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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of December 14, 2009This 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 have another free download compliments of Joyce Moseley Pierce of Prepared In Every Way. What better way to share your time with them than to share 24 Days of Christmas and bring your family together for the month of December. Thanks Joyce... Here is the link to download: http://preparedineveryway.com/?page_id=347 I have something else that may be fun to list in the newsletter. Every state and many citys have laws that are just crazy. I'm going to list one of those law each week. Let me know what you think!! Oregon In Klamath Falls Oregon it is still illegal to kick the heads off of rattlesnakes. This law was used when years ago, main street sidewalks were wooden. Rattlesnakes would pop their heads up through knot holes and people would kick at them, creating nasty smells from under those wooden sidewalks. Compliments of Loony Laws.com "Free Candy Christmas Wreath e-Book" There is so much speculation about credit scores that it's hard to know what to do to make yours the best it can be. For example, some say to close your credit card accounts when they are paid off and others say just leave them on your report There is really only one way for you to know how to manage your debt to ensure you don't hurt your credit score or what steps you can take to improve it. Fair Isaac, the folks that determine credit scores has an excellent guide that walks you through all aspects of how credit scores are computed. I believe that everyone should have a copy of this free download and read it very carefully. Just click the below link: My buddy Ken has come through again with a Online Christmas card that I would like for you to see. Just click on the below link and turn up your speakers: 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 AdvertisementPaying highest-interest debt first is the SLOWEST way out ... You can laugh at money worries - if you follow our simple plan. Discover savvy consumer money secrets your friends don't know and banks won't tell you. Limited time only. ACT NOW: ///////////////////////////////////////// Grandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekIf you are single and don't have kids this tip won't mean much to you. For the rest of us that have others to consider when making money decisions it just may make things a little easier. I guess the best knock-down, drag-out fights my wife and I ever had was about money. No, it never came to blows because she's meaner than I am. Believe me you can have a lot of fights in almost 40 years. At some point we realized that it wasn't accomplishing anything. We still didn't have any money but we never earned a nickel fighting about it. To get a handle on your finances it is going to take a team effort. The whole family has to be working in the same direction. My suggestion would be to sit down and talk your money situation over with your spouse and the kids. It's important for everybody in the family to know what is going on. You may be surprised at what the kids will come up with. When I bought my first house I made a miscalculation on how much I would need to come up with for the down payment. When I realized it we had maxed out our credit cards and wasn't sure where we would get the rest of the money. My wife and I discussed this with the kids and they offered to baby-sit and mow lawns. They came up with enough to cover the down payment. I'll never forget how proud that made them feel and how proud we were of them. All too often one person in the family is strapped with making the money decisions. This is a great idea and the best way to keep things organized but they shouldn't take all the blame when something doesn't work out. A family solves difficult problems everyday. Money is just one of them. Sponsor AdvertisementDo you ever get stuck in a rut, preparing the same meals for your family week after week? I do! What's for dinner tonight?? The Creative Homemaking What's for Dinner? cookbook contains more than 250 quick, easy, family-tested dinner ideas plus a lot more. http://terryrigg.recipeclub.hop.clickbank.net Grandpa Terry's EmailTerry,I've told you before about problems we're having in saving our business. We're current on all of our credit cards but we're barely getting by. We've just exhausted every resource to keep going. My husband contacted someone about the credit card debt, and he says as long as we're current, the companies won't negotiate with us to reduce the amount owed or the interest rate. He wants us to stop paying them and then after four months, he says they'll work with us. If we sign an agreement with him (which I haven't seen) he says he can cut the amount due in half and then he gets some ridiculous amount like 25% of what he's saved us, just for helping us. (What a nice guy, huh?) I think it's ridiculous! Honestly, if we don't get this place sold in the next six months, and our leinholder decides to foreclose, we'll have to file bankruptcy anyway. There's no way we can pay the credit card debt against the business if we're out of business. So...here's my question. Can't WE do the same thing this guy is offering to do for us? (Offering isn't the right word since I think he's gouging us!!) I'd prefer to continue making the monthly payments as long as we can do so. What do you think? It's pretty sad and it's only going to get worse. Taxes are just about to force us out of business, as if ordinary business expenses weren't enough!! Appreciate any help you can give me. My Response: Hi, Sorry to hear about the problem. Yes, you can do exactly the same thing this guy is promising but you normally still have to be 3 or 4 months behind before they will consider a settlement. The problem is that they don't have to settle. It's just cheaper for them to take part of the money than try to sue you. It's also much safer to do it yourself because of all of the scams. One thing to consider when you settle is that you are obligated to pay taxes on the amount between what you owe and what you settle for as if it were normal income. Here is a link to an excellent Q&A on debt settlement: http://www.franklindebtrelief.com/credit-card-debt-settlement.html Hope this helps, Terry In response to last week's newsletter: >>If you are struggling this is a great way to increase your paycheck. According to the IRS receiving a refund of over $500 is not recommended and they highly suggest that you adjust your exemptions so that you only pay enough to cover your taxes.>> It would be great then, if the IRS would allow you to take that advice, if
you are one of those people who has to pay quarterly "estimated tax liability".
