Archive for September, 2007


4 Steps to Settle Your Debt

Mark W Miller in his book, The Sensible Saver outlines 4 steps on how to settle your debt:

1. Gather all your bills together, write down each account’s total balance and its corresponding monthly payment;

2. Rank the payments in order of lowest to highest. You will pay off your bills in this order;

3. The amount you have determined to help start your plan is the extra amount you should now pay to bill number one every month until it is paid off. You have to keep making the regular payments too; and

4. After you pay off this debt, take the initial extra pay-off amount plus the amount you were paying to bill number one and apply it to bill number two. Continue this process for every bill in the order it is ranked.

May the Force be with you.

Source: Him

6 Steps to Reduce Your Debt


Dave Ramsey, a financial author has taught the debt reduction method known as debt-snowball method. It is a form of debt management that usually applied for revolving credits.Here are the steps on how to reduce your debt by using debt-snowball method:

1. You have to list all debts according to the smallest balance to the largest balance. However, if two debts are very close in amount owed, the debt with a higher interest rate would come first. A, B, C, D list for example.

2. Pay the minimum payment on every debt.

3. Find out how extra money can be paid for the smallest amount debt (A).

4. Pay the minimum payment on every debt plus the extra money for the smallest amount debt (A) until it is paid off.

5. Then, add the amount of money used to settle the debt A (minimum + extra) for the next debt in order i.e. the second smallest debt (B) until it is paid off.

6. Repeat these process until all debts has been paid in full.

That’s all.

Thank you dear :)

Managing Expense for Small Business

Managing Expenses

Managing expenses is a challenge for most small business owners, but it’s a challenge worth mastering. Losing track of expenses can lead to your not being reimbursed by clients, paying too much, and/or paying for things that you really don’t need.

For most small business owners, the only thing worse than shelling out hard-earned cash for expenses is shelling out hard-earned cash for unnecessary expenses. Separating the unnecessary expenses from the necessary ones isn’t easy, but it can be done.

Here are a few expense management guidelines to help you get a handle on some of the most frequently abused expense categories in small businesses.

Petty Cash

The petty cash account is the most fluid and most easily abused account in every small business. To rein in your petty cash account, you’re going to need to lay down some ground rules. For starters, the petty cash account should be just that - petty. The whole account shouldn’t exceed more than RM300* or so, and employees should be accountable for receipts. Also, the account shouldn’t be used to pay for things that cost more than RM50*. If it costs more than that, employees should be instructed to follow the standard expense procedure. To keep it on the up and up, the petty cash fund should be placed in the care of a designated custodian who reports to your company’s bookkeeper.

Company Credit Cards

Company credit cards are convenient and seemingly hassle-free. But if you don’t stay on top of what’s being purchased they won’t stay hassle-free for long. Establish a policy that company credit cards are to be used for business purchases only. No personal purchases should be allowed, even if the employee intends to reimburse the company for personal charges. Additionally, it should be standard practice to obtain detailed receipts for each purchase, itemizing exactly what was bought on company plastic. Finally, at the end of the month, make sure your accounting department reconciles purchases against the statement provided by the credit card company.

Account Reconciliation

Monthly account reconciliation shouldn’t be limited to your credit card account. It’s important to have a system in place that provides for a monthly reconciliation of expenses with built-in checks and balances that make it difficult for any one employee to skim money from the business. If you’re not sure how to do that, contact your accountant for details.

Travel Expenses

For some people, a business trip is little more than a paid vacation on the company’s tab. Unless you’re comfortable springing for luxury accommodations for your employees when they are away from the home office, you’ll need to have a system in place to monitor travel expenses as well as a policy describing what is and isn’t allowable when employees hit the road. Like other kinds of expenses, employees need to provide detailed receipts for all of their travel-related expenditures. However, it’s also helpful to establish guidelines in advance that address topics like food allowances, airfare (economy vs. first class), hotel budgets, and extras like pay-per-view movies and long distance calls.

One more thing to keep in mind: Just because you paid for it doesn’t mean it’s automatically deductible at tax time. Some expenses are subject to Inland Revenue Board (”IRB”). Rules that may either limit their deductibility or disqualify them completely. If you’re not sure whether or not an expense is deductible, it’s a good idea to contact your tax-preparer before you buy it.

