investment is worthwhile […] Read more »
The struggle to live free of debt can be incredibly challenging. Sometimes, you just might not manage a few things. Your credit score can suffer. You could miss a few payments. Because everything is connected by money, your home and future could be threatened by poor debt choices. Let us help you avoid the two worst possible financial outcomes: foreclosure and bankruptcy. Foreclosure Avoidance A foreclosure happens when someone doesn’t pay the lender for their property. Usually, a person will miss a few payments and the bank will decide to foreclose on the property. This means the bank will repossess […] Read more »
Debt is something that can cause many sleepless nights, if it gets out of hand. Ideally, you should learn how to manage your finances, by checking out the best personal finance blogs, and seeking professional advice if necessary. This can help you to keep your finances in order and avoid having issues with debt. However, many Americans struggle with financial literacy and find themselves in situations that they cannot handle. In fact, debt is a common factor in the lives of many people in the US. The average American has around $38,000 of personal debt. This is aside from any […] Read more »
Couple of days ago I came across a study that made me ask myself the question ‘hoe difficult is it to predict the economy’. I realise that one reasonable response to this question is ‘why we care, anyway’. Before I tell you how, I believe, expectation regarding the economy affect our lives – and therefore predictions of economic conditions are important – let me tell you about the study I found. This study was carried out by ETX Capital and used Government statistics about GDP Growth Rate, CPI Inflation and the Sterling Index over three years. What the study aimed […] Read more »
People who like money, and like talking about making it, are currently divided along an issue that is hard limit. It is called Bitcoin; or if we extend it a bit, it brings under the same umbrella many crypto currencies. There are the trusting optimists who dabble and believe crypto currencies are a splendid opportunity to make some money though not all consider these a viable, long term investment. There are also the doubting cynics who are standing on side-lines repeating that crypto currencies are a financial bubble. Which camp do you belong to? I am with the dabblers while […] Read more »
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sara Williams who blogs about everything to do with debt at Debt Camel, from payday loans to mortgages. I’m a debt adviser in London. But money and debt problems are universal, so my favourite debt quotations range from the Romans to 21st century America! I’ve put them roughly in date order but, as you will see, not a lot has changed over the centuries. #1. Debt is the slavery of the free. Publius Syrius c.50BC I like this one because so much advertising has the subconscious message that being able to buy […] Read more »
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Pauline of InvestmentZen.com Refinancing, restructuring, or consolidating debt is a step that many have taken in order to become debt-free sooner. This is done for a multitude of reasons but usually involve getting a better interest rate, or term on your debt, making the final pay off cheaper and quicker. This works in different ways. The idea is either to lower your debt payments, or to pay off debt quicker, for a lower interest rate. Before you start, do some research and find out the best rates available on the market. The […] Read more »
There was a time when I paid very little attention to my credit score because I thought that it is not important. This was the time when the ‘juiciest’ credit card deals out there were unattainable, when a loan secured against our house came with 7.5% interest rate and when all that came through my post box were bills. I still don’t check my credit score regularly; this time I don’t check it because my credit score is a perfect 999, which I suppose is as high as one could get. Boring, I know; but very handy. Now, offers for […] Read more »
On November 21, 2005, my life turned upside down. Just three and a half months before that day I had given birth to my first and only child, my daughter Lily. My husband and I waited six years to start a family, planning so we would be ready. But no matter how hard you try, sometimes all the planning in the world doesn’t prepare you for the unexpected. After Lily’s birth, my health started to fail. I finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. I was told I had a mere 15 months to live […] Read more »
Have you noticed that your money is making much less money than it used to? I’ve been watching this get more and more serious over the last decade or so. Even if you have no direct experience of that – though I do hope that you all have some savings and investments – you couldn’t have missed the mainstream media headlines. Inevitably these are dressed in drama, fear and exaggeration though there is a kernel of truth in them. See for yourselves: ‘Devastating’ blow for prudent Brits as almost 300 accounts have interest rates slashed Interest rate massacre: scores of […] Read more »
Author’s bio: You can find more by Maria Nedeva on debt, money management and making money on her blog, The Money Principle, where she teaches people in financial trouble how to build sustainable wealth. Becoming debt free haunted my dreams, and my waking hours, for couple of decades. And for decades it was just that: a pipe dream to which I escaped every time I suspected that we have too much debt and every time I wished it to disappear. Than six years ago the reality of our financial depravity penetrated the dream: we calculated that we were in […] Read more »
“I wish we could move this house to…” You could fill in the name of a neighbourhood or a city of your choice. Still, this is one of the most hopeless sentences in the history of human interaction. My mum used it at least once a week. Every time she wanted to go to the theatre and there was no one to watch with her. Every time she wanted to see her granddaughter and remembered that she is 250 miles away. Every time she wanted to have a coffee and a chat with her sister and remembered that she’d have […] Read more »