Family Money Crunch: Who Can You Turn To For Help?

Now that the Congress has acted on the bailout of Wall Street, who is working to bail out the American Family?  The answer to that is: you!  You are your own best asset when looking to help your family improve your financial situation today.

Well, you might ask “If we can’t afford expensive financial advisors, is there something we can do on our own?”

Yes, you have all the tools in your Family Financial Budget Toolbox today to help you improve your money matters:

1. Create a Family Financial Budget – write down all the money in and the money out.  Don’t leave anything out of the budget – it’s not what you want to spend, it’s how much you actually spend. Write it all down, Money in on the left side of the paper and money out on the right side.

2. Family Meeting – now, the family needs to put their heads together to work on both sides of this paper.

A. First – Money In – besides Dad’s job, what else can we do to bring in money?

Mom – the kids are in school – can you share your mothering talents with a part time day-care position – many parents must have their children in daycare – you have so much you can give to those children and put some extra money into the family budget!

The family has many things they no longer use, what can you sell?  Garage sales, swap meets, even eBay.  Who knows what that old baseball card collection is worth today!

B. Next – Money Out – many things we pay for, we forget about. Have you checked your cell phone packages lately?  Consolidate under a family plan and save.  What about the cable TV bill? Can you combine TV and Internet service?  Can you combine TV, Internet and Home Phone service?

Dry Cleaning – have you looked for the $1.99 cleaners instead of the neighborhood cleaners?  This can save on work clothes. 

Grocery Shopping – do you buy bulk items at the large Costco or Sam’s club – those items that are not perishable can be bought in bulk instead of at the grocery store – this is a wonderful savings tool.

Movies and Entertainment – from the video store to the movie theatre there are programs to save – use the mailing services for video, rather than the store or online movies.  Take movie night out and make it movie night in – family fun in your living room instead of a theatre.  Go roller skating at the local rink instead of expensive movies – family will enjoy and save money at the same time.

Most importantly – be sure to manage your checking accounts.  Many families waste money on overdraft fees because they don’t track their debit card purchases and use the overdraft bank protection to cover them.  This is very expensive.

Take money out at your bank machine – its free.  If you use any other machine the charges add up.

C.  Credit Cards: – The most tempting ploy by the banks is to give you a credit card. The rate is very low or 0% for a while, until you charge everything on the card.  Then, the rate can go as high as 29.95% – this makes it impossible to every pay off the balance.  Rule of thumb – a credit card is for emergencies or something you can pay back within 3 monthly installments.  If you can’t pay for it within three months with your budgeted funds – don’t buy it!

How Do I Get Out of Credit Card Debt?

1. Put the card away today.  Do not add new charges.
2. Put at least 20% more into your monthly payment than the minimum payment says – this will start to chip away at the balance.
3. Follow this with all extra budget money until the card is paid in full.  Do not put money in “savings” until the card is paid – your savings does not earn 29.95%, but your credit card balance costs you 29.95% – pay off the balance before you start your savings plan.