We get about $5,000 back each year, but, essentially, have to send it all
back as "estimated tax" for the next year (in addition to payroll deductions),
and then once more, they "refund" it. And yes, we do have a CPA prepare our
taxes-- she says it's ridiculous, but currently the only way to avoid fines is
to do it that way. Seems to me it would save a lot of grief-- and the cost of
doing the accounting-- for everybody involved if you could just say "keep it for
next time", and/or not have to pay the quarterly "estimates" when there are no
changes to income/deductions and for several years, tax withholding has
been sufficient to cover what is owed.
Kaytee www.simplexities.net www.simplexities.etsy.com www.simplexities.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/simlpexities Featured Articleby Gary Foreman According to Gallup polls, about 1/3 of Americans plan to spend less on the holidays this year than last. For some families who are really struggling there will be very little money available for holiday spending. But, that doesn't have to mean that the holidays will be ruined for your family. In fact, it may give you an opportunity to have an even happier holiday season. Begin by focusing on what you have, not on what you don't have. It's true that you might not have much money. But perhaps your home is full of love. Just by thinking about what you have, you'll lift your spirits. Take some time to enjoy the season every day. Get a copy of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" or other holiday book and read a bit each night. Even if you don't have children in your home. Books have a wonderful way of mentally transporting us to a different time and place. Be honest with your family. There's no shame in being short of money in this economy. Surviving tough times requires that all family members help. And, they can't help if you don't let them know the circumstances (obviously, you want to keep your conversation age appropriate). Make gifts for others. Especially if you're unemployed, this is an opportunity to substitute your time for cash. And, it also gives you a chance to make something unique specifically for the recipient. Let your kids help you. By involving them in the baking, decorating, etc you'll keep the children from focusing solely on what they hope to get. It's also a good time to share your own holiday memories with them and build new ones. Help those less fortunate. Deliver socks to a homeless shelter. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Even if you're really up against it, it's mentally healthy to know that you are not alone. In fact, you might find hope in serving others. Have some seasonal fun. Take the time to make a snowman or snow angel. Have a snowball fight. Walk around your neighborhood looking at the displays. Shared smiles make better memories than expensive gifts. Give future gifts. Even childreen from poor families generally will have something to play with on Christmas morning. So it's not critical they get everything on Christmas Day. A coupon from you to give that special toy in February will allow you to take advantage of price drops (especially on electronics). It will also give you time to save some money to pay for it. Consider giving heirloom gifts. If your children are old enough, you might consider using this year to pass along that keepsake jewelry from Grandma or other family keepsakes. Use old fashioned decorations. Generations before us had festove holiday homes even when they didn't have money. Think paper chains, strung popcorn, pine cones and evergreen branches. Substitute for that special gift. Ask yourself why does my child want that particular gift. There may be a better, less expensive way to accomplish what your child wants. If you absolutely must have a specific toy or electronics item, there are a few ways to get it cheaper. Check stores for open box or return units. Surf the manufcaturer's website for refurbished units. Don't charge Christmas. If you're struggling financially you shouldn't make it harder to survive January. Remember, it's very easy to charge yourself into a corner. You'll notice a common thread among these ideas. Taking the emphasis off of gifts and putting it on the people that we love. As I understand it, the original goal of buying gifts was to bring happiness. This could be a marvelous opportunity to rediscover that happiness doesn't always start with a dollar sign. And, that would be good in any economy. Gary Foreman is the editor of The Dollar Stretcher.com website and various enewsletters including Surviving Tough Times. For more ways to survive a Christmas without cash check out these ideas on inexpensive Christmas gifts and The Dollar Stretcher frugal Christmas section. |
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