Archive for the ‘Money’ Category:
New Year’s Resolution: Reduce Debt
Are financial changes on the top of your New Year’s Resolution list? If so, you’re not alone! Here are some thoughts on reducing debt in the new year.
Reduce Debt with PowerPay
Use the power-pay principle to reduce debt more quickly. Make a list of all your debts and prioritize them in order of interest (highest to lowest) or in order of the number of payments until payoff (fewest payments at the top of the list.) Continue to make payments on all debts while concentrating on the one at the top of the list.
Once the first debt is paid off, add that payment amount onto the next debt on your list. Follow the same procedure when the second debt is paid off.
Using this method, you’ll end up making larger and larger payments on the debts on your list. You will not only reduce the number of years you’ll make payments, but you will also save thousands in interest if you follow this principle until you are completely debt free. However, keep in mind that for the power-pay debt reduction process to work, you must stop charging any new debts in the meantime.
You can design your own debt repayment plan and work with other financial calculators at the PowerPay website created by Utah State University Extension Service. Just create a user name and password and log on to do your calculations and save your personal information. Their extensive Education Center also includes lots of other helpful financial information. Check it out and resolve to reduce debt this year!
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
Subscribe to the comments for this postKeep resolutions with Small Steps to Health and Wealth Challenge
This is the time of year when many people make resolutions to improve their lives during the coming year. Eating better, losing weight, exercising more, paying off debt and saving money are often on the list of desired changes. Where people often fail, however, is in taking daily actions to achieve those resolutions. That’s where the online Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ Challenge created by Rutgers Cooperative Extension can help.
This free six-week program, open to anyone who enrolls online, will be held from January 16 to February 26. Go to
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/sshw/ to set up a user name and password and download a simple one-page user’s guide with instructions about how to participate. The SSHW Challenge is based on 10 daily recommended practices– five that involve health and nutrition and five that involve financial management. Each is worth ten points for a maximum of 700 points per week.
Five Health & Nutrition Steps Each Day
The five daily health and nutrition practices in the Small Steps to Health and Wealth Challenge include:
- Eat at least 4 cups of fruits and vegetables
- Get at least 30 minutes of exercise
- Drink water or unsweetened beverages instead of sugary drinks
- Walk 10,000 or more steps with a pedometer
- Learn something new about health and nutrition
Five Financial Management Steps Each Day
The five daily financial practices in the Small Steps to Health and Wealth Challenge include:
- Save a $1 bill (or more) and/or pocket change
- Invest $5 or more per day (including automated retirement savings plan deposits)
- Track money spent throughout the day
- Eat lunch prepared at home rather than eating out
- Learn something new about personal finance
The last item- learning something new about both health and finance- can be accomplished by visiting websites, attending seminars, or by reading, listening to, or viewing media reports.
Track Your Progress
As users enter their personal data in the SSHW website, they will see their point totals for each day of the week and for each of the ten activities described above. They’ll also see a bar graph that compares their personal progress to the average scores of everyone else who is participating in the Challenge.
Start Small- Take Steps to Health and Wealth
Doing even a few of the ten recommended daily practices is a great way to get started on the path to better health and increased financial security. Want to keep your resolutions and improve your life in 2011? Join the Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ Challenge!
Source: Dr. Barbara O’Neill, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
“Extension Money Matters” Survey
The Finney County Extension Office has been sending monthly “Extension Money Matters” email messages for nearly 2 years. The messages are free, easy (direct e-mail) and based on reliable financial education information from state and national university experts and consumer organizations.
Thanks to new subscribers and employers who forward the messages to others, this financial education service now reaches nearly 1200 people in Finney County and southwest Kansas every month.
Those who receive “Extension Money Matters” are asked to help us evaluate this effort by completing a brief online survey. Just click on this link
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8J6J8DZ
or paste into your web browser and take 5 minutes to answer 10 brief questions. Your feedback will help us to make “Extension Money Matters” even better!
If you would like to join the free email list for “Extension Money Matters” monthly financial information, just send an email request to me at lbeech@ksu.edu and I will be happy to add you to the distribution list.
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
What’s stopping you from saving?
With 2010 half over, you may find yourself nowhere closer to your financial goals than you were on January 1st. Yet, year after year, saving money and getting out of debt remain one of the most popular resolutions. The question remains – what’s stopping you? Take action today and work towards your financial goal by “starting small and thinking big.”
Start Small:
What’s the secret to saving? Spending less than you earn is the key to saving money and avoiding debt. By making small and manageable changes to your lifestyle, you can further decrease your expenses. Tackle a few spending ‘vices’ at a time rather than radically altering your lifestyle. Some easy ways to save:
- Rethink the “essentials.” The latest-and-greatest cell phone, video game, or computers are nice to have, but by no means necessities. Buy what you need, not what you want.
- Turn saving into a game – roll your spare change, mail in rebates, sell unwanted items – do whatever you can to get closer to your savings goal!
- Save automatically. Have a portion of your paycheck (as little as $25) transferred automatically to your savings. Chances are you’ll never even notice the difference.
Think Big:
Individuals with a savings plan are 50% more successful than those who don’t. Take the opportunity to join America Saves and create your own simple savings plan for free. America Saves members also have access to the “My Savings Tracker” which can help you track progress towards your savings goal. Need help figuring out what to save for?
- Create a $500 or more emergency fund to meet unexpected expenses.
- Save for holiday gifts rather than relying on credit.
- Pay off credit cards and other high-interest debt.
Source: America Saves “Kick Start Your Savings” summer campaign.
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
10 Money-Saving Ideas to Build Financial Security
Start small, think big. Whether your financial goals are to pay down debt, add to savings or build an emergency fund, you can find ways to trim expenses and build financial security.
Here are 10 common-sense financial tips for individuals and families:
- Take an inventory of your financial accounts, including regularly scheduled payments such as home mortgage or car payment, balance(s) due on credit cards or other loans, and basic living expenses, such as food, utilities, insurance, and health care.
- Track spending to assess average expenses and identify unnecessary expenses.
- Categorize expenses, and add categories for a) building an emergency fund; b) saving for short-term goals; and c) saving for long-term goals.
- Compare money coming in and money going out. How does your take-home pay compare to expenses?
- Eliminate extras, but allow an occasional, moderately-priced reward for striving to improve personal money management skills.
- Practice separating needs from wants, and make fulfilling needs the priority.
- Use credit cards strategically or sparingly, if at all.
- If an emergency requires spending, use emergency funds from savings or explore a low-interest, short-term loan to cover the cost, rather than using a credit card that will have a higher interest rate.
- Strive to pay down and retire a mortgage, rather than adding debt with one or more home equity loans.
- No light at the end of the tunnel? If struggling with money management and debt, consider a reputable credit counselor who can help prioritize and/or consolidate payments to retire debt, and move toward building financial security. Look for a counselor who is National Foundation for Credit Counseling-affiliated at www.NFCC.org.
More information about basic money management is available at K-State Research and Extension offices and online: www.ksre.ksu.edu (choose Publications and search for “Basic Money Management” MF-5134G) and at www.ksre.ksu.edu/financialmanagement/.