Posts Tagged ‘money’

Ways To Make Cents at Home

In the midst of all these skyrocketing prices, come the how’s, ways and means to save money and earn extra.

There are creative but practical ways you can engage in to help the family save and at the same time earn extra. The things that have been sitting in your attic for sometime and those that become all too familiar and useless might mean extra bucks. This way, it saves you space, cleaning materials and containers. This reduces maintenance expenses.

Save More Money

Garage sale at home is a save-and-earn endeavor for starters. Look at the success of flea markets where people can buy almost anything at a lower price but large amount of income for vendors.

How to maximize the potential of flea markets and bargain sales to help you save? Primarily, a flea market is a place where almost all who have something to sell can sell for tremendously lower costs but good quality items. If you have the right tools and enough preparation for a day’s trip to a flea market, then you are ready to go with some handy tips:

1. Ready your tools, maps, measurements and cash:
• easy-to-carry tool kit with screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, pencil, ropes, set of swatches, paper and plastic bags and boxes;
• floorplan measurements;
• maps, directions and phone numbers;
• bring enough cash and checks for high-priced items;
• dress yourself appropriately for bargain hunting.
2. Early birds usually get the best selections.
3. Keep a critical eye during shopping.
• Be ready to negotiate and haggle on the prices of items.
• Items sold here have greater possibilities, either you can redecorate or repaint them to make it look unique and attractive.

How to make this activity an earning endeavor? After your hands-on training in an established flea market, hope you took note of your observations and ideas; it is time to try out on your own.

Bear in mind five things crucial to garage sale success: location, date and time, variety of goods, organization/presentation, advertisements and prices.

• Spot a strategic location where people can access and drop by easily. Your house is the perfect venue for this. Weekends are the best to schedule your sale.
• During your cleaning session, take note of candidate items for the sale, label them (keep, for repair, must go) and give them a brand new look.
• Organize them well according to prices, use arrangement styles, decide on the tables, baskets and boxes for the items and decorate your venue with fabrics and other helpful materials.
• Lower your prices. The idea here is to dispose of the things but earn from them reasonably.

Keep Them Handy: Budgeting Tools that Work

Budgeting your monthly expenses in order to get the greatest return on your income (and perhaps, even put aside some for saving!) doesn’t have to be extremely hard.

Various budgeting programs are available for use. Money management programs provide you with a usual package that allows you to enter your cash inflows and outflows, categorizes your expenditures, and at times, presents to you analysis of your spending behavior. Through these programs you can also input the various payments you have to make monthly, and subsequently track if you’ve paid your dues on time. Moreover, some programs also offer you a tax form draft that will help you make sure you’re not missing out on any dues or any deductibles, for that matter.

Another budgeting tool that you can utilize are coupons. Various stores and magazines contain coupons that you can use to get discounts on various products. Should there be a need to purchase a particular product for which you have a coupon for, you will end up saving a fraction of what you might have had to spend on a regular purchase.

Lists—whether on a piece of paper, on your cellular phone, or on your personal digital assistant (PDA) will help you keep focused on what you have to buy, and in effect, keep track of the purchases you make. A classic example is your regular grocery trip. Prior to making the trip, plan out the week’s entire menu and identify what food items and materials you need to purchase that are unavailable in your pantry. Then, make a list of other household items that you’ve run out of (or are eventually going to run out of before you can make the next trip to the grocery). Armed with these lists, you can go to the grocery and know exactly where to go and what you’re going to buy. Without these lists, you will walk idly along aisles, and will likely pick up various food items that you won’t likely need in the immediate future, or already have at home.

A filing system is perhaps one of the best budgeting tools you can have in your home. With simple, labeled file folders, you can put together your bills, your receipts, and whatever bank documents are issued to you when you save or pay. By putting together your bills, your credit card receipts, and the like, you are able to keep track of how much you owe and when your payments are due.

Effective budgeting tools are those that best address your needs as a consumer. Create your own budgeting tool or find a program to do it for you—just make sure it suits your lifestyle.

Are We Being Realistic About The Housing Market?

I was watching the national news today and the housing sells reports were just released and they were up 6% for the month of September.  Just a week ago all the news media reports were crying about the housing marketing being down.  Well this report shows us that the news media is about 30 to 45 days behind the true facts about our economy.  And they are mostly in the business of getting us all upset and emotional so we will continue to tune into their shows.

Houseing Market Up 6% in Sept. 2010

Even though the September housing numbers showed a 6% increase the levels were down 14% from the 2005 numbers of 20%.  I have a few problems with using the 2005 numbers as a measure for the current September 2010 numbers.

Problem #1 – the 2005 numbers were partially based on fraud.  You don’t have to take my word, all you have to do is look at the numbers of foreclosures and the present and past news reports about the fraudulent loans that mortgage brokers were making to unqualified buyers.

Problem #2 – they picked 2005 because that was the peak of the housing boom.  With that fact being known there will never be another time that the housing marketing will have a 20% increase unless they go back to allowing fraudulent loans.

