Minting Nickels

At first I titled this post, “3 Ways Water Can Hurt You”, but then after I had images of ancient torture contraptions (you know, the one that continually drips on your forehead until you go crazy), I decided to be a little more specific and let you know I was talking about your finances! Anyway, back on track here.

Water is a great thing. In fact, it’s necessary for us to live! But, there are times when we might wish that water just didn’t exist. Specifically, there are three ways where water can absolutely kill our budget. Avoid these costs and you’ll be able to call water your friend again.

Roof Leaks

I have quite a few friends that have had issues with their roofs lately. Some have new roofs and some have old roofs. When water wants to get inside your home, it doesn’t seem to matter. So what financial problems arise from water getting into your house?

First of all, if it’s actually leaking through your ceiling, that means it has soaked through your plaster or drywall and has most likely left a visible stain!

Second, if you have carpet and the water has found its way onto it, then it probably needs replacement.

Finally, if you have enough water coming in, there may be structural damage to your house and a strong possibility for mold! If you see discoloration in your shingles or notice that a leak is beginning inside, don’t just ignore it, take action! Your wallet will thank you.

Water Softeners

Did you know that Harvey Water Softeners can save you money on your electric and clothing bills? It’s 100% true. If your white shirts have transformed into yellow shirts, and if your shower is suddenly a shade of orange that you never intended, then you most likely have hard water. And, if you have hard water, that means that you have too many metallic ions in your water, which makes it much harder to heat than regular water. So, when your hot water heater is churning away to give you a hot pot of coffee or a hot shower, it’s putting forth extra energy and is actually costing you more!

And, since you have to go out and replace your yellow shirts with new white ones, that is killing your pocket book as well. If you simply got a Harvey block salt softener, then you would no longer have these additional expenses.

Too Much Water Used

Many of us take water for granted. We never had to walk five miles down a rocky hill to fetch a bucket of stream water. All we have to do is turn our faucet and presto! ‘Would you like it cold or hot?’ Unfortunately, since we are so used to having water all around us, many of us tend to waste it; Showers that last for 15 minutes, faucets that continue to run – even when we’re not in the same room, and sprinklers that carelessly throw water onto the pavement for no good reason at all. Pay careful attention to what you’re doing with your water and you’ll be saving money in the process.

Energy bills can become a serious issue especially as seasons change from spring to summer and fall to winter.

Here are several ways on how to manage your energy related bills and keep the costs reasonable throughout the year:

1.  Plan an Annual Inspection. Set up an HVAC inspection, performed by a certified technician once a year. This will keep your heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation system at working with a high efficiency rate. Inspections cost anywhere from $50 to $100, but that isn’t much compared to the money you will be saving from cutting energy costs.

2.  Choose the Right Equipment and Keep it Clean. Home owners should keep their window air conditioning units relevant to the size of the room. Units that are too large can waste energy and build on costs over time. Regardless of the size, it is important to keep the unit clean meaning a monthly air filter change.

3.  Find inexpensive alternatives. Close the blinds to lessen the amount of natural light in your home. Rooms increase in temperature without any shades or curtains to keep the sunlight out. Especially southern states because sunlight is available for longer periods of the day. If you are a Texas resident, find your electricity rates at www.shopelectricityratestexas.com.

4.  Use fans and unplug appliances. Fans can bring down room temperatures several degrees cooler. Although remember to turn the fan off along with other appliances when you leave the home. This includes anything that you may leave in the outlets because they can use energy when you aren’t home. Such as your television or computer chargers, they all continue to generate heat which can amount to 10% of residential energy use.

5.  Set up your thermostat. Program your thermostat so that it doesn’t work in the times you know you won’t home, for example your work hours or certain times in the weekend.

6.  Limit the amount of heat sources. There are many ways heat can get into the home in the most peculiar places. Seal up the house so that external air cannot seep through cracks along your window and door frames. Lace these cracks with caulk or weather stripping to keep your desired air temperature in a confined place within your home. A home with proper insulation can improve energy efficiency 20% year round.

7.  Keep fresh light bulbs. Try your best to keep your home lit with incandescent bulbs because they use less energy and produce less heat which will cut a great deal of energy costs over the light bulb’s lifespan.

Save Money by Repairing and Maintaining

8.  Evaluate the market of suppliers. Most states allow for residents to choose their own energy provider. Depending on your choice, some residents can save anywhere between 5% and 15% a month on their energy bill. Alternative providers mostly use renewable energy so their costs are lower because their energy doesn’t come from the source of natural gas. Most providers also have fixed billing prices so if the energy prices rise your bill will continue to stay the same.

