Plan for it now, so no regrets later.

I got a call the other day from a survey taker, who asked me if she could have 10 minutes of my time. I don’t always, but I decided to take the call. She wanted my opinion on Christmas spending--how I thought the economy would effect people’s spending this holiday season, and if I thought the latest increase in the national debt would have anything to do with holiday spending. I gave her my opinions on the subject and hung up the phone

Unless you don’t own a TV or radio, you’ve likely heard about our government’s troubles over the past few months regarding the national debt. In May of this year we hit our “ceiling” at $14.29 trillion. Essentially we, as a nation, maxed out our credit limit. Congress had until August 2nd to come up with a solution. The solution proposed was a package of budget cuts and an

increase in the debt ceiling--a $2.4 trillion increase that allows more borrowing into 2013. This is all still in the works, and I’m sure we’ll continue hearing lots more about it.

This roused my interest so I logged onto the US Debt Clock.org website. The figures that our government owes are mind boggling. But what I found even more interesting is that the “total personal debt” owed by American consumers actually exceeds the national debt. American consumers owe over $16 trillion. The government’s solution is to raise their credit limit, and worry about the consequences later. But what about you? Will credit card companies continue to raise your credit limits when you hit your ceilings on your credit cards? Of course not! 

There's an old saying that was inscribed onto a sign on President Truman's desk back in the 40's: "The Buck Stops Here." This was meant to indicate that he didn't "pass the buck" to anyone else, but accepted personal responsibility for the way the country was governed. Our current administration seems to have misplaced that sign, but that's another story. As consumers we have a personal responsibility to ourselves to do something about all of thisdebt we've accumulated. Stop using credit cards! Make purchases on a "need to have" basis, and only buy it if you have the money for it. This is definitely the way to go. You can make a difference in that debt calculator by personally taking responsibility for your OWN debt.

Back to the subject of Christmas. Start planning for it now so you won’t have to pull your credit cards out at the last minute. Take advantage of sales between now and then, pay cash and stash it. Tuck money away every week so that you have it available in December. If you do a little planning now, you won’t have those regrets in January and February when the credit card bills start rolling in. 

The Debt Lady Says, “Plan for it now, so no regrets later.”

How to positively begin building your credit at a young age

The most important thing to do with teens, whether they go to college or not, is to fully educate them on how to handle their bank accounts.  Then on how to understand interest rates, on credit cards, car loans etc.  They should know how to balance their check book and budget their money.  Once, done and they want to try to establish some sort of credit, they need to be aware of the FCRA.  Or Fair Credit Reporting Act and make sure they understand it.  Also, their FICO score is going to play a major factor in their life and they have to know what makes a good credit score and a bad one. 

When starting out a teen should first have the ability to pay back the credit before they apply for it.  Then they should try for a gas card, a department store card, JC Penny’s is pretty good about giving those out, a capital one card, or a secured card.  If they have a co-signer, they could look at getting a car in their name.  If they get a credit card, they need to realize that when the statement says they owe $10. that’s really not correct because of the interest accruing and that it is only a minimum payment.   They should never go over 50% of the balance of any card if they want to establish “good” credit.  They should never pay minimums and try to pay off the card within 2 to 3 months if possible.  If they pay it off every month, they will not establish credit because they are not really using it as credit.  They should never go over 3 cards, and should always keep them low.  When they get a car loan, they should make 2 to 4 payments a month on the loan, even if it is the amount of the loan in total, this way the principle gets paid faster. 

If they fully understand how this all works, and can handle their money, they wont get into a bad situation.  However, if they spend too freely on credit cards and don’t take into consideration the ramifications of what will happen if they don’t pay, they will get into a situation where they can not pay and it could hurt their credit for 7 to 10 years.

I hope this helps you!

Thought of the day

Whatever you say and whatever you do, they will wish you hell or high water. 

Their dreams will be empty and lost within the lies of unbelievers. 

You have the right to rise above the lies.

You remain a light in the lives of many.  

Yet why do you save so few? 

The light is within you and all around you.

The light alone, will set them free.

The day seems brighter today!

“The day seems brighter today as I drive through the city.  My mind is clear and my thoughts are quieted.  I like this feeling of peace and serenity that has over come my entire being.  My bills are paid and my life is fantastic.”

Isn’t this what we all want to go through our heads every day?  I know that I do!  Oh yeah, I did because I wrote it didn’t I?  sometimes I find myself being the biggest dork that I know.  And who knows maybe someday my blog will make sense.

How can anyone decide?

I walked through the aisles and couldn’t make up my mind, did I want a green one, a blue one, a short one or a fat one?  Did I want it covered in fur or flannel or silk.  Did I want it loud or soft, silent or screaming at the top of its lungs.  Would it have eyes and a mouth or silver nails and a spout?  Did it come with all of the attachments or were there other pieces to make it work?  Are the batteries included?  Are all the parts there?  Does the thing come assembled?  Would it be heavy or light?  Could I get it in my car or do I have to have it delivered?   How can anyone decide on what kind of cereal to buy? 

