5 Steps To Healthy Spending HabitsWritten by Barbara Gibson
Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually great our follow-through and discipline generally isn’t. Mere mention of word budget or cutback sends us into fits.Healthy spending habits need not be synonymous with deprivation – a bad word in our “you deserve it/you’ve earned it culture.” Those interested in cultivating more healthy spending habits will be happy to know that rehabilitation is painless. Step 1. Start with a spending log. Yes, you have heard this advice before. This exercise is eye-opening if you do it diligently. If you have been unable to keep such a log because it is tedious or difficult to remember, consider using your debit card for every purchase. You can find Visa/Mastercard logo nearly everywhere you shop or buy, including many fast food spots. With online banking you will have access to a visual record of all your spending. This is a great way to begin to spot patterns and decide where you can cut back. Step 2. Analyze your online account statement (four weeks is ideal) to help you determine where your money is going. Most credit unions offer to minute transaction information. Review your log without judgment. What you have done, in terms of your spending, does not matter – at least not yet. What does matter is that you get a firm hold on your expenses. For example, how much money do you spend on coffee each week? Dry cleaning? Take out? Movies? You get idea. Step 3. Next, write down all sources of income. With a list of your income and expenses in hand determine your priorities. Begin your budgeting process here. Obviously housing and other fixed costs will figure prominently on your priority list. Now, take a look at conveniences that represent variable expenses. This is likely where you will find room to make changes. For example, if you subscribe to a video service can you get two DVD plan instead of three or eight DVD plan. If you buy coffee each day, can you bring it from home a time or two each week? Or would you be willing to purchase a smaller or otherwise less expensive cup? Can you clip coupons or eat out a little less?
| | Consumer Action: Putting The “Freeze” On Credit FilesWritten by James Dimmitt
In wake of 40 million MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express accounts recently being breached, consumers and legislators are scrambling for ways to protect their personal and financial information from being hijacked and used fraudulently by hackers and ID thieves.One type of privacy protection being widely debated is option to “freeze” your individual credit reports. Californians have been protected by such a law since 2002. Vermont, Texas, and Louisiana have also passed “freeze laws” and other states are taking a closer look at enacting similar types of consumer protection. Placing a freeze on your credit files with three major credit reporting agencies - Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax - effectively shuts out potential lenders from accessing your credit files in order to make you an offer for credit. It would also protect your data from being used by identity thieves. When applying for new credit accounts or loans, consumers would use a special password to “unfreeze” their accounts. Consumer advocates who support such a freeze point out that this type of privacy protection “prevents damage before it occurs.” Consumer action groups see this as one of most effective measures available because it places control in hands of consumer and not data-collecting agencies who profit from selling consumer information.
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