FINANCIAL FREEDOM TWO

4 Smart Tips to Using Credit Cards

 

Plastic money, which comes in form of credit cards, is really loved and highly used. There is nothing you cannot purchase with one swipe of the credit card. Credit companies make a multi billion dollars kill every year on credit card users. This kill is made when they deduct their charges and when they fine you for late payments, transfers and over-limits. However, a credit card can be a good servant if used wisely but a bad master when used unwisely. As a matter of fact, you can even get bonuses when you learn how to wisely use your plastic. The following tips will be of great help to you.

 

1.       There are many credit card companies to choose from; choose the best. The best credit card you can have is one that has good rates of interest and an open bonus system. Some credit cards usually have rewards for you, if you use it wisely. The rewards range from cash back to college fees for your kids. You can have a look at the customer reviews on a credit card before choosing it to be your plastic. Such reviews will give you the best image of the credit card, and the experiences of other customers will help you make the right choice.

2.      Avoid carrying balances on your plastic. Credit card companies reward those who have a clean record when it comes to having balances in their credit cards. Paying off the balances usually relieves you of the burden of paying huge amounts of interest. Make it your aim to pay off any balance in your credit card ever month.

3.      Learn how to communicate with your credit card company. When you have a balance that has been forwarded to the next month, pick up your phone and talk to your credit card company and see whether it is possible for the interest rate to be cut down. However, you can only benefit from such a step if you have previously kept a clean record of clearing balances with the company.

4.      Avoid cash advances like plague. As a matter of fact, use cash advances only when you are faced with an emergency and there is no other way out. It is very easy to ask for a cash advance, because when you get it you feel as if you have been given free money. However, such advances usually attract heavy interests and charges when you delay payment.

 

Use these smart tips when you use credit cards and then you will not feel them to be the monster that they are usually touted to be.

 

Debt Consolidation and Debt Refinancing—Ways to Become Debt-Free

 

The fact that you are reading this article shows that you have come to the decision that you want to reduce your debts, and this is quite commendable. However, consolidating your debts is not as easy as it sounds; you need strategy and determination.

                                  

You first need to know the adverse effects that debts have on you. You may be in dire need of property, a car or starting capital for business, and you may need financing. As long as you have a trail of debts after you, then you can rest assured that no financer will look you way. Therefore, your hands become tied.

 

Debt consolidation is usually the first step you should take in mending your broken credit history. Debt consolidation does not make all your debts vanish into thin air; what this does is that interest rates go down when debts are consolidated. The fact that you pay less interest on your debts means that you are able to pay your debts much faster that you would have if you had not consolidated them. There are many financers who give nice debt consolidation loans, and you should consider getting one. I must mention at this point that the better your credit history is, the easier it is to get a debt consolidation loan.

 

You might want to consolidate your debt by other means except getting a consolidation loan. Well, if you own a home, there is good news for you. You can put up your home for a mortgage refinancing scheme that can be used to pay all other creditors, leaving you with only one – the mortgage financier.

 

However, if the above options do not suit you because you are limited due to one reason or the other, then all is not lost. You can get yourself a debt management agency to get the consolidation job done for you. The advantage with such agencies is that they can get your debts consolidated without you necessarily having a home or any other form of security. Consider consolidating your debts especially when you have gotten to a point where your debts are unmanageable.

 

You can do the application online to the relevant agency. Searching for the agencies via the internet is advantageous because you have a range of agencies to choose from. Go through various agencies online before deciding on which one you will choose.

 

How to Become Financially Free by Yearend

 

Becoming financially free by the end of the year is possible if you take control of your money and life style and stick to your intention as the highest priority. Even if you are in debt right now, with some planning, you can end the year with savings in the bank if you take time to do some financial planning now and make goals to help you achieve your objective.

 

1.       Begin by taking a personal inventory about the true state of your financial affairs as they look today. Create two columns and in one column list the money saved and assets you have available  and your  regular salary or other source of income The goal of financial planning is to be able to pay the bills in the second column from what is available in the first column and still save money

 

2.      The second step is to create a weekly budget. Base your budget estimate on your weekly income.

 

·         Begin by estimating your weekly income before you pay bills or do anything else with your money.

