Avoid Christmas Debt

By Ryan M. Healy

One of the hardest times of year to keep from going in debt is Christmas. Here are a few tips for having a memorable Christmas without the debt.

Do a Name Swap

If you're buying gifts for multiple people in your family, then consider drawing names and buying one gift for just one person (instead of everybody).

Here's an example. Let's say there are four people in your family. Each family member would purchase only one gift, which means only four gifts would be purchased in total.

If, on the other hand, each person bought gifts for the other three family members, 12 gifts would be purchased. (4 family members x 3 gifts apiece = 12 gifts) So by drawing names, it's possible to reduce your gift-spending by 200%.

Make Your Gifts

Do you have a skill for making things? Then consider making your gifts instead of spending money to buy them!

I'm lucky that my wife has a talent for making hair bows, jewelry, and Christmas ornaments. Many times she has used her skill to make gifts and save us money.

Have a No-Gift Christmas

Is it really necessary to buy gifts for your family members and friends? Is there really anything they need or want in the first place?

Consider putting a moratorium on Christmas gift-giving for one year. Focus on spending time with people you care about.

Write a List

If you decide to buy gifts, then don't set foot in a retail store without knowing exactly what you're getting -- and exactly how much you plan to spend.

Shopping without a purpose quickly leads to overspending and debt. But if you have a clear "game plan," you'll survive with little damage to your pocketbook.

Leave Credit Cards at Home

Keep cash and your debit card handy for purchasing gifts. This will keep you from spending money you don't have. Avoid credit cards altogether. With credit limits in the tens of thousands of dollars, it is far too easy to overspend without realizing it.

And by avoiding credit, you won't get any nasty surprises in January when the credit card bill shows up.

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Increasing A Credit Score Via Several Financial Guidelines

By Chris Channing

A family that is looking to buy a home for the first time, a young adult looking for a car, or a startup business owner all have something in common: they will need a healthy credit rating to obtain the objects they are looking for. If one hasn't obtained a good credit rating, they'll need to follow a few steps to ensure they aren't left with high interest rates.

The first thing to do before obtaining a loan is to check one's credit report. A credit report will detail why the score is what it is. Many times there may be errors or mistakes that credit companies have logged, which could negatively impact one's rating. Because of this, obtaining a free credit report is almost mandatory before visiting a lender for the first time in hopes of obtaining a loan.

Next to consider is to take out another loan- even if you don't need it. Parents should also take special note and perhaps take out a loan in a child's name so as to build their credit at an early age. This is essentially giving the bank more money for seemingly nothing, but actually this impacts one's credit score for the better if the payments are made on time and no problems ensue.

Responsibility is the number one thing that can have a good effect on a credit score, as can be seen with credit cards. Those with poor use of their credit cards will likely have debts, which translates into logged activity on a credit report that isn't for the better. To counteract this fact, make payments on time and always ensure you can pay something back you put on credit.

Sometimes if one doesn't have much interaction with the credit industry, they can show a lender bills they have paid in the past. This can be something as simple as rent for an apartment or house, or even utility bills. This is an ideal way for the self employed to gain more credibility, as they are usually on the low end of the rope since self employed jobs aren't always seen as stable enough for lenders.

One thing most don't think about when marrying is that a credit rating will be altered in the process- whether for the better or worse. Your partner's credit rating will have a large emphasis on whether or not a lender trusts the applicant, simply because of the marriage association. This adds a new level of tactics to the mix.

Closing Comments

From this point, consumers should try to find their credit report, which can cost money. There are some websites online that allow users access to a free credit report, but special rules and conditions usually apply in such a scenario.

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Learn more on Credit Repair and Free Credit Score.

Saving For a Rainy Day: Your Emergency Fund

By Darren Cason

Financial experts agree that a family's emergency fund should be large enough to pay their expenses for three to six month's worth of living. This means enough money to pay your monthly budget for up to six months. Seems like a lot, and it can be if you have no savings at all, but it's not impossible to save this amount. The first thing you'll need to know is how large your "Rainy Day Fund" needs to be.

