Do you think earning more money than you currently earn is going to solve your problem with paying the bills? If you say yes, you have a big problem here. Having a raise doesn’t necessarily mean your problem is solved. The thing you have to change is your behavior, because that’s where troubles arise. Example, you earn $3000 more than your previous salary. Your expenses will rise too because you think you have more money now. You will buy unnecessary clothes and gadgets, renovate your house, or eat at a classy restaurant.

Millionaires file for bankruptcy, why? Because they think their money won’t be completely used up. Yet, average people who know how to handle money properly stay afloat even in dire situations. You’ve heard about this a lot of times but let me say it again: learn to budget. Also, save enough money in case there’s an emergency so you don’t have to borrow which will lead to debt and high interest rates.

Be practical. Look around you and you will find poor people who can’t even see this message because they have no computer. Go to Africa and see that others don’t even have food on their plates. I hope this is an eye-opener for everyone.

As students, we may not know yet the right way of reducing our debts to put us in a better position. Although it is sometimes inevitable not to borrow money, we should know how to break free from it. Understanding how money runs in circle will help you in the future. Here are some tips to help you n your debts.

1. Make a budget planner. List all your expenses and earnings in the planner. Make sure you leave nothing out so that it will be accurate.

2. Never pay your debts with another borrowed money. When you borrow money, there’s a new interest you have to pay for besides the interest of your former debt. This will make you pay two interest rates.

3. Lessen your expenditures. Remember that your income should be greater than your expenses. Also take note of the debt you have to pay back. Maybe your snacks or late-night outs are the unnecessary expenses you have to cut back on.

4. Request for a lesser interest rate. Try to ask for lower rates by calling your creditors. Compare your interest rates to others and tell your creditors about it. This will be the basis of the negotiation.

Drowning in the legalese

Most consumers don’t really read the gobbedy gook which they are forced to sign while buying something new. I don’t do it either .Come on its common sense right ? Who has the time to sort through yards and yards of legalese in the form of multiple clauses and contracts?

Well thats where you are going wrong!

You should read everything you sign and especially if you are planning to go into  a business with a new firm who is going to do a service for you. All contracts don’t look the same . You might get a receipt, sales slips, guarantees, warranties and what nots. But if you don’t read what you are signing then you may as well  sign over your rights to further legal recourse in the case of unsatisfactory service!

Wondering what I mean ? Here’s what I suggest!

Before going into any thing new its best to get the contract over for few days and read it in installments for hidden charges and your rights in the case of unsatisfactory services. If you are finding it difficult to understand the legalese, then here’s a neat trick. Just make a copy and underline the important words relevant to you and then read only those. Leave out all the legalese which all the lawyers thrown in to make themselves important. Please remember that no matter what the contract when you have signed it it means you have understood it. So make sure you read the contract.

Put your signature in big loopy signs till it overlaps the bottom three lines of the contract. Shady salesman’s have been know to cutout your signature and then paste it on a lesser contract. Always keep a copy of your signed originals contract with  you to prevent this from happening!

As always buyer beware!

We buy a lot of things almost daily right ?And sometime companies hide a lot of things from us. There are a few things I learnt while surfing the net and the main one being that consumers companies don’t really disclose everything regarding their products.

There’s always a catch. It’s better to think that if the product is exceptionally good then its gotta have some sort of catch!

I don’t know whether there is some type of policy or government rule out there which can force companies to disclose specific and unique requirements to operate their goods which can get the comapny a better profit.For example here are a few things I learnt recently regarding,

• If you are planning to buy a lincoln navigator or aviator then be pretty careful as the salesperson will not telly that you have to use only the premium and expensive “Premium Fuel.” This really cuts a hole through and through your pocket due to the soring cost of the premium fuel.
• A new trial by the drug giant Pfizer has indicated that painkiller Bextra could increase the incidence of heart attacks or strokes for patients who have suffered a previous coronary artery bypass surge or even cause a heart attack.
• Merck removed the popular painkiller Vioxx, as recent studies indicated that the drug caused increased heart attack and stroke.All this after the drug was on the market for almost two years and an extremely popular drug too!Almost make me wonder whether the comapny retained it on the market to get back their profits and then yanked it when complaint’s increased.
• The popular weight loss drug ephedra was banned as it was blamed for the deaths of many weight loss fanatics.Although the FDA has restricted the sale on the drug its still freely available on the internet.
• The popular anti-acne drug accutane was already suspected of having unsuspected side effects like depression but now aggressive and violent behaviors along with psychiatric disorders has also been added to the list.

