Another trick scammer’s use is to set up a “counseling” agency. They may contact you offering to do certain services for a given fee. Often times these are thing you can do yourself for free. It is important to note that most services are legitimate and will provide lots of great help.

So what do you do if you suspect you are being duped? The most important things is don’t sign any documents unless you fully understand what you are signing. If party you are dealing with makes any sort of promises make sure they are in writing. If you arrange a contract of sale loan assumption make sure you know weather or not you are released from liability of debt. Consult with your attorney before agreeing to any deal that involved your home. Should you decide to sell your home to stop foreclosure, have a look at any possible complaints pertaing to prospective buyer.

2. Determine your ESSENTIAL expenses

Steve has certain fixed monthly expenses. He lists them as: - Mortgage payment - Groceries - Automobile lease payment - Automobile Insurance - Utilities - Fuel

3. Calculate a monthly cost for ESSENTIAL expenses.

The expenses that Steve has deemed essential are a mix of fixed and variable costs. He notes fixed payments first, assigning their values as: Mortgage payment$1,300 Automobile lease payment$ 385 Automobile insurance$ 130

To better gauge his variable expenses, Steve creates an expense log and records all his purchases for two-month priors to setting up his budget. He also examines his old utility statements to determine his average expenses and is able to assign following values: Groceries$ 200 Utilities$ 400 Telephone (incl. Long distance) $ 50 Fuel $ 250

Knowing that his variable expenses are based on an average of prior expenses, Steve sets aside $200 per month to cover periods when expenses may be higher than his estimate.

Steve calculates his monthly ESSENTIALS cost as $2,915.00 4. Determine and calculate your non-essentials

Steve examines spreadsheet he created for step 3 and identifies some other common expenses. Entertainment $ 50 Meals (incl. Daily coffee)$ 100 Gifts (weddings, birthdays, etc.)$ 100 Books and magazines $ 50 Miscellaneous $ 25

Steve’s monthly non-essential expenses total $325

Steve creates a new spreadsheet with information he has calculated thus far. He calculates his disposable income as: Monthly income: $4,166.67 Less: ESSENTIALS$2,915.00 Less: Non-essentials $ 325.00 Disposable income$ 926.67

5. Establish monthly contributions towards debt elimination and savings:

Steve amassed some debt while in school and owes $5,000 on his credit line. He would also like to purchase a vehicle rather than lease and plans to take a trip to Europe in two years to visit family.

He decides on following monthly contributions: Debt$ 450.00 Savings$ 300.00

Steve deducts his monthly contributions from his disposable income and is left with $176.67, which he decides to leave in his checking account to cover other incidentals and miscellaneous expenses he may have overlooked. He makes a plan, however, to transfer $500 to his savings account when balance in his checking account exceeds $1,000.

It’s easy to see that you can write out a plan yourself or use a software package to set up a budget - no need to hire a professional accountant. It’s important to know where your money is coming from and where it is going so that you won’t have any unpleasant surprises – and maybe just enough money left over at end of day to buy that lottery ticket you’ve been hoping for!

© 2005 Deborah Carraro