For those who are eligible for financial aid should take advantage of that opportunity to obtain the funds for school. There are a number of students who do not know how to go about obtaining government grants. It’s easy! Fill out the FAFSA form online when you do your yearly taxes then stop by your financial aid office located at your school. Schools sometimes like to make it a hassle and will give you the run-around (trust me, I know). I have to say that it is totally worth it.

For those of you that are not eligible for government grants, here are some tips to help you bring in some extra revenue to pay for schooling:

Sign-up for scholarship mailing lists. There are so many scholarships offered that anyone can obtain. Apply for as many as you can/have time for. The list is sometimes endless.

Save Save Save! If you have a job I can’t stress more to save as much as possible. Sure, I know that you have bills to pay, but instead of eating out so much or purchasing those little trinkets you will end up throwing away next year when you switch dorms, put that money towards your college funding.

Get a job while in school. I know it’s hard to work and go to college at the same time, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary. Even if you have to get a part-time job it will be worth it in the end. A number of students graduate with a massive amount of debt that will take them double the amount of time they spent in school to pay it off.

Start a small business. There are many affiliate type programs or multi-marketing businesses out there that you can bring some extra cash in with that don’t require a lot of your time. For more ideas of how to do this you can check out a website we have designed specifically to help those market products or even build their own websites.

These are just a few ideas of ways you can bring some extra money in to help save for college or pay as you go. If you are eligible for financial aid I would highly suggest you do all you can to get that for yourself. Trust me, you will be happier by taking this route as opposed to graduating while swimming a pool of debt.

You may think that only people who know a lot about computers can have a website. WRONG! I found an amazing company that can do this for people who are computer-illiterate such as myself. Everest Web Design will do exactly what you want. You tell them what you are looking for and they will custom build a website based on your needs and wants! The best part of all is that they are very affordable. They have some of the best prices out there in the market for building web sites and rank high on quality.

If you are struggling financially in your business or would just like to increase the revenue, I strongly suggest looking into Everest Web Design to have a website made custom for you. If you have questions feel free to comment on this blog and ask. They have designed a number of our websites for the different departments that we work for and have helped us increase our business tremendously. Check them out.

In order to obtain overdraft protection on your account a credit card must be issued from the same bank of which your checking account resides in. Along with this feature fees will be required if you do happen to overdraw on your account and in comes your overdraft protection.

A couple facts:

-Overdraft protection transaction fees range anywhere from $25 - $35

-Each transaction made to make overdraft protection kick in and after will have a fee tacked on to it. If you purchase items from 4 different stores, you will be charged that transaction fee 4 times.

Overdraft protection can save you from bouncing checks and other fees that stores charge for bouncing checks, however, it can also end up costing you large sums of money if not careful. Always keep track of your spending!

Many American’s will be affected by the inflation in the US economy that is occurring. Whether you like it or not, interest rates will be rising with the moving economy. Many American’s are unaware that they even hold an adjustable rate mortgage loan. If you are unsure as to what the details are of your current mortgage loan, I would suggest you find out quickly. You could find yourself in a bind and strapped for cash if not prepared for the changes to come.

The number one thing I would suggest to you is to get in depth with your mortgage information. Get all the details and decide if you will be affected by the changes to come in the near future. Search out all your options, whether it be refinancing or increasing your income. Rising rates could drastically affect you and the economy.

If you know absolutely nothing mortgages yet you hold one, take the initiative to educate yourself. There are many resources available to you. There are a number of lenders willing to give you a free quote on refinancing your home and can provide you with a fixed rate.

How do you consolidate? It’s simple, by rolling all your student loans into one and locking it into a single rate, you can decrease your payments and your accumulated interest. If you are still in school the best rate you could get would be a 4.75. As for those who are on a repayment plan, the best rate you could get before June 30th would be 5.375—or course these figures apply to Stafford loans that were taken out after the year 1998.

Word of warning: Those who have already consolidated their student loans previously are not eligible to reconsolidate.

If you currently have a student loan, whether you are still in school or on a repayment plan, now is the time to consolidate for a better rate.

Identity theft is and becoming an even bigger issue now than in the past. It is so easy to steal the personal information of another and use it to obtain credit cards, loans, and other sources that can destroy your credit in a matter of months. More and more cases, little or big, are being reported daily in regards to identity thievery. In my opinion you can never be too cautious in holding your personal information from others.