So the first step is to figure your monthly expenses: mortgage payment, car payments, insurance, household expense, groceries, and so forth. Include everything. Don't forget your monthly bills like cable television and electric. For the average household in America, this totals to about $3,400.00 per month. Once you know what your number is, you can times it by three and by six to get your three and six month goals. So if yours is the average, three months is $10,200 and six months is $20,400. Big numbers, but you'll see how they can become workable.

What is this emergency fund for and why are you supposed to have it? That's a good question and one that should be answered because it's your incentive for working towards having your six month's of funds available. We live in an uncertain world with uncertain times and economies. You never know if you're going to lose your job tomorrow, need a new roof on your house, or have a disaster happen. Emergencies have a way of showing up when it's most inconvenient. That is what your emergency fund is for.

If you're saving for retirement, then (in a way) you're putting away an emergency fund. Your emergency fund can be as easy to set up and build as your retirement fund is. All you need to do is think about your goal and figure out how you're going to attain it. You'll soon see that saving three or six month's worth of expense money is chump change compared to your fifteen or more years of retirement funds.

So approach the emergency fund like you would any financial goal: think ahead and plan right now. You've already figured out your monthly expenses, so now you need to look at an overall monthly budget. How much do you make in a month and what is the difference between that and your expenses? Most people consume about 65% of their incomes in just housing, food, and transportation. That means you've got about 35% of your income to work with: income that is "discretionary."

Now you have your goals and an idea how you're going to get there. Obviously, that whole 35% number isn't available, but it's your starting point. Consider your savings plan over a 2, 3, and 5 year period and see if you can achieve your three month's emergency savings inside 3 years. Working with our $3,400/month number from before, you'll see that this is only $340.00 per month for two and a half years. That's 10% of your income.

Now for the fun. Over time, you can increase what you're putting into savings by changing some of your lifestyle habits in the long run. For instance, when it comes time to buy a new car, opt for one that's less expensive to purchase or to operate (or both). Find out if refinancing your home mortgage or a debt consolidation procedure would save you money over time. Consider donating time, money, or items to charities to increase your tax savings. And if you are using more than one credit card, check if a balance transfer option would work for you. These are just some of the ways you can increase your savings over time.

If you keep your goal in mind, set up the payments to the emergency fund in the same way you do all other bills, and then work towards your goal diligently, you can have a six month emergency savings before you know it.

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Use The Iron Condor Spread and Profit From Todayas Stock Market

By Walter Fox

Want to gain your personal financial freedom, even during in these trying economic times? If you are willing to handle your personal expenses responsibly, then using the Iron Condor Spread, one of the best option trading tips available, your money can be put back to work for you. Time may be needed, but the rewards for your patience are often worth it.

When it comes to successful online option trading, The Iron Condor Spread is a bit more advanced than other option trading systems, but results in higher profits and a lower potential loss. The Iron Condor Spread is made up of both bear-call and bull-put options, spread out on the same underlying security. Built off of the Condor Spread, the Iron Condor Spread results in a net credit by doubling the credit of a single spread position.

How does this option trading tip work to make you a profit? It works by using two spreads, which creates two separate break-even points. A lower break-even and an upper break-even. Anytime a stock's price stays above the lower break-even and beneath the high break-even, you can count on profit being generated.

Before you start make sure your account has plenty of available cash in it. A large number of online option traders will prevent you from entering into a spread like this unless you are able to fulfill margin requirements with proper funding.

What benefits does using an Iron Condor Spread provide? 1) The utilization of an uncovered position by not having to purchase or hold any stock. 2) This tip generates a complete neutral strategy. 3) Due to call and put options potential returns are increased. 4) Double credit provides lowered potential risk as well as controlled risk

The Iron Condor Spread is ideally used when the underlying asset is not expected to change, or to only change minimally over the course of the life of the option. When the middle strike equals the price of the underlying asset, the profit is maximized at expiration. In addition the range of customisation allowed with this system of option trading is admirable. This is calculation of profit:

Maximum Profit = Net Credit Profit % = (Credit gained from short legs/greatest difference in strike) x 100 Max Loss = Greatest difference in the consecutive strike a" net credit This formula allows a maximum profit that is limited to the gained net credit. As for maximum loss, it is limited to the calculated maximum loss.

