Saving and Investing
Debt is only one side of the coin. We’ll call it tails. Heads, then, is all about keeping some of the money you have worked so hard to earn. It’s amazing how diligently people will work only to unthinkingly fritter it away and have nothing to show for it at the end of the month. If you’re like most people, you have to change your thinking about saving money, and this book lays the groundwork for how to become a saver.
There are lots of ways to save money, and some are easier and work out better for you than others. The classic and historically most successful method is to invest your money in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and now there are cutting edge ways of doing that online. We also cover the smartest ways to save up for giving the next generation that most important arrow in the financial quiver: a college education.
Before you know it you’ll be tracking where your hard-earned dollars go, easily maintaining a household budget, trimming away unnecessary spending, finding ways to make extra money, and even tackling that ugly but important beast: your credit report.
Dealing with Debt
“In the midst of life we are in debt, et cetera,” sang one of the great bands of the 1980s (The Smiths, in case you have to ask), and truer words were never spoken. There’s little you can do to totally avoid debt in your life, and in some ways that’s not a terrible thing. You may be surprised to learn that some debts are a lot better than other debts. What you want to do is reduce your “bad” debts before worrying too much about your “good” ones.
The first step is to find out how much you owe and to whom. The next is to gain a little knowledge about what exactly credit is and how the different types really work. Remember: Knowledge is power. For those in need of a little bit more aggressive help credit wise, we tackle the issues of debt consolidation (in which you bundle your debts into fewer payments), negotiating with creditors (yes, it is possible and in many cases very advisable), and seeking professional help from knowledgeable credit counselors who can size up your particular situation.
In the end, it may be that even after all that, you are still saddled with too much debt to keep your head above water. In that case, we give you the lowdown on whether, when, and how to declare bankruptcy and thereby give yourself a fresh start while protecting as much of your assets as possible. There is such a thing as a second chance, but if you need it, you need to do it the right way.
Categories: Money Tags: 42by12, Dealing with Debt, Debt, Money
Managing Home and Personal Finances
Here is where we delve a bit deeper into how you deal with the money that comes in and goes out every month. Your home is your castle, as they say, and here is where we explore concrete and detailed ways of turning your household into a strong financial fort. In recent years, the American dream of owning a home has suffered seriously from the popped housing bubble, the housing market slump, the credit crisis, and rising mortgage defaults nationwide. That’s why it’s more important than ever to understand how to find and maintain the right kind of mortgage for you and how to avoid trouble with it down the road.
Housing is usually the largest piece of your monthly financial pie, but another increasingly large slice goes to health insurance and other health-related expenses. We devote a whole chapter on health insurance and ways to reduce your medical costs. And we address ways of using the greatest information tool of all time, the Internet, to help you in your new quest for financial self-empowerment.
Categories: Finances Tags: Home Finances, Managing Finances, Personal Finances