So understanding these facts are we being realistic about how much our economy should be growing?  A 6% increase in sales in the real estate market can equal billions of dollars in profits and millions of dollars in tax revenue for local, state and federal government to share.  There are other industry’s that benefit from the housing market such as furniture stores, home improvement stores (do it yourself), fence suppliers, painters, security companies, etc.

We need a healthy housing market but we need to be realistic and admit that the 2005 highs were partially based on fraudulent loans so we can’t realistically expect to reach those numbers again.

Here are the 7 Steps to getting your financial house in order…

1. Stabilizing your household situation – you’ll never be able to pay any debt if you can’t ensure that you and your family has a roof over your head, food on the table, utilities paid and transportation to and from work.

2. Set-up a budget – you’ll never understand how to management your money unless you know to the dollar what’s coming in and what’s going out.

3. Put together a debt elimination plan – when you have a budget you can put together a strategy to pay off your debt faster because you see what’s in front of you.

4. Establish an emergency fund – this is very important because most people use a credit card for an emergency fund and that’s a problem. If you have cash on hand more than likely you’ll rarely have emergencies and if you do have one you won’t have to go into debt to take care of it. I recommend at least $500 to $1,000 accessible cash with no penalties if used. While getting out of debt.

5. Review for acceleration of your debt elimination plan – once you have the other steps on paper there are several options that will open up for settlement offers on credit cards, automobiles, payday loans, etc.

6. Action + Action + Belief + Concentration = Tremendous Results – nothing will happen without you taking definite action with belief you can accomplish your goals and a high level of concentration to keep you focused on your goals.

7. Start saving for life experiences…Fun, Retirement, Generational Wealth

Before you sign up for any debt relief program such as bankruptcy, debt consolidation or credit counseling please read this FREE Consumer Guide To Getting Out Of Debt

http://therealdebtsolution.com/debtsolutionblog/getting-out-of-debt-consumers-guide-newly-released/

Kevin Powell: My Troubled Financial Life Mirrors Many In America

Former Reality TV Star from MTV’s “The Real World” has been under scrutiny for his financial troubles. Kevin Powell is now running for Congress representing Brooklyn, NY. He has appeared on national shows such as The Oprah Show and has been a great advocate for the rights of all people.

He just like many American’s has hit some rough bumps due to the current economic climate. He states in an interview that his mother always preached “save your money” but he didn’t take it to heart and when he was presented with opportunities in life he made more money but he didn’t save any money.

I’m going to provide the link to the entire article in a moment but for now I want to focus on what his mother preached “save your money”. From my research and personal experience this is exactly where the problem lays…we as parents think that our children listen to us, well sometimes they do but most of they time the imitate us.

So we can preach all we want to our children to do what’s right but 90% of what we say is disregarded but 90% of what we do is internalized by our children. If we save our money our children will save their money because we have made this an important aspect of our lives proving by example that it should be important to them.

I’ve seen this with my own children and the sooner you can set this example the sooner they will make saving money a real habit.

If you would like to read more about Kevin Powell Click Here!

Interview with 1290WMCS Radio

In this interview with Host Earl Ingram I’m discussing:
*How to get out of debt
*How to talk to creditors
*Mortgage modifications
*and some secrets that banks don’t want you to know about.
Plus Much More…

Click Here For Videos

Debt Collectors Forced to Pay $1.5m After Filthy, Racist Voicemails

A Texas debt collection company had a unique style for reminder voicemails to one black customer. “This is your motherfucking wake-up call you little lazy ass bitch. Get your motherfucking nigger ass up and go pick some motherfucking cotton fields.”

Allen Jones was told he owed $200 on some credit cards. He disputed the debt. The issue was apparently dealt with by a company called Advanced Call Center Technologies, LLC, back in 2007. They left eight or so voicemail messages demanding the money, according to the local news network, WFAA, who reported the story. The one transcribed above is apparently the mildest, and the only one they felt able to run in any form at all.

Jones sued and was awarded $50,000 for mental anguish and a whopping $1.5m in punitive damages. Here’s the report.

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There are rarely times that an individual can truly say “I saw it coming” and really mean it…

But I’m about to put my reputation on the line and make a very bold prediction!!!

By June, 2010 the housing market will crash again.  Single family housing!

But there will be a little twist…Not the purchasing market – the crash will consist of families that can’t afford to live in their homes anymore.

These will not be sub-prime homeowners like the last time.  This will be good credit / good job holding American’s.

So why will this happen?  DEBT!!!  These families have good jobs but they have too much debt.  They are about to start experiencing what I call a “Pyramid Effect”

If you were to draw a pyramid on a piece of  paper and at the top of the pyramid you start with the number 1 and under that 2 and keep going down until you get to the number 10.

As you go down you’ll obviously see the pyramid getting wider and wider.  Now draw a line down the middle of the pyramid.  The line represents Income – the number on the side represent accumulated debt!

