A financial planner can also help you with your budget, which is another plus. Remember that investing is a long-term strategy to building  wealth. You can also find financial help elsewhere. A local church or community center may be offering classes on personal finances and budgeting. Start with goals – The first thing you should do is to write specific goals about what you want to do with your life and your money. Finances can affect many different areas of your life. Your goal to travel the world affects how you will plan your finances. To be successful…have a plan for your personal finances!

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How is it we live in a capitalist society and know very little about our personal finances? It is important to spend a few minutes each day learning more about budgeting, debt reduction and debt management. When you learn something new, pass it on to your family and friends. Knowledge is POWER!

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Always communicate with your credit card company, mortgage holder, car loaner, and or utility if you are unable to make a payment on time or unable to make a minimum payment. It is likely the debt company will allow some leeway when you are honest with your situation. Then, always keep your word and keep the promises that you make. The debt collector will likely give you a ‘grace period’ for you to make your next payment. Even if you make a minimum payment, bill collectors welcome a smaller payment rather than no payment at all. Another tool is to combine all credit card payments to s single, zero percent credit card to give you a few months to a year without interest. This will provide ample time to make payments. Avoid adding new debt to your current debt. Before you know it – you will succeed in paying off a few debts.

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Be honest about your debt commitments and then you can begin to start fresh. Try to avoid adding more debt to you current debt load. Select the smallest debt balance and pay that debt off in one, two, or three payments. Acknowledge ways in which you spend money that can be avoided or reduce significantly. One area that is easy to address, that is ATM fees. Use your own bank ATM which will likely offer no-fee service for account holders or a system ATM which may not charge a fee or charge reduced fees. Depending how often you use the ATM, you can save $30-40 per month and hundreds of dollars each year. There are apps to find the best rate on gas prices, clothes, food, restaurants and other services. There are many ways to save money that will reduce your daily, weekly, monthly and annual costs each year.

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Yes, the day has finally arrived and you can freeze your credit a report at Experian, Transunion, and Equifax for FREE! It costs absolutely nothing to freeze your account! You will have to contact each credit reporting agency separately. You will then receive a pin number to unfreeze your account whenever you wish. You can also check and freeze your minor children’s account to ensure they do not become the victim of consumer fraud.

Experian: www.experian.com/freeze/center.html#content-01

TransUnion: www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Equifax:assets.equifax.com/assets/personal/Minor_Freeze_Request_Form.pdf.

You must also mail supporting documents to verify your and your child’s identities and that you’re the legal guardian of your child. That can include copies of:·

• Power of attorney.
• Foster care documentation.
• Your and your child’s social security cards.
• Your child’s birth certificate or other government document showing parentage.
• Your driver’s license or state- or government-issued identification card.

Children who are 16 and 17 must request their own credit freezes online at the three national credit bureaus. In some cases, they may need to mail in copies of a driver’s license or state-issued identification.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/21/credit-freezes-are-now-free-theres-one-case-you-should-do-it.html

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To protect yourself against credit fraud, there are a few things you can do… First, take advantage of the new law allowing you to freeze your credit report for free. Second, you can freeze your credit cards and unfreeze when you need to. Third, avoid over-sharing information on social media. In a recent article, individuals convicted for credit fraud shared tips that assisted their ability to steal information from unsuspecting consumers. Remember this:

Your mother’s maiden name allows thieves to link your stolen info with private info that only you would know.

When thieves already have your social security number all they need is your mother’s maiden name or previous addresses to prove they are creditable when calling vendors to gain access to credit cards and open accounts in your name.

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On Friday, September 21st, you can freeze your credit report for free! Based on a recent law passed to protect consumers. This is great news for anyone who has been affected by the credit breach at Equifax last year when million of records were stolen to include social security numbers, addresses, names etc. Your credit report will be frozen for one year at no cost to you and you will receive a pin in the mail to unfreeze your credit report as needed. Transunion and Experian are also included in this legislation to allow consumers to freeze all credit reporting agencies.

https://www.nextadvisor.com/blog/new-federal-law-lets-you-freeze-your-credit-for-free/

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Marilyn Lewis wrote, retirement planning should take priority over debt repayment. Not contributing to your plan at work means you’re giving a potential company matches. Even if your employer doesn’t match, every dollar you don’t put toward retirement is a dollar that won’t help you later on. Save diligently for your retirement! You may be able to retire earlier than you think!

http://www.moneytalksnews.com/resolve-budget-this-year-heres-how-painlessly/

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Budgets don’t hurt if you do them right. Taking control of your finances is possible only if you have a spending plan. Creating a budget – one that will get you out of debt so you can save money – is a great goal. Here are four things you can do:

• Be specific
• Important Goals
• Achievable  (realistic)
• Hold yourself accountable

http://www.moneytalksnews.com/resolve-budget-this-year-heres-how-painlessly/

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Everyone should have their own updated ‘financial literacy toolkit‘. A financial literacy toolkit includes items that you need to be informed about your personal financial status.

1. FREE Annual credit report
2. Credit score
3. Know the interest rates of your credit cards, and loans
4. A written plan to aggressively repay debt
5. A written plan to aggressively save for emergencies
6. A written plan of long-term financial goals
7. Life insurance
8. Health insurance
9. Last Will and Testament
10. Health Care proxy

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