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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of January 18, 2010This is an OPT-IN list ONLY! If you feel that you have received this message in error, please follow the directions at the bottom of this email to unsubscribe. Thank you.Click Here to view this newsletter online. Navigate This ColumnGrandpa Terry's Update Welcome to The Budget Stretcher! I've put together several links that where you can get free information about several topics that I believe will interest you. Federal Citizen Information Center http://tinyurl.com/6q5em Federal Citizen Information Center - Electronic Publications http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/specpubs.htm#MM 2009 Consumer Action Handbook - 176 Pages http://www.consumeraction.gov/pdfs/2009_Handbook_Web_Version.pdf Here is a web site offered by The Weather Channel that can help you save on your heating bills this winter: http://tinyurl.com/5y2nq If you are like many people you simply get your paycheck, sit down and write out your bills and put money back to cover your expenses until next payday. While that is part of the money management process it doesn't give you a "Picture" of your overall financial situation. At the very least you need to know how much income you have, what your bills come to and what you have left over for your expenses each month. This can be done on a simple piece of scrap paper. One other area that is vitally important is to have some money put back to cover those unexpected expenses that seem to popup on a regular basis. Just by having a few hundred dollars put back to fix the car or replace your TV you can save a lot of money by not using credit cards. The absence of this short term savings is what gets many people in trouble. We have a lot of new subscribers and I am getting the emails again that ask me to "direct their email to the appropriate department" or "have your staff get back to me"! I'm also getting those emails that refer to me as "Mr. Rigg". I would like to put a picture in your mind about what Budget Stretcher offices look like. There is 1 bald headed guy sitting at a computer with papers and files (neatly) placed around that computer. This computer is located in a room in my house. I start my workday at about 4:30 in the morning by checking and answering my email. I do this several times a day. Then it's time to update my web sites with stuff I've accumulated the previous day. On Thursday morning I start putting together our newsletter. I use web sites I visited the previous week, tips submitted by you folks and other email that I've received with articles and other info that I think you will be interested in. Basically what I'm saying is that there are no departments or staff to run them. Budget Stretcher is a one man operation where there is no doubt who to blame if something is wrong! I don't mind being called Mr. Rigg by someone that is trying to sell me something, but for you folks I prefer either Terry or Grandpa Terry (your choice). It may also be important for you to know that I'm not some financial guru with a bunch of letters after my name. Any insight I have into solving financial problems either comes from my personal experiences (I've been where most of you are, or worse) or what I've learned since starting Budget Stretcher over 10 years ago. If you want to know a little more about me and Budget Stretcher you can visit my About page at: http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/About.html That's all for now. Remember, I really enjoy hearing from you folks. If you have any comments, complaints, suggestions or just want to say Hi, please send me an email to tre2000@midwest.net If you know someone that may be interested in subscribing to our newsletter just copy and paste the below link into an email to them and have them subscribe: http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/confirmsubs.html Have a great week, Grandpa Terry Sponsor AdvertisementEffective immediately and for the foreseeable future you can get the below products for only $5! Please take advantage of the Specials: The Complete Budget and Bill Organizer (ORDER THROUGH THIS LINK) The Quick-Find Filing System The Bill Pay Management System Grandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekBy Terry Rigg The total American consumer debt reached $2.4 trillion in 2006. There are literally hundreds of ways to eliminate your debt. You can't turn on the TV, listen to the radio, open a newspaper or click on a web page link without hearing or seeing the latest miracle method to get you out of debt. Some of these methods can actually be very effective. For example, a debt consolidation loan using the equity in your home can significantly reduce the interest you pay each month. Others like debt settlement or debt negotiations can have a negative impact on your credit rating. Some companies promise to help you rebuild your credit rating after settlement but this is a slow process no matter whether they do it or you do it yourself. This method, along with bankruptcy should only be considered if all other options fail. Before you consider any option to eliminate your debt you need to find out why you are considering this in the first place. Simply obtaining a loan or settling your debt is not going to solve the problem for most people. The odds are good that once you have your debt under control you will start piling it on again. This is because most people take these actions without a plan to prevent this from happening again. Another important point that you should consider is that for some there is no need to go through a 3rd party for help with your debt. It's very possible that you have all the money you need to pay your debts and other expenses and have the ability to impact the interest rates you pay. I'm not just talking about a budget but a real plan for what you want your money to do for you. A budget is just part of the process. A real financial plan starts with setting your long and short term goals and working backwards from there. Every financial decision you make should be directed toward achieving your goals. Your budget will simply be a tool to show you what you have and what your obligations are. Most importantly, it will put you in control of your finances so that you can make educated decisions regarding your spending and savings. There is