How to Budget and Save Money
January 11th, 2011
“Save more money” is a very normal goal for a New Year’s resolution. But if you aren’t rolling in disposable income, it can be tricky to figure out where to pinch the pennies that will pay off in the long run.
Setting a budget – even a loose one – is the easiest way to have a few extra dollars to tuck away each month. More »
Posted By: Emma Thesenvitz | Comments (2)Making Saving Sexy
December 6th, 2010
As I was driving back from my recent vacation to North Carolina, I did something I’ve never done before—I bought a lottery ticket. The jackpot was $137 million and as I talked to the woman behind the register, I could tell she was amused by my clear naïveté in this venture. I chose my numbers, paid a dollar and got back on the road.
I viewed the dollar I’d just handed over as, at worst, a donation to the state of North Carolina or, at best, the luckiest dollar I’d ever spent. My wife and I passed the next hour of driving discussing what we would do with the money if we won. Would I keep my job? How much would we give away? Would my friends and family judge me if I insisted on riding a gold Segway everywhere I went? More »
Posted By: Spencer Edwards | Comments (2)Mortgage or Credit Card: Which Would You Pay First?
August 13th, 2010
A recent TransUnion study found that the percentage of Americans behind on their mortgage but current on their credit cards increased nearly 55 percent between early 2008 and the third quarter of 2009.
And while the amount of consumers we’re talking about is still relatively small (6.6%), I find the overall trend to be quite compelling. Clearly, consumers are beginning to think differently about the priority of their debts. More »
Posted By: Joshua Heckathorn | Comments (5)Frugality Becomes Chic
April 1st, 2009
Rise up all you frugalists and be heard! Now is your time to finally enjoy some bragging rights. While your friends bought multiple homes, boats, cars, and racked up some serious credit card debt to keep up with the latest trends, you quietly lived within your means and saved up a pile of cash for troubled times. It may not have been easy at first, but after awhile you found it became a natural part of your everyday life. More »
Posted By: Joshua Heckathorn | Comments (0)Living Within Our Means
December 4th, 2008
I’ve received several emails lately from ‘Creditnetters’ expressing concern about their HELOCs getting frozen without much notice from lenders. Yes my friends, they can do it, and there’s not a whole lot you can do to fight it. HELOCs, just like credit cards, can be frozen or shut down at any time.
In some cases, reductions in home values have triggered the HELOC freeze (you may be able to fight this by using comparables to prove them wrong). In others, a minor drop in credit score or a late payment gave the lender enough of a reason to reduce their risk by completely removing the exposure from their books. As credit issuers are rushing to stanch the bleeding in every way possible these days, I wouldn’t expect things to get much better in the near future. It’s just the reality of the world we live in at the moment.
The real thing that bothers me is that in most cases the individuals have been using their HELOCs to cover monthly bills and other daily expenses. So, when the creditor pulled the plug, they found themselves in an extremely difficult financial position. While I am sympathetic, a part of me wants to repeatedly rap on top of their heads and do one of those, “Hello McFly, anybody home?” lines from Back to the Future. Haven’t we learned anything by now? Yes, our homes are probably one of the largest investments we will ever make. Hopefully, in the long run, they will be one of the most profitable investments as well. But really, we should never be using them to finance our daily lifestyles. It’s just not a financially smart thing to do.
As the economy continues to weaken, it’s become apparent that the big auto companies and financial institutions are not the only ones who need a revamping. Millions of Americans also need to take a step back and revisit what it means to actually live within one’s means. In other words, make a promise to yourself today that you will spend less than you make each month. It’s all about changing your lifestyle so it coincides with reality. It may seem obvious, but the truth is most people struggle with this principle every day. So, if you can master the art of living within your means, I promise you will emerge from this credit crisis financially better off than those who don’t.
Posted By: Joshua Heckathorn | Comments (1)