·         Put a minimum of 10- 20% of your weekly income before bills into a savings account

·          Then work out how much you expect to need to pay in bills this month. Include all debts as well as utility and other bills you may have or expect to receive. Ensure you budget to pay more than the minimum amount on your debts. If you only pay the minimum required you will not achieve your goal of being debt free.

·         Divide that amount by four and this will give you a weekly amount you will need to subtract from your income to cover your end of month bills.

·         Allocate any remaining money for personal use, to increase bill repayments or to increase savings.

 

3.      The third step is to look for alternative income sources if your expenditures (not including personal use money) are greater than your income. This may mean taking a second job or looking for a higher paying job. Short-term pain will equal long-term gain.

 

4.      Stop using any credit cards and never use them to pay for food or clothes or utility bills. Repay them as soon as possible to reduce interest on repayments.

 

By focusing on these steps, your financial freedom by this year’s end is very achievable.

 

 

Managing Festival Expenses—Celebrate without Feeling the Pinch on the Wallet

 

Festive seasons come every year, and these are seasons in which retail traders make a killing. TV and radio stations make a lot of money on advertisements in such festive seasons. The online sites are flooded with advertisements that are very glittery and catchy to the eye. Everybody is caught up in the festive mood of the season, and the cash in their pockets starts to itch. When this happens, people start buying whatever they set their eyes on and they spend even without thinking; after all, tomorrow has its own shares of trouble, doesn’t it? So why deprive yourself of today’s pleasures for a tomorrow whose materialization is not even guaranteed?

 

Well, festive seasons will always come as long as there is a year and a calendar. Therefore, do not get too fussy with them. Be very practical and sensible as you spend during a festive season. Do not buy what is somewhat unnecessary; why invest $200 on a decoration that will be used for a few hours only to be disposed off the next day? Be very innovative and creative so that you will not have to buy everything. Consider going for a one-day lesson on making nice ice cream, yoghurt, ketchup and hot sauce. This way, you will never have to worry about such things when you are hosting your guests during a festive season.

 

It is an all time practice to exchange gifts, say during festive seasons of Easter and Christmas. However, it is not necessary to do so. Okay, before you kill me, let me explain why and show you how. You have a family of say seven (dad, mum and kids). You have short term and long term goals as a family, say moving into your own home or getting a new car or starting a business. If this is so, what is so hard in having a family discussion and deciding that you will not do the religious exchanging of gifts for the sake of your family long term goals?

 

It is not easy to resist spending on the glittery and expensive wares for the festive season, especially when you know that you can use your credit card to make purchases. However, resist over spending as much as you can. This way, you will be able to enjoy the whole year without paying debts you never budgeted for in the first place. Delayed gratification is the secret.

 

What Financial Freedom Actually Means

 

With the cost of living constantly rising and people’s personal debt on the increase, the question of financial freedom is in most people’s minds. How to achieve it and live a life that is debt free, or at the least, where the ability to pay every day expense’s and provide for the family without needing to go into debt is the goal for most people.

 

Achieving financial freedom need not be difficult. People with a poor credit rating can turn their lives around and achieve a better rating simply by making financial goals for their life. Financial planning is not just for the rich and famous. Anyone who wants to achieve financial freedom must and should engage in financial planning.

 

Financial planning is about taking control of your financial situation instead of allowing it to control you. It is about creating goals and then committing to them. The reward for this action is the financial freedom you are craving. It will enable you to be debt free and saving money regularly, while also having money to spend on the things you enjoy most in life.

 

Achieving financial freedom involves three major steps that you should plan on.

 

Creating a budget

 

Creating a budget means ensuring income does not exceed expenditure and the goal of the budget is to create a life style plan that covers all expenses and provides extra for saving and personal spending. It involves not only listing the current income sources, but potential other sources to increase income if required. The interest paid on debts is a constant drain on finances. While it may seem logical to pay out small debts and then focus on the large ones, in fact paying off the larger debts first will save money in the long term.

 

Living by that Budget

 

A budget is only as successful if there is commitment to live within the budget and resist impulse buying and anything that may cause voluntary over expenditure. The exception to this rule is the true emergency, which although not budgeted is covered by the savings plan you have put in place. If you have plans to buy household furniture or other expensive items, delay doing this you are debt free

 

Increasing Savings

 

Allocate a weekly fixed amount of money as savings. Do not compromise on this amount for any reason. It is your key to future financial freedom.