absolutely nothing wrong with consolidating your debt to get out from under those high interest rate credit cards. But if you are not careful you may end up with the consolidation loan payment and even more credit card debt. If you are dead set on using one of the debt elimination methods to reduce your payments, take the time to consider what you are going to do differently in the future to make sure you don't wind up in the same situation, or worse in a year or so. Sponsor AdvertisementAre you frustrated trying to get by on the money you make? Would you like to get a good view to where all your money is going? Would you like to start saving your money, or save even more? Looking for something easier then software like Quicken or Money? Would you like to teach your children about finance? Click Here to check out My Budget Planner Today Grandpa Terry's EmailCan You Help This Subscriber?Hello again Terry, I am having a dilemma and I am not sure how to solve it. I have done some of my own research, but I juat want to make a wise decision. I recently graduated from a well known college here in Minnesota with a associates degree. However, because I do not have enough experience, I have not found work in my field of choice. I have a job, but not where I want to be forever, and not in the field for what I went to school for, which was by the way, Criminal Justice. I have decided I do now want to be a police officer and I would rather go into the field of Social Services. Unfortunately, I need a bachelors degree for this. Now comes my dilema. When I began researching schools for social sciences, Argosy university was the first to answer my questions. They sounded good and they had a good psyc program and of course they were just as expensive as all the other. They are also located in Minnesota, not far from my home and once a week I am required to actually attend my classes at school. Then Ashford University called me and on my learning would be online. The main campus is in Clinton Iowa. I do not know much about this school and they have called me several times and have used high pressure tactics. The individual said Argosy is more expensive and you would be spending XXX dollars more for your education. Cheaper is not always better right? Makes me wonder what kind of education I will be getting if they are truely cheaper. This has been going on back and forth for almost three weeks. Then last week, Ashford calls me and tells me my online class starts today and you should log on. They originally said my class would not start till the 12th which is today. So I was not prepared and I felt I was pushed into a comittment without taking a breath in between. If I do not continue with my class, will I be charged for that class? Where can I get more information about colleges. I am confused as what I should do. Any input would be helpful. Thank-you. Denice Grandpa Terry, wanted to share what my husband and I have found to be a big help for Christmas and other expenses. Checking all our area banks, we found one that pays 2.5% interest on their Christmas clubs. We got 3 for $1,000.00 and 1 for $500.00. Our taxes come due just about the time the bank pays out. This has been a real help. Last year they paid 4% but dropped down when they started up again last Oct. But its still good considering what banks are now paying on saving accounts and CD's. Sincerely, Joan Dear Grandpa Terry, Again, thank you for a very insightful newsletter. The timing of the articles, as always, is "assigned" with the times. Pun intended. I just read Jim Wang's article about the credit card companies and banks raising their fees ad nauseum. Some fees I can certainly understand; there are others, however, which make no sense at all. For example: A too-big-to-fail bank I currently have a simple checking account with has decided to charge me an inactivity fee. It seems silly because I have a monthly ACH going into the account. So what if I don't want to use this checking account to put purchases on that the moment. That is my choice. But the account shouldn't be labeled as "inactive" if there is indeed something going on. You'd think they would be happy to see money going into it. I guess I am not costing them any money because I opt to for the month not to use my Visa debit card at a major supercenter. I'm also not costing them any money because I don't get overdrafts. So, it then becomes an automatic $4.99 a month. Creative, but very foolish on their part. Have you heard the latest in the news about people (thus far it is around 8,000 and could keep growing) who have moved their money to their local credit unions or community banks. This gluttonous need for feeing people to death has backfired thus far. It's the inevitable grassroots movement that is slowly catching on by people who have simply had it. Money is moved and credit cards are cut up and eventually paid off....but not closed. Other than closing my checking account outright, I am not having trouble with a couple of my credit cards. But I've noticed the ones I have had for a very long time have higher rates. None of this has caused me to get my BP up; it isn't worth it. I just shake my head to see how else I can be proactive about it. IMO, it's good that others have already done so, and like a domino effect, can expect others to do the same. Time will tell. Jo My Response Hi Jo, No, I haven't heard about the people that are moving their accounts. The credit card companies are setting themselves up for a fall. The consumer will take a lot of abuse but at some point, like you said, it backfires. I have a few inactive credit cards. If they start charging a fee I will simply cancel them and not do business with that company again, DUH!! It's going to be interesting to watch the credit card companies once the new law takes affect next month. I don't think we've seen their real creative side yet. All the best, Grandpa Terry Hi Grandpa Terry! I hope you had a safe and warm Christmas! I can't imagine paying $250 a month, not to mention $400 for cell phone service. Have they every considered using ATT's GoPhone service? You can put as much or as little money as you want on each phone, and when it runs out you are done talking until you refill it. That would teach the kids budgeting of time as well as money. If any minutes are left over at the end of the month they roll over and are not lost. The GoPhone.com