Turn the Tables on Your Debt to Savings Ratio

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Recent years have been tough on everyone; unemployment, the mortgage debacle, and rising costs on everything from food to gas have caused many of us to re-evaluate our budgets and learn to cut back. One in four Americans has more debt than savings. A recent survey by Bankrate.com found that 25 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings. Yikes, that is definitely a scary statistic. But, you don’t have to let it happen to you! While credit card debt may take some time to get out of there are lots of things you […] Read more »

Do You Trust Me?

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“Unless Vonnie wants to go along to the mall with me…” our friend’s voice trailed off. Sure, I’ll go. I can look for a spring coat for Tori,” said my wife. A new spring coat for our daughter was in the budget, as previously discussed while planning our spending for that weekend. The coat was actually the final expenditure for the weekend as it drew to a close that Sunday afternoon. In a whirlwind of activity, I got ready to go to the gym, Vonnie and her friend put on shoes, grabbed their purses and headed out door with my […] Read more »

The $57 Jar Of Candy

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Imagine a large glass jar filled to the top with your favorite kind of candy. How much would you pay for it? $10? $20? How about $57? This past weekend, Vonnie and I attended a benefit for her aunt who was recently diagnosed with cancer. There was a wonderful outpouring of support from the community through donations of items to sell in a silent auction. Vonnie, being her usual rock star self, visited business throughout our community and accumulated a dozen or so items to contribute to the auction. We also put together a basket of items we personally donated, […] Read more »

The Lost Subject: Personal Finance

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Were you taught about money and personal finance when you were in school? I wasn’t. Even today personal finance is not taught in most schools or considered a curriculum requirement for college students. How do we expect today’s youth to stop the vicious cycle of debt if we don’t teach them how? The latest report from the Federal Reserve shows that consumers are still using their credit cards in a big way; revolving credit, which is made up primarily of credit card debt rose to $801.0 billion. It’s obvious the cycle continues as millions of Americans rack up debt and […] Read more »

P90X Your Finances this Year

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Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you have heard of the P90X workout system and its charismatic fitness guru, Tony Horton. On January 1, 2012 I started the P90X system and have embraced both the diet and exercise requirements, hoping to take my health and fitness to the next level. I don’t know about all of you but I need a regimented diet and exercise plan to have any chance of staying on track. In fact last year I completely fell off the wagon and gained 30 pounds!  I made 2 resolutions for 2012:  Get healthy […] Read more »

Is Blood Thicker than Inheritance Money?

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According to study by the AARP roughly 2/3 of baby boomers are expecting some sort of an inheritance and are spending it before they even have it. They dig deep holes of debt with inheritance money in the back of their mind; failing to understand using inheritance money to pay off debt is not a sound financial plan. In fact inheritances often don’t turn out the way those expecting them think they should. A Family Torn I have a friend who recently had a grandmother pass away. Her frugal lifestyle and previously deceased husband’s good business sense left her with […] Read more »

Take a Step Back…Put your Financial Behavior in Check

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Debt is sometimes inevitable, unavoidable, and well a fact of life for many. No matter what your stage of life you may be faced with financial issues. Life can take its toll on your finances; unemployment, an unexpected illness, divorce or a death in the family can send you into a financial tailspin. But sometimes financial issues stem from a cause deeper than the unexpected; the way you think about money. To snap out of bad financial habits it may require some lifestyle and behavioral changes. 10 Financial Principles Dr. Bernard Poduska, author of For Love or Money writes about […] Read more »

Thinking About Joining the Gold Rush?

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The latest Gold Rush made history yesterday when the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, Ticker GLD, passed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF in value. Both funds are managed by State Street Corp. As fearful investors sell stocks and invest heavily in the precious metal, GLD climbed to a total value of $77.5 billion to the SPY at $76.7 billion. The Wall Street Journal provided an excellent article yesterday “Gold Reigns even on the Stock Market”. What do you own when you buy gold? Read more »

Financial Planning for Retirement – Be Conservative, Responsible, Realistic, and be Successful

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Not long ago I had the good fortune to gain insight with respect to one family’s financial planning that was centered around retirement. This had been a young couple with children, with both the husband and wife having lived through the Great Depression and bleak economic times surrounding World War II. Talk about a life lesson in stretching a dollar! What struck me as unusual was the constant focus, from the very beginning, on retirement and taking care of their children. It was unusual in a very good way. This couple knew that the future was coming. They knew that […] Read more »

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #19

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Happy DEBT FREE FRIDAY everyone!! Christmas is almost here. Are you ready? Will your Christmas be a Debt Free Christmas in 2010? I know someone who will be having a debt free Christmas this year. Dave, the author of I Heart Money. He has a book about how to change your relationship with money so that you can pay off your debt and build assets! Regardless of how it sounds, if you are still in debt you can have a debt free Christmas. That’s right and it’s real simple too. Buy Christmas with money you have! If you use credit […] Read more »

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #18

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If you act responsibly and understand that it's up to you to secure your own future, you can have the fun you want without all the stress that comes with running up debt to do so! I recently met some folks who were down on their luck, but it wasn't their luck that was keeping them down, it was their attitude about their situation that was doing the most damage. They seemed to have given up and were ready to accept that life would always be this way for them. NOT TRUE! Don't believe that for one second if you find yourself in similar circumstances. Read more »

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #16

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Happy Friday everyone! Right now I am enjoying myself on a fishing trip with my father-in-law, so I hope I catch some yummy fish! Have a great weekend, but before you do, I hope you enjoy this wonderful and inspiring debt free story. I love these kinds of stories!! I checked out Our Debt Free Path and knew immediately that these were my kind of folks. They are passionate, and best of all, they too, are doing the Total Money Makeover! Whether you like Dave Ramsey or not, you have to admit the guy has an awesome game plan for […] Read more »

Dessert Before Dinner? Why America Sucks At Managing Money

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Photo Credit: Memory_Freak Have you ever wondered why America sucks at managing money? We’re not exactly a country that’s living off of table scraps ya know. We’re considered by most to be a prosperous nation. That may be true in terms of what we have compared to other countries, but certainly not true in terms of how we manage it. When it comes to the money and financial planning department, most Americans appear to be lacking! In America debt is a WAY OF LIFE! From the Joneses to [insert name of Government Bureaucrat here], America has lost its way. People […] Read more »

Consumer Debt: The Black Hole of Personal Finance

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A black hole is considered to be the most dangerous place in the universe. And in matters of personal finance, I consider debt to be that place. Sure there are other areas of the financial universe that can cause dangerous circumstances to arise, but the same can be said for the universe. A black hole is not the only way to “meet your maker”, but it probably is the fastest and most destructive. The major difference I can see, is that unlike getting sucked into a black hole, with debt, you CAN escape its gravitational pull. The only way to […] Read more »