My Cup Runneth Over. . .But I’m Still ThirstyWritten by Cheryl Johnson
Most of us, especially those of us who have debtor's disease (if you have it you know what it is!), have commented or at least thought, "If I could just win lottery, or sweepstakes, everything would be better." Unfortunately, even if that big dream did come true things probably would get worse instead of better. It's a strange phenomenon. It seems more money you have, more you need. It makes perfect sense. Given more money, most people would increase their standard of living. My question is, "If you haven't properly managed money you have now, how do you expect that you'll be able to properly manage two, three, four, five or hundreds of thousands times more money?" A good question, huh? Food for thought. Maybe you need to start learning to properly manage what you have now while it's on a much smaller scale. Then you'll be prepared when that big lottery win, or sweepstakes, comes through! Now you may think this is a crazy, nonsense theory. Surely a million is enough for anyone to be on easy street! I’m sure you have at some time heard rumor about people who fall into great wealth by some means or another, and just a short time later are back where they started or in even worse financial condition. Many of these instances end in bankruptcy. Not convinced? Let me tell you about my own, smaller scale, experience with this strange phenomenon. Once upon a time, I was a single parent raising four children on an income of just under $20,000 per year. My children did not do without, and while I did begin my journey into debtors demise during this time, I had everything under control. Or so I thought. By my understanding now, I certainly was not managing my money well. I was not properly preparing for variable expenses or emergency expenses that were sure to arise. Thank goodness for a great family infrastructure that gave help and support when needed! My monthly payments were well within my income, including debt payments. I monitored my debt to be sure I maintained a comfortable debt to income ratio. I felt that I had proper perspective on my finances. It was not until household income increased due to marriage that I somehow lost that perspective and my real problems began. I blame a good deal of this accelerating financial ruin to "over confidence." This "over confidence" lead to an arrogant disregard of proper money management. Looking back, you know hind sight is 20/20, if I knew then what I know now, I would be way ahead of game! Since my new husband earned more than twice income I had, I quit work to become a stay at home mom. I've been working since I was fourteen years old (and I'm no spring chicken now) so when he expressed desire for me to stay at home with kids, I jumped on it! But, this was not a contributing factor to my financial demise. It was mindset I acquired when household income increased.
| | What is Identity Theft?Written by John Mussi
How can someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their hard-earned money - cleaning up mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.How it works: In recent years identity theft has been on increase. By trickery, by stealing information from rubbish bins or office bins, or by using publicly available information, a crook obtains personal information about you—for example, date of birth and mother's maiden name. The result could be that thief is able to obtain credit cards, take out loans, issue counterfeit cheques or credit cards and go on a spending spree in your name. In effect, they become you for sole purpose of committing fraud or theft. This type of crime also can go undetected for many months, if not years, because bills and other documents often are sent to fake addresses, not to your house. You may only become aware of situation after unpaid and overdue bills begin to accumulate and your credit record has been downgraded. You may even be denied a loan or credit card, an apartment, a job or other opportunities because an identity thief ruined your credit rating.
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