program has two calling plans. I have found this to be a very effective way to control my cellular expenses and still have a cell phone for emergencies. Catherine I have one, but have it "set" for calls only-- no texting, no internet, no sending pictures to anybody (even though it does have a camera). It was the simplest phone available that had the one feature I did want-- that little thingie to attach a cell phone "charm" loop (so I could hook the phone to my purse-- I lost my first one because it fell out somewhere). It's mainly for emergency contact/roadside assistance calls, and for long distance calls (we dropped the long distance service on our land-line... saves about $10/mo, after all the taxes and surcharges). I've never come anywhere near using up even half my monthly "minutes". I soon will need to "upgrade" my phone, though-- not because I want more or improved "features", but because they are no longer making the replacement battery for the phone I have. Except for regular phone calls and the loop attachment, I really don't see any need for "features": If I want pictures, I have a real digital camera; if I want to email somebody, or "surf" the internet, I have a computer at home, and if I "need" to do so while "away", with a bit of planning, I have a netbook I can bring along.... My phone service is part of a family plan-- hubby needs a phone for work, so his employer pays part of his service, and I and #2 son are "add ons" for ~ $11/mo each. Total monthly bill is about $67 (including all those surcharges, etc.). #1 son choose to get his own phone service, because he wants texting, internet, and photo sharing-- his choice, and he pays for it himself. As far as I know, people can share plans with family members, even when they don't live together, as long as it is all on one bill. Some phone plans allow "free" calls to other users of their service-- the calls don't count towards the "minutes" on your plan, nor do you pay for them if you use up you included minutes. Something homeless/abuse shelters are doing now, is giving out cell phones set to call only 911(no service charges). If something like this could be made "commercially" available (maybe with an additional option for roadside assistance), that would be very helpful for those who don't really NEED more. Kaytee www.simplexities.net www.simplexities.etsy.com www.facebook.com/Simlpexities Dear Terry, I don't have a cell phone either, and I really, really don't want one. I work from home [writing and caring for my disabled husband] so I don't feel it is necessary to have one, and the expense is prohibitive. Plus I just don't like them. People are so rude in answering them when they are in the middle of a sentence, hold up a line at the store or talk so loud everyone in a two-block radius is forced to listen. I've even heard talk that the phone companies are thinking of getting rid of land lines, since so many people are switching to cell phones only. Outrageous! Thanks for letting me vent. Best, Shaunna in ND The Discount Diva http://shaunna67.tripod.com/id21.html Featured Articleby Rachel Paxton I'm forever looking for ways to get better organized. It's even more of a challenge when you have a family to keep track of. The schedules, shopping lists, and tomorrow's to-do's are always being lost or shuffled from one place to another. I've put together a family organizer that helps me keep track of my family's activities from week to week. This organizer makes it easy to keep track of almost anything. One day I was looking at the ready-made templates that came with my word processing program, and I noticed there were many home-related templates already made up for me to use for my organizer. There was a monthly calendar and a weekly menu planner and grocery shopping list. I made a calendar for every month of the year to write important dates to remember, and printed out enough weekly menu planners to last a month or two. The weekly meal planner has columns for every day of the week with "Breakfast, " "Lunch, " and "Dinner" listed for each day. Every weekend you write in your meals for the week, and then make up a shopping list to take to the grocery store. The menu planner has a place at the bottom to write in your shopping list, or you could make up a separate list. Download a free menu planner template from http://www.creativehomemaking.com/download.shtml . Just print, and photocopy as needed for your organizer. The best way to organize your calendars and menu planners is in a three-ring binder. You can buy dividers that already have the months of the year printed on them. Just file your monthly calendars in the binder with your weekly menu planners in between. This is just the start. You can create sections in your binder for whatever you want. For instance, file your children's school or sports schedules in your organizer. Just punch holes in the pages and file them in the appropriate month. You could also include a list of phone numbers and addresses, or a list of family birthdays and anniversaries. You can buy folders for your binder that have pockets in them. Make one for greeting cards and one for coupons. How about one for your monthly bills? The possibilities are endless. One of the great things about the family organizer is that it keeps so many things handy and in a central location. Now if someone wants to know what's for dinner or has something to add to the grocery shopping list they can refer to the organizer themselves. We keep ours in the kitchen next to the microwave, where it's easily accessible. If you're afraid of pages getting messed up, sheet protectors work great. You can design a cover, too, and slip it into the front of the binder. Family organizers are fun to make, relatively inexpensive, and limited only by your imagination. Start getting your family's schedules in order today! Originally published at Suite 101 . Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer, mom, and owner of four home and family web sites. For complete resources for the Christian home, visit her web site at http://www.Christian-Parent.com . Click here for a printer friendly version of this page. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter . Receive new article links via the Web, SMS, or instant messages via Twitter ! Recommend this article to a friend! Search our article archives . 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