I used this example because its a great way to demonstrate how your income would need to widen to keep up with your spending.

Unfortunately there is a point of ‘No Return’ a lot of these families will have to move and cut their lifestyle because they owe too much.

If you need help contact me or visit my website before it’s too late!

http://www.therealdebtsolution.com

Steven Williams
The Real Debt Solution, Inc,.
262-745-6879

Bank of America Mortgage Modification Plan – Good or Bad?

If you’ve been watching the news over the last year and a half it’s all about foreclosures and job loses.  Some states (Michigan, Nevada, California, Florida) have been crushed by foreclosures.  This has meant a steady decline in home values.  So the ripple effect is that people that want to sell their homes can’t get what they are worth and a lot of properties are sitting abandoned in certain neighborhoods.

The huge bailout that Wall Street received from us American Tax payers was suppose to help this situation but all they did was save their asses and pay-out big F”in Bonuses to employees that got us in the situation.  If you’ve been reading my blog postings you know that I don’t dwell on the past.  So the President and congress has came up with a program asking banks that took government money to figure out a plan to help people keep their homes.

So here’s their new plan:  Bank of America is the only bank that has stepped up so far…you must be 2 payments behind and your mortgage must be 25% more than your home is worth on the market.  If this is the case you will be eligible to refinance your home at a lower interest rate, the mortgage company will forgive the 25% principal that you are upside down in value and lower your monthly mortgage payment.

Sound’s good so far for the people that just got into trouble but what about the people that have kept up their payments?  They never want to really do what can really help people get back in shape financially.

Problem #1 – the 25% forgiven principal will not just go away.  The mortgage company is going to write that off and send the family a 1099 form for that amount as income.  BIG TAX HIT!  You see…we can run away from a house and mortgage company if we can’t afford it, but UNCLE SAM – Tax Man we can’t run from.

Problem #2 – it doesn’t stop these families from refinancing again.  I’m not into telling people what to do, but I’ve seen families in my neighborhood get new stuff by refinancing their homes and using the money to pay for it.  Not understanding that they would have to pay it all back some day.

Problem #3 – are they going to do credit checks?  If so, that may disqualify 99% of the applicants.

Problem #4 – are they going to do a full income verification?  If so, that may disqualify 99% of the applicants.

Stay tuned for more information as its released.  The details are still sketchy.

The Best Solution Get Out Of Debt Now…

27 Bank Closures in 2010

As of Friday March 19, 2010 – 7 more banks were shutdown by the FDIC.

The banks were drowning in real estate debt from making loans that they shouldn’t have been making.  But who’s fault is that the consumer or the bank?  The bank loan officer’s job is to qualify people and if they made loans to people that didn’t qualify that’s fraud on their part not the consumer.

Also I beat that these bankers credit won’t get messed up or their reputations either.  They will just move on to another high paying bank job or they might still be in charge of the new bank after its taken over by the FED.

Don’t give the people anymore of your hard earned money…Get Out Of Debt ASAP  Click Here:

Murder Because Of Debt

A very disturbing trend is on the rise. Families that find themselves with overwhelming debt are resorting to unbelievable measures to escape the pain!
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Recent Headlines/Stories:
A suicide note left open and held down with salt and pepper shakers was found on the kitchen counter. In it, 42-year-old Jihad Hassan Moukalled expressed remorse about gambling debts and “clearly indicated he was sorry he had to take the lives of his wife and children,” Police Chief William Dwyer said. The victims were identified as his wife, Fatima, 31; daughter Aya, 7; son Adam, 5; and daughter Lila, who would have turned 3 on Saturday. Struggling Business Dwyer said Moukalled, who owns an Oak Park printing business, put his gambling debts at close to $100,000, “but I’m sure it’s much higher.”

FREDERICK, Md. — A Maryland father who shot his wife and three children to death and then killed himself struggled with depression, had $450,000 in debt and nearly decapitated his kids after they had died, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES — Ervin and Ana Lupoe had planned to move closer to family in Kansas to weather the financial storm their lives had fallen into. But a bounced check to the Internal Revenue Service last week may have changed those plans, police detectives said Wednesday, digging the couple deeper into mounting mortgage debt. Instead of building a new life, Mr. Lupoe killed his wife and five children hours before shooting himself in the head on Tuesday morning.
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These families didn’t get into debt overnight and but I believe they were under the impression that they could fix it overnight.  Because we live in a “Get It Now…Get It Fast…Pay Later” society.  Many families that find themselves with overwhelming debt think they can file bankruptcy, debt consolidate or refinance their way out of their debt problem.

But they are mistaken!  Even if they were to file for bankruptcy or debt consolidate they will find themselves right back in trouble within 6 months to a year and their problems are usually double as bad as they were.

Getting out of debt takes a total mindset change.  You must be willing to stop buying things on credit and start to live on a budget and start paying down your debts.  Yes there are strategies that you can use as you move forward but you must start with a those two things first.

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