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Protect Your Data

Whenever you use any of your credit cards or cards with personal information in public, hold them with all your information covered until the cashier needs them. Should you lay them down face up, the people around you can take your information by taking a picture with their cell phones. A neighbor learned this the hard way.

Janelle

Compliments of The Dollar Stretcher

Have You Been To The Grocery Store Lately? "Ouch!!"

I know your grocery budget is hurting. Let Michelle Jones, a.k.a "The Coupon Lady" and Frugal Mom of 4, show you how to easily cut your grocery bill by 30% with FREE Printable Grocery COUPONS and a lot more! Don't delay, get started saving TODAY...

http://www.GrocerySavingTips.com

Save the Bananas

Time to Negotiate

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Consumer Lending and Personal Credit Guide

LendersMark.org is a consumer credit website with a growing collection of bad credit loans, debt consolidation, and mortgage-related articles. If you are a mortgage expert, loan / lending officer, or operate a credit organization, we encourage you to submit articles that may be of particular interest to our readers.

http://www.lendersmark.org/

These Tips provided by The Frugal Shopper

Please show your appreciation for these great tips by visiting this site.

Grocery Shopping Tips

AFTER SHOPPING

Always return a product that is spoiled.

Send off for rebates to get items free, or nearly free!

Learn the sales cycles of your favorite stores, and know when to expect certain items to go on sale.

Shop at bakery outlets. Breads and rolls freeze very well.

Remember that no particular store has the lowest price on all items.

Create a "shopping pool". Agree with family and friends to shop sales for each other.

Cheesy Peas and Rice
2 1/4 cups rice, cooked
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed
1 (6 oz.) can of mushrooms, drained
6 oz. Velveeta, cubed*

Combine all the ingredients in a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

*I didn't used to buy Velveeta because it used to be more expensive than other cheeses, but it is the same price or less than cheddar now, so I buy it more often.

This recipe compliments of Living On A Dime. Get more of the recipes you can actually use:

Living On A Dime

Budget Stretcher Info

Contact Information:

Budget Stretcher

1203 Madison 228

Fredericktown, MO 63645

email: tre2000@midwest.net

FAX: 573-783-5982

Disclaimer: This newsletter is only intended to provide information on proper money management. Budget Stretcher orTerry Rigg can not accept responsibility for any injury or damage that may be caused to yourself, others, or property when following any advice given.

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Week of February 8, 2010

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Grandpa Terry's Update

Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week

Grandpa Terry's Email

Featured Author's Article

Grandpa Terry's Update

Welcome to The Budget Stretcher!

Paying Credit Cards Before Mortgage/Rent???

In our Credit Card Info section of the newsletter the article indicates that more Americans are paying their credit cards at the expense of their house payment or rent. I can't think of a more foolish move...

Credit cards are unsecured loans and will not lead to foreclosure on your home. Being hounded by credit card companies is much better than being homeless.

If you can't pay everything here is your simple priority list:

Food/Necessary Health Items

Mortgage/rent

Utilities

Other Secured Loans (car, etc)

After paying these then you can pay what ever you have left to your unsecured debt (credit cards).

Grocery Savings Tips.com

If you truly want to save a lot of money then I always suggest you look at your food budget. For most families this is the area with the most savings potential.

Michelle Jones has been a sponsor of Budget Stretcher for a long time providing ideas for savings on your grocery bill up to 30%. This isn't small change.

I would highly recommed that you visit the below link to start saving on your grocery bill:

http://www.GrocerySavingTips.com

Gas In Fredericktown MO - $2.39 a Gallon!!!

10 Outrageous Facts About
the Income Tax

It's that time of year again where millions of Americans tackle the task of paying their Federal Income Tax. This doesn't mean too much to many because they simply get their W2 form, take it to the tax man and wait for their refund. But for some of us it's the beginning of a 3 1/2 month nightmare that runs from January 1 to April 15. Of course it actually is a burden all year long.

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about my opinion of the current income tax other than to say that it's ridiculous system that no one can fully understand. There are over 54,000 pages of Federal Tax Law currently on the books that we are expected to understand and comply with.

Chris Edwards, the director of fiscal policy studies at the Cato Institute wrote the article "10 Outrageous Facts About the Income Tax". It may be a good idea to read this article to find out why income taxes are such a bad idea.

Life would be so much simpler (and profitable) if we only had the Fair Tax!
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

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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Debt Settlement
By Terry Rigg
I receive a lot of questions about whether you should settle your debt through a Debt Settlement Company and ask for a recommendation for a legitimate company.