Using the Iron Condor Spread provides a large number of advantages, although be forewarned of this: making a profit using the Iron Condor Spread requires time and active monitoring. As a result a proper analysis prior to entry will be necessary. It is also important to remember that the Iron Condor Spread will require high levels of trading to be successful. Traders with lower levels of trading will be unsuccessful in using the Iron Condor Spread.

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Foreclosure Information Available Free To The Public

By Michael Geoffrey

Foreclosure has, unfortunately, become a sad reality of life for many individuals and families who own homes. This is especially true in certain parts of the United States. Any person who might be interested of purchasing a home at an exceptionally low price as a result of a foreclosure can get helpful information from court filings and newspaper advertisements.

In most states, before a lender can foreclose on a home, they must file a claim with the court, offering information and facts to support their claim that a borrower is in default of the loan agreement.

Following the judge's official review of the foreclosure information, they will make a judgment regarding the claim. The individual being foreclosed on is then given a certain amount of time, often thirty days, by which they must pay back their entire loan. The home can be auctioned by the court after the designated period of time is up.

Once the court has order foreclosure of the mortgage, it still does not mean the homeowner is totally out of luck. The homeowner has up until the day of the auction to pay the mortgage, plus costs an maintain ownership of the property. In court cases, this foreclosure information is open and available to the public and persons looking for an opportunity to buy a home before it goes into foreclosure can review court records and then contact the owner before foreclosure is authorized by the court.

Don't Make Offers Until You Have the Facts

Before making any quick decisions about buying a home, interested buyers should consider some important details about the home. This is especially true if the foreclosed home was an investment. If, for example, the home was recently purchased and has not yet had time to build up equity, it could cause the cost involved in buying the home higher than the estimated value of the house.

Using the foreclosure information in newspapers may help a potential investor get in touch with the owner and negotiating with them may be more beneficial than trying to deal with the lender.

The lender knows that through auction as well as subsequent civil action they can recoup the cost of the loan and legal costs incurred trying to collect. It would be rare for a lender to accept a lower amount for a mortgage, but then again, there is no harm in trying.

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Credit Cards: How To Avoid Debts

By Don Pedro

With the introduction of the credit cards, buying and selling have become as much effortless as it could be. People now do not need to count the cashes, they simply just spend and then forget. And thus comes the term f credit card debt. When someone spends more than the maximum amount of his limit, he finds himself to be in credit card debt.

There are some complex situations, which may arise due to credit card debt. When it happens that debts from many credit cards are accumulated in one or two new credit cards, it has called the consolidated credit card debt. However, it sometimes offsets the bill payments and often its done willingly.

Though it was supposed to be like that, people shouldn't like to be in debt. But in case of credit card debt, its rather popular to some extent and don't willingly to get their cards maximum limit extended. Credit cards however in associate with the development of world wide web, now one doesn't need to move his foot to buy whatever he wants to buy. All is done instantaneously with the click of mouse buttons.

But above all, we all should be aware of not being in debt. Therefore, we need to change the habit of buying without keeping the track of the expenditure.

To help people keep all the record of money transactions and large business expenditures, business credit cards have been introduced. These cards can help the owners get an account of their business costs; it could be for analysis or may be for keeping record.

Though online buying has become so popular and there are billions of money being transferred through this media, is it totally safe to do financial interactions world wide web using your credit card? Well, if you can take the necessary defensive measures to avoid frauds only then you can enjoy the most out of your card.

The most renowned cards, which are acceptable in most of the countries of the world, are MasterCard, visa, America express, citi, diners club, JCB, and Discover.

Saying all these, its clear that credit card holders will only be able to enjoy the utmost freedom using their credit cards only if they use their card most wisely.

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