Financial New Year’s Resolutions
December 31, 2008
Happy New Year!
It’s hard to believe that 2008 is over already. What a crazy year 2008 has been in many ways, not least of which in terms of the economy and people’s finances.
Advantage Credit Counseling Service celebrated its 40th year in business. And it turned out to be one of the busiest years the agency has had as we’ve continued our work to get people on the road to paying down their debt, managing their budgets and saving money for the future.
Many of us make New Year’s resolutions. But this year it’s really important for all of us to make more than just a resolution to do better with our finances. It’s important for us to make lifestyle changes when it comes to money. Consider it a financial diet.
Like any diet, it may be difficult in the beginning. It will get easier as you go along.
Here are the three ways to kick start your financial resolution for 2009:
· Create a budget. If you already have a budget, review it and see what adjustments should be made.
· Make a pledge to quit using credit. Operate on a cash only basis. If you charge something, pay it off as soon as the bill comes.
· Build up your savings. Most experts recommend having an emergency savings equal to at least three months of your salary. That can be a daunting amount of money to save. Instead, try setting a savings goal that is within your reach and not so intimidating. Even if you can only put $10 a pay into a savings account, it’s a good start.
And remember, if you need help creating your budget and managing your debt, you can always call the certified counselors at Advantage CCS for help.
Was the holiday a budget buster?
December 23, 2008
Hello readers. I’m about to take a mini-vacation for the holiday.
I would love to hear from you about how your holiday went and how your finances were impacted by holiday festivities.
My husband and I pledged to reduce our spending this Christmas. I have to tally up the final numbers, but I think we succeeded in spending less this year. I will admit that we probably still ended up spending more than we should have, but hey, it’s a start.
When I talk about spending on the holidays I don’t just mean gifts. I’m talking meal and baking costs, cards, alcohol, charitable donations, travel costs … the whole package.
Did you set a budget for your holiday spending? Did you cut back on gifts? Did you tweak your holiday festivities to be more financially friendly?
Until next week Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Credit card reforms offer consumer protections
December 19, 2008
Federal regulators Thursday adopted new rules for the credit card industry that are designed to protect consumers from what some people have deemed to be unfair practices in the credit industry.
Some of the consumer protections included in the new law:
· Consumers will have to be given 45 days notice before any changes are made to the terms of an account.
· Credit issuers cannot charge excessively high fees for exceeding a credit limit because of a “hold” being placed on an account.
· Banks are forbidden from imposing interest charges using the “two-cycle” billing method.
· Consumers must be allowed a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments.
· Banks are prohibited from applying payments in a way that would unfairly maximize their interest charges.
You can read more about it in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The new laws won’t take effect until July 1, 2010. I have not been able to find any explanation so far as to why it’s going to take nearly 18 months for things to kick in.
I guess it’s a case of better late than never. What do you think?
Tell us about yourself
December 15, 2008
At Advantage Credit Counseling Service, we are always trying to deliver the best educational information possible to our clients and the community at large.
It’s been about 10 months since we started our Dollars & Sense blog.
Since that time I’ve tried to write about timely topics in the area of personal finance.
I would like to know a bit about the readers of our blog. Where do you live? In what fields do you work? How did you find our blog?
Also, what topics interest you? Do you have questions regarding personal finance or credit counseling that we can answer on the blog? Is there a financial topic that you think we should be writing about?
I would appreciate any feedback our readers can offer.
You can post your comments on the blog, or drop me an e-mail at kgarrett@advantageccs.org.
Who can afford the “Twelve Days of Chrismtas?”
December 12, 2008
There has been so much going on in terms of serious financial news lately, that I thought a more light-hearted blog was in order for today.
There’s not doubt in my mind that sometime in history a romantic guy gave his love every gift from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
To do so would have always been expensive, but this year it’s more expensive than ever. (The song was based on a children’s rhyme originally published in
Pittsburgh-based PNC Wealth Management recently issued their annual “Christmas Price Index” and estimated the total cost to provide the gifts in the song at a whopping $86,609. That’s a 10.9 percent increase over last year’s cost of $78,100.
I would love to know if any of our readers have ever attempted to recreate their own version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Also, what is the most expensive holiday gift you have ever give or received? What is the least expensive gift you’ve ever received that was still great?
For the curious here’s a rundown of the cost of each of the days according to PNC Wealth Management:
§ Partridge: $20
§ Pear Tree: $200
§ 2 Turtle Doves: $55
§ 3 French Hens: $30
§ 4 Calling Birds: $600
§ 5 Gold Rings: $350
§ 6 Geese a-Laying: $240
§ 7 Swans a-Swimming: $5,600
§ 8 Maids a-Milking: $52
§ 9 Ladies Dancing (per performance): $4,759
§ 10 Lords a-Leaping (per performance): $4,414
§ 11 Pipers Piping (per performance): $2,285
§ 12 Drummers Drumming (per performance): $2,475
Who would have thought those darn swans would be so expensive?
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