First, there are very few situations that I would recommend that you settle your debt. It should only be considered as a second to the last resort behind bankruptcy. This process allows you to negotiate with your credit card companies to pay a percentage of what you owe.

The first problem with this process is the affect it has on your credit score. Many debt settlement companies require that you miss 3 or 4 payments before starting discussions with the credit card companies. Of course, if you aren't paying your credit card bills now then debt settlement will only have a small impact on your score.

Second, you may have to pay taxes on the difference between what you owe and the amount you settled for. The more you cut your credit card debt the more taxes you have to pay. Not everyone will have to pay these taxes because there are exceptions.

If you feel that debt settlement would benefit you and are aware of the consequences there is a web site that can help you find a reputable company to help. Below is the link and a short summary of what they do:

http://www.freedebtsettlementadvice.com/default.htm

"FreeDebtSettlementAdvice.com is not a debt settlement or consolidation company. We match consumers up with the correct debt consultant or specialist in their area for free advice that is most likely to help them settle their debt. Our service is non-obligational and free of charge. We are simply an outlet serving on behalf of the consumer to obtain the best debt specialist in their area with their details in mind. Get free debt advice and start getting out of debt today with the top debt relief network and debt settlement network on the web!"

Grandpa Terry's Email

www.savingsbonds.gov

Great website for checking how much bonds are worth..from E-I. They have a wizard to calculate, store, etc and gives you the option of saving it to an Excel file

Featured Article

How to file for bankruptcy

Financial experts suggest that filing for bankruptcy should be the last resort as it is always associated with a social stigma. Moreover, if you file for bankruptcy, it stays in the credit report for a period of 10 years. Nevertheless, filing for bankruptcy enables a debtor to make a fresh financial start. As of October 17 2005, a new law pertaining to bankruptcy was introduced. The new law brought about certain changes in the manner in which a debtor could file for bankruptcy.

How to file for bankruptcy is a common question and it will not be wrong to say that under the able tutelage of a lawyer, the entire process of filing for bankruptcy can be taken effectively to completion.

Prior to declaring bankruptcy make sure that you have tried out all avenues of becoming debt free and you have no other alternative except for declaring bankruptcy. Once you have decided to declare bankruptcy it is best to have a sound knowledge of the entire process. A brief overview of how to file for bankruptcy is given below-

An overview of how to file for bankruptcy

Selecting a good lawyer

You can hire a lawyer who can take care of the legal aspects of the case. It is best to work with a lawyer directly and not a paralegal professional. After filing for bankruptcy, the "automatic stay" period comes into force. Once you have filed for bankruptcy, a Notice of Commencement is sent to your creditors. This puts an end to the harassing calls from the creditors. This is followed by the "341 meeting". This is a meeting between the creditors. It is important that prior to the 341 meeting (named after the Bankruptcy Code section); you have clarified all your doubts and divulged all details of your debts to your lawyer.

Note: The fees charged by lawyers differ from one lawyer to another. In some cases, lawyers charge a flat fee while in few other cases, the amount differs. Availing a flat fee is usually desirable. Your dwelling place also determines the fees of the lawyers, whether you are staying in a big city. Few lawyers will allow you to pay in installments.

Credit counseling

As per the new bankruptcy law, credit counseling has been made mandatory. Credit counseling should be availed from a credit counselor approved by the U.S Trustee and should be availed within 180 days of the date of filing for bankruptcy.

Considering the type of bankruptcy

You could consider filing for either Chapter 7 (Liquidation Bankruptcy) or Chapter 13 (Adjustment of Debts) bankruptcy. However, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy has been made more stringent due to the means test.

Assets for liquidation (Chapter 7)

If you are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy it will be determined whether you have assets that can be liquidated so that your creditors can be paid back.

When filing for Chapter 13

In case you are filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a 3 to 5 year payment plan is worked out. During this period you can repay as much as you can after taking BAPCPA (Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act) means test.

Notice of Discharge

A deadline for the creditors is set so that they can file lawsuits to challenge the discharge of a particular debt or entire debt. In case of Chapter 7 if no lawsuits are filed, a notification will be sent to you indicating that your debts have been discharged. The deadline set is usually the 60th day after the meeting.

In case of Chapter 13, notice of discharge is received 30 to 60 days after the final payment has been made. Student loans as well as certain types of taxes are not discharged in case of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.