Debt is a problem that haunts many of us for our entire lives. We rack it up when we are young and spend an eternity trying to pay it off. For those of us who bought homes or tried to finance our own businesses, the burden of debt can be especially high. The one grim comfort is the once we’re dead, it’s gone. Or is it? The Wall Street Journal recently reported that credit card companies and banks are stalking surviving family members to collect on the debts of the dead. Where they’re not doing
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Money, money, money … until we figure out a way to live without it, we have to figure out how to manage it. The statistics are not good when it comes to American finances. Most of us don’t have diddly-squat in our retirement accounts or our savings accounts either. Yet you don’t have to keep on being broke. In 2012, you have the chance to restart your financial future by following some smart money goals throughout the year. By next December, your finances and your future could be completely different. Take Inventory The first step
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The end of the year is just around the corner, which means you need to think about closing the books on 2011 from a tax management perspective.  After all, while we are commanded to render unto Caesar that which is Caesars, there is no reason to give Caesar one penny more than he deserves.  A
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Retail industry analysts are finally embracing the same reality millions of Americans have been living for years. The good old days of easy spending are gone, and they aren’t coming back. Instead, consumers who were burned in the days of easy credit have mended their ways and switched to cash for good. It’s a new era that retailers are calling “Forever Frugal” but consumers know as “Common Sense.” The Forever Frugal Mindset Forever frugal is the term retail industry analysts have come up with to describe people who cut back during the downturn of 2007
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In the modern family, most households are surviving on two incomes.  Many of us believe that both incomes are absolutely essential if we’re going to make it.  Unfortunately, the hard truth is that for many Americans, working just doesn’t pay.  Some 50 percent of us are making less than $26,000 per year, and it’s just not enough. Basically, by the time you add up all the costs associated with working, your paycheck isn’t covering your costs.  This can be a challenging moment, since we are all conditioned that the only way to get ahead is
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Banks are adding insult to injury by introducing new fees for using debit cards.  It’s not enough that in recent months new fees for checking accounts have been rolled out nationwide, or that in recent years they created a financial mess in the mortgage markets.  Now, they claim that their profits are being squeezed, and they want to pass the bill on to you.  Fortunately, by understanding the background of the new fees and the fine print on how the fees work, you should be able to avoid most new debit card fees and deprive
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Bankruptcy has often been considered to be the ultimate shame and crowning mark of failure. Yet for millions of people out of their financial depth, bankruptcy should actually represent a path out of a financial nightmare. Bankruptcy is not reserved for deadbeats, failures, or losers. Instead, it is for honest individuals who realize that the only way out is starting over. There are so many paths into financial distress. An unexpected medical emergency, job loss, divorce, car accident, or even identity theft can ruin the finances of otherwise financially savvy individuals. Then there are credit
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Coupon clipping is becoming a national obsession as the economy continues to slide. In fact, newspaper thefts are up more than 30 percent in some areas on days that coupon mailers appear in the paper, according to ABC News. On the TLC show “Extreme Couponing,” some shoppers even dumpster dive to pull out possible savings.
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Debt is an ongoing concern for millions of Americans, including the nearly 50 percent who are considered to be financially fragile.  From underwater mortgages and overwhelming student loan debts to maxed-out credit cards and payday loans, dealing with debt is something that touches almost every American family, and it seems to be spiraling out of control.  Fortunately, there is a way to bring financial discipline to the family balance sheet and regain control of overall debt levels by committing to a carefully structured limit on total debt. Get Honest About Debt The first step is
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How would you rate your financial health? Most of us would like to have more money, but we don’t necessarily think of ourselves as financially fragile. Yet the harsh reality is that faced with a financial challenge, many American families simply can’t come up with the cash that they need. The ability of the average American family to rise to the challenge of an unexpected financial need was tested by a study performed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study took the form of a survey which asked, “If you were to face
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