9.  Set a fixed bill plan. Inquire about fixed bill plans to your utility company which will keep your costs the same regardless of your electricity usage for a set period of time. Check with your supplier to set in stone what amount of usage would fit in a fixed bill plan. Some companies alert customers if they are using more power than they had anticipated.

It’s understandable if you feel a little bewildered when it comes to making sense of your credit score, as there are a lot of individual factors that can contribute to your final score. However, just because you’re uncertain of what actually causes that low credit score of yours, that’s no excuse for you to sit back and leave your financial future up to chance. To make it easier on you, we’ve outlined three commons actions that could be responsible for your poor credit score.

1. Requesting Too Much Credit

Each time you apply for a new loan or credit card, your credit score may take a hit. Because for each application, the lender more than likely will request a copy of your credit report to make sure that you are a financially responsible candidate. Credit reporting agencies call this kind of request a hard inquiry, and such inquiries can shave points off of your credit score.

One or two hard inquiries in a year may not be a big deal and probably won’t make a huge dent in your credit score, but when you start applying for multiple credit cards and loans in a short period of time, that’s when you may start to see your score lower. If you’re frequently borrowing money, it tips off lenders that you might be financially impulsive or irresponsible, which could mean that you may not be unreliable when it comes to handling your money.

You shouldn’t be afraid of borrowing money or applying for a credit card because of these hard inquiries, but you should keep in mind that the frequency of such requests could lower your credit score.

2. Maintaining a High Credit Utilization Rate

Credit utilization rate is just a fancy name for how much of your available credit you use. It’s the ratio between your total credit card balances and the amount of credit you have available. The more credit you use, and the closer you inch toward maxing out your credit card, the higher your credit utilization rate.

Your credit utilization makes up a good chunk of your credit report, and generally the higher your credit utilization rate, the lower your score. This is because credit reporting agencies tend to associate high utilization rates with risky behavior because the consumer is close to reaching their credit limits.

Credit experts urge consumers to keep their credit utilization rate below 30% for the best credit score results.

3. Paying Bills Late

More than likely you already know that late and missed payments will crash your credit score, but did you know that those delinquent payments make up a good 35% of your total credit score?

If you’ve missed only one or two payment due dates they may not make a huge difference in your credit report unless they’re 90 days past due. When you start racking up multiple 90 day late payments on your credit card bills, installment loans, and mortgages, that’s when you’ll notice your credit score significantly lowering.

To cure this bad habit, figure out a way to remind yourself about payment deadlines whether it’s asking the lenders for payment reminders or automatic withdrawals, marking your calendar, or setting alerts on your cellphone.

Don’t let your credit confusion keep you from a bright financial future, take charge of your credit report and challenge yourself to the highest score.

Chloe Mulliner writes and edits for CreditSources.org, a website dedicated to bad credit loans and credit options for people with poor and no credit history.

The phenomenon of payday loans is a relatively recent one, and many people are using these short-term facilities without fully understanding the consequences of doing so. The principle behind payday loans is relatively simple; they provide people with quick access to relatively small amounts of cash for short-term needs. However, problems start to mount when people decide to defer their repayments; effectively using short-term loan providers for long-term financial problems.

For instance, a loan of £200 taken over 14 days may typically require a repayment of £220. On the face of it, this seems pretty reasonable to most people, but when the APR is calculated, loans like these attract rates of over 4,000 percent and beyond. A deferment may mean the borrower has to pay only the interest, but the £220 owed will then roll on. Interest is then applied again, and the phenomenon of compound interest begins to create a burgeoning mountain of debt. With few mainstream loan providers willing to offer assistance in the current climate, many people feel the only solution involves taking out yet more payday loan debt.

Debt Help Can Help You to Break the Cycle

People who can’t pay payday loans back in time will often suffer in silence. Embarrassed and humiliated, they will be forced to endure countless phone calls, letters of demand and knocks on the door from creditors. In extreme cases, people become prisoners in their own homes – afraid of being challenged by over-zealous debt collectors. It doesn’t have to be this way!

The first step to breaking free from the cycle of payday loan debt is admitting the problem exists. Talking to a professional debt specialist will not only unburden people from the pressures of debt, it will mean decisive and constructive action can be taken to repay it once and for all.

After an initial consultation, a debt advisor will want to ascertain the debtor’s current financial situation. In some cases, debt advice may simply revolve around cuts to expenditure and ways to earn more cash. However, serious debt problems may mean that the debt advisor has to contact creditors on behalf of the consumer.

How Can Debt Specialists Help with Payday Loan Debt

Although they don’t have to, many loan providers will agree to the freezing of interest on certain loans, as they will want to recoup as much of their funds as possible. This action will leave a fixed sum to work with – one that will stop increasing every month when interest charges are applied.