*Note: The amount is not final. It depends on your business’ culture

Student Loan Bill Consolidation

Nowadays, sending your son or daughter into college could be the most financially-challenging task for you; but that is okay, since student loan bill consolidation will help you fulfill your dreams for them.

Student loans can get you financially-drained after all the years of sending your children to college. You have to pay not only for the tuition fee but books, research expenses, travel allowances, dorm fees, and a lot others. That is why by the time they graduate, your debts are already neck deep, they already make you unable to breathe and think clearly where on earth you could get amounts to pay them off.

But all those loans you have accumulated over the years can be easily paid off in just a matter of few years, typically in less than five years, by getting that student loan bill consolidation.

How will it work for you?

Student loan bill consolidation is the best method that can effectively ease you out of your burdens from debts. It is very easy to understand how it can work for you after all those years of securing loans for the college of your children. Your loan installments are consolidated altogether so the debt management company could compute for you the total installment of what you have to pay them every month.

You simply take the loan from the company to pay off various student loans you got from different creditors, and then you are cleared of all the debts from others; while you in turn would receive only one bill statement from thereon and pay the company with lowered interest rates.

But before you receive this monthly installment bills, you would have to sit down with them and negotiate the best repayment plan for you. Whatever plan you would be having, it would be something that is at a much lower rate than the collective rate you get from your previous different lenders.

Rates the company could provide you vary with the duration of the installment plans. The best thing about this is that you could take the most flexible term which is according to how much you can comfortably afford to pay every month.

The classification of monthly repayment terms will be as follows:

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Some Tips On Using Credit Cards

By Smith James

After getting credit cards, it can be very tempting to go on a spending spree and buying all sorts of new things that you otherwise won’t buy before. So, chances are there that you end up shopping a lot and go beyond your affordability level. Ultimately you may be in debt. So, you must resist that temptation and use your credit cards wisely. It may be difficult; but proper planning will be helpful.

To begin with, you have to remember that you should not spend more than what you can afford. You should have a budget to figure out your affordability. Subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income. The result you get is your disposable income; you can afford to spend on shopping. Anything beyond this you spend may cause you trouble; remember this when you use your credit cards.


However, credit cards give you the leverage to go beyond the surplus amount. But you should not exceed your disposable income just because you can do this with the credit cards. Over usage of the cards may take you to above the credit limit and won’t be able to spend any more, even if you have an emergency. And being unable to use the credit cards on emergencies is something really pathetic.

Do not use the credit cards on impulse. Unless it is very urgent, wait for some days and shop when you get some rebate or cash back. Very often, credit card companies give special offers; you can make use of these offers. This does not mean that you should not use your credit card except in emergencies. Rather, you should use your credit cards periodically. Finally, do not delay in paying off the bills. Delay in paying bills may make you pay some extra that is just money going down the drain.

The author is an expert in credit card and has written a number of authoritative articles on this subject. His articles are widely read because of the clever tips and valuable advices he provides in them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Smith_James

The Debt Trap


Interesting discussion on debt management. If you want to get out from debt, you shall watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty8QMxzEkkI

One in every 60 U.S. households filed for bankruptcy in 2005. It’s likely someone in your family, a neighbor down the block or a co-worker in your office is in bankruptcy court. It’s not just an American problem either. Scotland has had a 33% rise in people losing there homes. For every $100 an Australian earns, they owe $130. What about you? Have you experienced difficulty paying every bill on time? Would you say that your financial house is in order? Stay tuned to Beyond Today as we discuss the problem of and the solutions to “The Debt Trap”.

Before Applying for a Credit Card


Credit cards are one of the most convenient ways to purchase these days. With just a push of that standard and trusted credit card, you are able to do many things like shopping, buying your needs when there is no cash available, and even travel. No doubt, most of us today opt for credit cards. Its user-friendly feature is perhaps is biggest selling point plus, of course, the points you can earn from each use. In creditspeak, accumulating points means receiving a gift certificate or a money back perk at a later time. This means being able to purchase something for your personal pleasure.

Nevertheless, no matter how good these all may sound, it still remains a contending factor that every month (or depending on the agreements struck between company and client), you will be receiving a billing statement. Commitment to pay at a regular basis should, therefore, be included in one’s list of things to consider. Having the most convenient way to have a purchase any time of the day you want is not in any way an excuse to be financially irresponsible. With or without a credit card, it is always wise to monitor your spending and live within your means. Many times, credit card holders forget about this, so they tend to be complacent about their spending.

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