Tips on avoiding post holiday financial blues

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Decrease Debt - Top 10 Ways
Home is where the debt is.

Debt reduction is about spending less money so you can pay off your current debts while not accumulating more debt. Car payments, Christmas shopping, and credit cards enable the amassing of debt rather quickly. When bills are coming every day and you don't know where to turn or how to save any more money, look at your own home.

Everyday, you leave a... Read debt consolidation article



Debt Elimination and debt consolidation - Two close pals
Debt elimination has always been my goal. But on this day, when I received the bill for the sudden replacement of the clutch in my car, the VISA bill and word that my daughter needed orthodontics for her teeth, how was I ever going to realize my debt elimination goals? Does that sound familiar? It's totally frustrating. It's very easy to log your spending and identify high interest cred... Read debt consolidation article



Tips on avoiding post holiday financial blues
Are you financially prepared for the Holiday Shopping Season?

Will you be making your purchases with cash or credit?

Do you have a planned amount of money you will be spending on gifts?

If you owe $5,000 of more on your credit card or know someone who does, who only pays the minimum payment each month, you are not alone. The levels of consumer debt are increasing rapidly around the world.

A Debt is Not Just for Christmas

Christmas is the time of year when many consumers fall into the trap of spending too much money on expensive Christmas gifts. Most of these purchases are made on credit cards rather than using cash. This means these consumers often end up with large credit card debt in the New Year. The New Year is also the time when bills for other expenses, such as holidays, school fees and taxes come due.

Credit cards are an expensive convenient source of money and many people don't realize just how expensive they can be. Remember gifts purchased on your credit card that you will not be paying in full, will become a debt. This debt will be with you long after Christmas is gone. The most damaging part of this process is the interest you pay on your holiday purchases over time will be more than the cost of the gift. This interest payment you are making will also become someone else's investment return.

Tips to Avoid the Post-Holiday Credit Card Blues

1. Make a budget for Christmas spending - add 20% to the amount and stick to that number.

2. Write a list of everyone you plan to buy presents for and the amount of money you can afford to spend on each person's gift.

3. Pay for presents using cash or lay-away rather than credit cards - if you have to use credit cards use only one.

4. Use a card with the lowest interest rate and credit only what you are able to pay off in one payment or within three months.

5. Give yourself time to shop - avoid last minute impulse buying of whatever you can get your hands on.

6. Write down everything you buy for the seasons, food, decorations, cards etc, and their cost - keep a running total.

7. Consider opening a Christmas Savings Account, so that you will be better prepared next year - for $10 per week, you will be over $500 ahead of the game next Christmas.

8. Gather all of your bills and obligations in one place and write down what you owe, to whom and at what interest rate - Now! Be complete and honest with yourself.

Get a Jump Start on Holiday Planning for Next Year - Invest in Yourself!

Make a present to yourself this Holiday Season by investing in yourself - eliminate your debts and start your wealth creation plan.

1. Take any "downtime" during the holidays to make a list of your financial goals for the next year, two years after that, then five years and longer.

2. Add up household expense budget for this year and add 5% to that amount. Start a monthly program to set aside 10% of the amount for the next 10 months starting in February of 2005.

3. Read a self-improvement book such as "The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach.

4. For some people depression comes with the holidays - tame the depression with the knowledge that you can make 2006 a more fulfilling and enjoyable year financially.

5. Take time to assess how financially secured you are - review your insurance needs, emergency fund, wills and overall debt and wealth balance.

Real Worth

Remember your Real Worth is not only measured by the material gifts you give.This Holy Season is a profound and powerful timeto commit yourself to new beginnings, to startnew practices and to choose what you want yourfinancial life to be in the coming year.

Very few people choose financial clarity as one of their new practices. Plan for your expression of love not only through gift giving to others, but also a gift to yourself for a secured Financial Future. Make a painless New Year's resolution that will give you the "Holiday Feeling Financially" for many years.

Copyright 2005 Joan Peterkin. All rights reserved.

Joan helps families transition from debt to financial security. Get her FREE report "The Top 7 Reasons to Live a Debt-free Life" - mailto:wealthinitiators@sendfree.com. For more info, visit http://www.WealthInitiators.net or call 1-866-410-6099.

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How to reduce debt

Home is where the debt is.

Debt reduction is about spending less money so you can pay off your current debts while not accumulating more debt. Car payments, Christmas shopping, and credit cards enable the amassing of debt rather quickly. When bills are coming every day and you don't know where to turn or how to save any more money, look at your own home.

Everyday, you leave a light on. You turn on the air conditioning or you turn on the heater. You take a bath. Daily living requires spending of your money, whether you realize it or not. Daily living is the first place you can start reducing your debt.

Cutting up credit cards is an easy decision. Limiting yourself to a budget is an easy decision. What about fixing a drippy faucet or turning the heater down a few degrees? These actions don't seem like they could save you much money. In fact, you could be saving a lot by doing just 7 to 10 things around the home.

No one likes being in debt, yet most people are in debt. The hardest part of getting out of debt is deciding on getting out of debt. You have two choices, may more money or reduce your daily spending. What can you do in your daily living that could reduce your debt?

There are 10 easy steps that you can follow that will decrease your daily expenses and move you towards debt free living.

1. Cancel television services or reduce the television subscription with a smaller channel package. Reducing the package can easily trim your cable television bills by $20 a month. Dish subscribers could save a lot more. The best way for reducing costs is by dropping the pay channels such as HBO and Showtime.

2. Use energy-saver light bulbs. These are more expensive than regular light bulbs but last years longer - enough to pay for themselves over regular bulbs several times over.

3. Recycle paper items like envelopes and one-sided paper for use as shopping lists or scratch pads. Paper is getting more and more expensive. Debt can be reduced when recycled items are being used.

4. Use rechargeable batteries. Current portable electronics are burning through batteries at a rapid pace. You've probably got battery operated alarm clocks, caller-id boxes, wall clocks, and other items that could benefit as well. By using rechargeables, the environment wins and so does the savings account.

5. Reduce the recommended quantity of cleaning products. It's a matter of trial and error. Start by reducing amounts in half. This works with shampoo, shower gel, dishwasher detergent, etc. You could save from $20 to $100 per month with this method.

6. Don't leave electrical products on standby. A plugged-in toaster still gets a little bit of electricity. Every bit of savings helps. A fire department official said toasters cause quite a few fires each year. Save money and your house!

7. Don't have the heat on and the windows open. This is easy to do during the months where the temp's jump up and down.

8. Take a shower instead of a bath. You'll cut down on your water bill. Quick showers save time as well. Also, set your hot water tank at 60 degrees.

9. Turn your central heating thermostat down by one degree. Every little bit helps...and it makes a big difference in your monthly heating bills.

10. Turn off lights if you are not in the room. Many new homes have ceiling fans with light clusters. Therefore, you could be burning four light bulbs at once in an empty room.

These 10 steps can decrease your daily spending which provides more money for paying towards other debts such as credit card debt.

Get out of debt - you can do it! Start with these 10 easy steps. Review your finances in a month and you'll see the difference.

If you don't know how to attack your debt problem or don't understand the in's and out's of debt reduction, the internet provides a variety of great resources. Take the time to understand the facets of debt reduction and you'll be better off.

Chris Huff runs http://www.debt-reduction-solution.com providing information on debt reduction and how you can kill off deadly credit card debt. You can sign up for the 5 Step Debt Reduction Strategy or read the daily debt blog. For more information, please visit the website. Chris also runs http://www.squidoo.com/debtfree which provides debt reduction resources.


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Tips on avoiding post holiday financial blues
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