The next step to a future free from payday loan debt will involve negotiations over a new schedule of repayments; one that is affordable and sustainable. It is sometimes possible to arrange this on an informal basis, and provided that the debtor can keep up with the agreed repayments, no further action will be necessary.

However, where debt levels are simply too high, an Individual Involuntary Agreement (IVA) may allow people to pay back what they can afford over two years – any remaining debt is written off at the end of the agreement. In some rare cases, debtors may be better off by pursuing payday loan debt consolidation loans. This will require a further credit arrangement, but it will mean just one affordable monthly repayment which can save debtors hundreds of pounds every month.

Of course, there are some people who have such enormous debts that the only viable course of action is bankruptcy, but a debt advisor will only recommend such a drastic course of action when all other avenues have been explored.

If you’re currently struggling with a mountain of payday loan debt, ask experienced debt specialists for help – it could be the first step to a debt-free future.

Company Profile:

 1^st Point Debt Solutions offers debt management solutions to help you resolve your debt problems.  If you require help on your payday loan debt, please visit - www.1stpointdebtsolutions.co.uk

Fiscal cliff diving is a serious matter that needs immediate attention. A lot of consumers seem unaware that due to changes in policy they will have to pay more taxes. This can adversely affect consumer credit in a number of ways. Let’s look at them in detail.

1. More Taxes

Firstly, if you thought that you were paying enough taxes then think again because you will have to pay even more. It may sound unreal, but it is true. The impact of these policies will directly affect consumers as they will have to pay more taxes. Even those who make enough money will have to pay higher social security taxes. Lastly, the AMT (Alternate minimum tax) will also jump up and adversely affect the average consumer.

2. Reduction in Overall Earnings

Since consumers will have to pay more taxes, their incomes will be reduced significantly. Credit counseling experts can help you explain these terms in more detail. But the key element is that spending habits will change. An average consumer will now spend his money more carefully then he used to. Consumer preferences might also change as they move towards lesser known brands in an attempt to save money.

3. Bad Credit

Since consumers will have less money of their own, they are likely to borrow. Given that you can’t change your lifestyle overnight, these loans are likely to be significant. In the long term they will put consumers on the back foot. Inability to pay off loans will lead to an increase in bad debts. Consumers will be under more pressure as the weight of the debts begin to rise. But there is a solution, you don’t need to struggle along with debt, credit counseling is available from organizations such as Consolidated Credit.

4. Lifestyle Changes

Consumers will have to be more responsible when spending their money. These lifestyle changes will also affect the businesses from where these consumers buy goods. Overall, all businesses will experience a significant reduction in sales which means they will pay lesser taxes as their revenue is reduced. The amount of money floating in the economy will decline as consumer lifestyles move towards mediocrity.

5. Reliance on Credit Cards

This fiscal cliff dive will force consumers into impulsive decisions. These consumers might need some credit counseling. As the incomes are reduced, consumers will start buying more on credit. This will affect their long term financial health and could force them towards bankruptcy. Average interest rates are likely to be as high as 15% in this time of financial uncertainty.

6. Adverse affects on Savings

Not only will the fiscal cliff affect your current financials, but also have implications for the future. Consolidated credit experts can help you out of these situations, so you should consider consulting them. Your long term future is at stake here. Given the current scenario, it is very likely that people will dip into their savings to cover for current expenses. So basically the intended purpose of these emergency funds is destroyed.

7. Unsafe Investments

Your investments are no longer safe. The situation will force many consumers to cash in on their investments. Any financial security for the future will be destroyed. Taking money from retirement plans will result in penalties and push up the scale of costs even further.

8. Credit Scores

In the past, people prided themselves at maintaining good credit scores, however now it will become more difficult to do so. The increasing financial pressure will affect buying patterns and negatively influence consumer behavior.

9. Lower Credit Limits

Given the circumstances, banks will realize that consumers no longer have the ability to pay off loans. This will lead to lower credit limits and tougher regulations for customers. It will be difficult to borrow and even harder to repay.

10. Psychological Impact

The true impact of this fiscal cliff dive will only be gauged over a period of time. As the consumers begin to realize what has happened they are likely to take action. From a psychological standpoint, it could even end up affecting family planning decisions and overall living standards.

Conclusion

These tips are surely a good reminder of what lies ahead. The changing landscape is unforgiving and only those will survive who are financially well prepared for these challenges.

About the Author:

This article is composed by Elaine McPartland who is associated with “Consolidated Credit” as their community writer. In the above article, She has mentioned worst dangerous signs that shows your debts are out of control. You can add her at her google+ profile.