My story is that of a collector at a collection agency

My story starts at a collection agency and ends at a collection agency.  My story is that of a collector at a collection agency.  The collector at the collection agency collected money.  The money that the collector collected was money that was owed by the consumer for credit cards.  Credit cards are things that collectors collect.  Collectors call consumers to collect money for credit cards.  Credit cards accrue interest.  Interest is also money that collectors collect.  Consumers don’t have money to give the collector because they are too busy buying toys for their entertainment center.  The collector doesn’t care that the consumer doesn’t have the money for his entertainment center.  The collector collects the money by any means possible.  The collector will threaten the consumer and the consumer will become scared.  Once the consumer is scared the collector has won.  The consumer will pay the debt in 6 monthly installments, keep the entertainment center and not make a car payment, or a house payment to pay for the credit card.  The collector will smile through the phone because he was won.  He was never going to do anything with the threats, because they were only threats. The consumer, not being able to pay for his house or his car payment, has to come up with additional money and he can not.  He is now 3 months behind and gets his car repossessed.  Then, trying to get his car back he has to pay a huge amount of money, with interest, penalties, storage fees, tow fees and some “guy” fees and he still has not paid his mortgage.  Now his mortgage is 6 months behind and he gets a foreclosure notice.  He has to move out of his house and into an apartment.  He has to get rid of his dog, Fido, his cat, Julianne and his fish, Reggie.  His 2 kids have to change schools and his wife divorces him for buying an entertainment center.  The collector at the collection agency calls the consumer to tell him that his final check has bounced.  The phone number is disconnected.

The moral of the story is:  Don’t buy it if you can’t pay for it!  PERIOD!!!

A little fun

I never saw a credit card that was a friendly reminder that the men in black will wear armor to judge the criminals that salvage a campaign for the presidential establishment and the economic worries of no more than three heads of statements that come in the mail once a month and give us the worst possible news reporters don’t know what they’re talking about and never had a way of bringing peace of mind to the millions of people, places and things that enjoy a good cup of coffee beans that end up in their mugs after a good swiping of the plastic in their wallets

Using someone else’s money

Credit cards are what I want

They make me feel alive

I buy the things on sale, or not

With them I can survive.

Credit card companies love me

They send me offers all the time

I wish I had more friends like them

If I need it they’ll give me a dime.

Last night I went to the movies

I saw the latest hit

I went to swipe my card for ice cream

And it wouldn’t give me shit.

She said my card was declined

She looked at me like I was scum

She said you can’t have your ice cream

Now get out of here you bum. 

I walked away from the counter

With people looking at my face

I couldn’t look back at them

They were laughing all over the place.

I drove back home to my place

Feeling pretty grim

My gas tank was on empty

And the lights were going dim.

I knew my car was stopping

I knew I was out of luck

No more credit in my wallet

I couldn’t even buy ground chuck.

There is a lesson to be learned

From using someone else’s money

One day you’ll find yourself alone

Eating bread and honey.

Make the decision

Today I was surrounded by four people that couldn’t make up their mind which way to go on something.  There was confusion and a few of them were frustrated because they didn’t know what to do under the circumstances.  I butt in, like I always do when I have an opinion, and made the decision.  They all looked at me and smiled, the room seemed lighter.  We finished off the meeting and by the end of it, everyone was in agreement and happy. 

All it took was someone making the decision and then everything fell into place.  Waffling back and forth never accomplished anything, making the decision is how things get done, and if it is the right decision then everybody goes into agreement and it works itself out.  Whether you are talking to your kids, about your marriage or your credit card debt, it just doesn’t matter.   Just make the decision and roll with it.

Live a happy, debt free life!

I always thought that the reason a person did something was because they wanted to do it and it made them happy.  I see too many people that go day to day unhappy and don’t enjoy life.  Most of the problems in this society stem from the “economy.”  Americans can’t do this and they can’t do that because of the economy, yet American advertising entices them with the biggest and the best and the most mega bites.  So which way do you go?  Do you work in a dead end job that you hate that pays like crap and go home to a family that disrespects you and spends most of their time in front of those large screen mega bites and 3D visuals?  Or do you have a great job where you make the money that you need to live a comfortable life with NO credit card debt?  I don’t know about you but I would take the latter any day.  It comes down to a one word simplicity.  Knowingness.  If you know how to handle your credit card debt and your money, then you would have an easier time seeing what you want and going for it.  You would be able to reach for the stars without the huge problem of money in front of your face, blocking your view from what was really important in your life, like a loving family and a happy life.  Know what you want and go for it.  Understand how to handle it and handle it.  Simplicity and persistence, honesty and integrity, love and be loved and live a happy, debt free life.

The Debt Lady has spoken!

Can't manage your credit card debt?

Lost in a whirlwind of credit card debt she asked me what to do.  She was crying.  I looked her in the eye and told her that it was going to be alright and gave her a hanky.  She took it without thinking and wiped her eyes.  "I can't pay all of this." She said through tears, gesturing to the mountain of credit card debt before her.  I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Lets take it one step at a time." I said in a soft voice.  She was listening.  She wanted to know what I knew.  I picked up the first statement and wrote the amount on the spreadsheet, then the next and the next and added it all up.  She was amazed to see what the final figures were and realized that it wasn't as bad as she thought and that she could confront it.  I told her everything that I knew about it.  I took that horrible problem from her and with the information I gave her she was able to confront it, deal with it and understand it.  She realized in that moment that because she didn't know how to handle it before that she was consumed by the problem.  But when she did know, she could see past it, and flourish and prosper because of the knowledge. 

The Debt Lady Says, Get the knowledge so that you too can flourish and prosper. 

The lighter side of debt

Johnny had a little debt

Its name was Citibank

And everywhere that Johnny went

His card was sure to go

He bought a pair of jeans one day

And a computer with his card

Next he tried some Girl Scout cookies

But the card said no, no, no

Now Johnny’s little card

Has turned into quite a debt

And everywhere that Johnny goes

Cash is all that’s spent