Although most of these warnings I’ve found may relate to drugs you’ve really got to be careful with everything you buy to make sure you aren’t cheated.

“CAVEAT EMPTOR” reigns true every time!

Although you may have the right to apply for a credit card most credit card companies take a along time to get you one and they have the right to refuse it too.

Lets take a look at what creditors and credit agencies have the right to do or not do.

Assessing your credit risk-most credit agencies have the right to assess your credit rating before granting you your loan, credit card or what not. It stands to reason if you have a good paying job permanently, home as well as regularly paid loan payments with a healthy balance in your bank account then you are more likely to readily accepted as an applicant for anything. Almost all credit agencies ask for your credit reference reports from reputed credit reference agencies. These agencies have databases of public information electoral roll information, public information about past debts as well as account information.

Even if your application is rejected you have the right to question the credit agencies for a valid reason for the rejection of your application. And here’s something that I recently learned. Most credit cards do cover you for online credit card fraud .So if your credit card comapny makes a big song and dance about it then you have to just quote the following The Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the European E-commerce Directive 2002 which guarantees all consumers fraud protection whenever they use their credit cards.

Well this is a drastic change form the recent post I put up! Not quite! Shopping for daily essentials forms a major part of my life and there are times when I land up with no money left in pocket’s. I mean how can the same stuff cost so much more and more everyday? What is wrong with the world?

Ranting aside! Saving money is an essential skill you have to learn to make sure you don’t land up in the red every single week.The best skill I learnt was to keep a spending diary. All you have to do is find a convenient diary and then jot down your daily essentials in it and the amount you spend on them. It’s not difficult but you do realize how much you are spending and on what!

The most expensive way to buy any ting is via credit cards. The rate of interest for any credit card is sufficient to eat you out of home and hearth and you could land up with more debt than you could ever dream of. If you already have outstanding interest payments then its a good idea to make the balance to credit cards with a low of interest to make sure you are actually paying off the debt rather than the interest only. The best way to avoid this type of debt is to avoid credit cards like the plague and if you are already having one pay off the highest interest ones as soon as possible.

These tips can help you save money but you have to persist in it or its not really going to work!

Why did I start my blog with something about students? Well very simple if you’ve ever been to college then you know how difficult it can be.The dog eat dog world of college life is more than enough to make you a hardened veteran of living healthy on a unhealthy budget.

I had life in college pretty tough. With my parents who could barely afford to put me through the initial years, you could forget about luxuries. Every penny counted and some time’s I was called the human leech for latching on to students who had parents with bottomless pockets for their little darlings in college or the human camel for the simple reason of going without food for a day or two!

But pathetic stories aside! Here are a few tips I learned the hard way to make ends meet while on campus,

• Don’t sign up for anything immediately. Research everything with at least one or two more vendors. If possible try to quote one persons deals to the nest vendor. Most vendor cave when they realize you could be getting a better deal from some one else. Irrespective of the vendor or the item you are negotiating for, most vendor do have hidden discounts which they do not offer upfront,so make them work for your business.
• Don’t ever get a credit card from the vendors from the people who sit at the admissions desk.They are not there to help you. They want to make money and they do it by taking away yours. You don’t really need credit cards if you have a job and your education is covered by federal funding.
• Check all your bank statements. Banks run on the principle that garbage in garbage out, right ? So do keep an eye on your receipts and track all your spending at the end of every month.

I do want to continue this but unfortunately got to run for now! SO please remember this really important thing , you don’t have your parents to make sure you study SO DO STUDY and eat well!

Fed up of being out of money at the end of every month!

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