The American population is apparently made up of only two kinds of people…savers and spenders. They marry each other. Disagreements over money and debt management are one of the leading causes of divorce in this country.
A family can’t exist as a dictatorship, but financial management by committee won’t work, either. There needs to be a consensus about how money is spent, but there needs to be one person in charge of seeing to it that the bills are paid and that debts are under control.
In earlier times, that person was always the head of the household…in most cases, a man. Times have changed, and women now contribute financially to a household — sometimes they contribute less money, and sometimes they contribute more. Both parties need to understand
and agree to the debt management policy (think budget) that both will live by.
The traditional family (father, mother, and two and one-third children) is almost obsolete. Families come in many varieties today, but they all still have common finances. Financial decisions, financial goals, and debt management all need to be discussed by all who contribute to the household finances, and each needs to have an equal opportunity for input. But a plan does need to be made! And once the plan is made, there needs to be one person in charge of seeing that it is carried out.
Here are the guidelines that should be used:
1. Each contributor to the household should have a portion of their salary deducted for savings for the common good.
2. The budget should set limits even for the necessities of food, shelter, utilities, transportation and clothing. The limits should be reasonable - not too little, but not extravagant, either.
3. Secured debt payments need to be made first…..mortgage, car payment, household appliance payment, etc.
4. Credit card debt should be paid off at the beginning or the end of each payment cycle to avoid interest.
5. Impulse buying and instant gratification should be eliminated as options for spending disposable income.
August 25th, 2007
With the UK consumer debt now exceeding the gross domestic product, it looks as though there are choppy times ahead. The housing market appears to be slowing and food prices are rising.
So where does this leave the little guy? Debt is one of the most unpleasant four letter words around. Depressing and consuming every last penny you are able to muster. A small amount of money is gathered and then there is another outstretched hand wanting it for settlement of yet another bill. Almost like a bottomless pit.
There are two routes that can be taken in an effort to get out of this pit the hard route and the easy route.
The hard route has disastrous results. It can involve Consolidation loans to be avoided at all costs (sorry for the pun), County Court Orders, the attendance of the Court Bailiff and, worst of all Bankruptcy.
The easy route is to review expenses and income and make the necessary adjustments to become solvent again. A considerable amount of work is required here, but it is definitely the preferred route. It can be done!
There are many web sites now offering to help. Some are flash with much drum banging and crammed with so-called special offers which turn out not to be so very special when the small print or limitations are taken into consideration. The initial loud-mouthed announcement attracts attention but it quickly fizzles out!
There are also genuine web sites which set out to explain how money can be saved, how to get the best deals when shopping, some even cover motoring, insurance, banking, property, recipes, entertaining, medicines in fact just about everything you need to know in the effort to save money.
Many are just set up and left in the hope that these sites will generate an income for the owner. Others make a very determined effort to help people who need to watch every penny. These good sites are monitored by their web master and updated constantly with new information, tips to save money and the really good ones garner money saving information from their own readers. Nothing could get much more genuine!
Amongst the best of these is www.save-money-guide.com. A very down-to-earth, no nonsense helpful and informative site that even includes how to save money where your pet dog is concerned. Well worth a look.
August 25th, 2007