There are many ways in which one can obtain your personal information including mail boxes, junk mail and other personal information thrown in the dumpster, credit and debit card handling in stores or digitally, lack of the use of a paper shredder, and carelessness in giving out your social security number. These can all contribute to becoming a victim of identity theft, however, sometimes theft is just inevitable no matter how cautious you are. An even bigger problem that is beginning to occur is that of the dishonesty of individuals working within companies that require your personal information to obtain certain documents, services, products, and accounts…

Have you heard about the blood donors in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas that had their personal records stolen this last April? In fact, over 1 million records were stolen from one of Red Cross’s very own employees. Now how safe do you think your personal records are in the hands of others? Although there have not been many identity theft cases reported yet from this incident, it does not mean that there won’t be. Those who do not keep a close watch on their personal finances are easy targets for identity theft and could possibly not discover they have been robbed until filing their taxes next year…ugh, I don’t even want to think about what I mess that will be!

In May of this year another theft of personal records was reported. Personal information files were stolen right out of the home of a VA employee. Included in the stolen data were names, birthdates, and social security numbers. It is unknown at this time if any veterans have become victims of any fraudulent activity, however, only time will tell.

Even if you are extremely cautious in giving out your personal information you can still become a victim of identity theft. Watch all statements you receive carefully and don’t hesitate to check your credit report at least 3 times a year.

Are you a victim in either of these cases, or perhaps another case that has not been mentioned in this blog? If so, give us your story.

I won’t deny it, my parents were not the best teachers when it came to financial preparedness. In fact, growing up I watched them use the credit card for everything. Of course they owned a business and if you are an owner of a business you would know that a credit card is a bare necessity; however, in my home, a credit card was used for absolutely everything. There was no encouraging of putting money in a savings or investing in a bond, mutual fund, or CD. Budgeting is a word I learned on my own after I moved out and found an excessive amount of debt that had somehow accumulated in the balance of my credit card and saw no possible way to pay it off with the wage I was making. I do have to give them some credit for putting such a big emphasis on getting a real job at the age of 14 to purchase the things that I would need or want in hopes to teach me responsibility, however, the education on properly saving and investing my money was never given to me.

Teaching children to be financially prepared should be the responsibility of the parents, not the school. I do agree that the school should hold a required course on the basics of money education to reinstate what has been taught by the parents, not to mention new discoveries and statistics of this particular subject, however, what good is it if the parents are not being the prime example?

In a recent press release on April 30, 2006 with Blue Financial it states that 40 percent of workers between the ages of 21 – 30 have not even begun to plan for a retirement by investing in a retirement fund or some other type of investment service. It also states that among this group of young individuals there is a lack in knowledge of good and bad debt which could affect the economy negatively years to come.

Financial preparedness should be taught to children and young adults by the parents. Public schools, as well as private schools, should hold a mandatory class to educate students on money education; however, parents should be the example and take most of the responsibility. To help those get out of debt and prevent debt from accumulating in years to come, education is the key.

So, I set some goals at the beginning of the year, one being that I would get out of debt and learn to better manage my money and expenses. I have not yet reached this goal because, if you read my last blog The danger in thinking “I can pay it off later” you would know my story; however, going hand-in-hand with being financially stable and money smart would be that of investing. In my goals for the year I have also came to the conclusion that I need to put some money away; whether it be for emergencies or just for a “good opportunity” that comes down the road later on and what better way than to put it in safe keeping where it can accumulate interest AND give you the ability to take it out anytime. Of course there could be a small fee that applies when removing it before the specific time period is over.

At the start of the year as I was reviewing my financial status and where I see it headed, I realized that I have completely failed to prepare myself for unexpected circumstances that could occur. A major problem I see in families today is that they don’t have some stashed cash to help them get out of a pickle if they happen to get in one. It’s not too hard to stash some cash if you have the knowledge. Here are a few easy ways that can help:

• I have been doing a little research on CD’s and what the best possible solution would be to put money in as a way to invest. Here is a quick fact for you to remember all your life: Banks are bad when it comes to investing; especially nation-wide or well known banks. Interest rates tend to be lower than credit unions when investing your money in a certificate of deposit. Look at the comparison below that I have put together of interest rates between banks and credit unions in my local area.

• Take some liquid money out of your paycheck each time your get paid. What I mean by liquid money is tangible money—money that you can stick in a safe place within our house (or wherever is safe) where you won’t dive into it. Once you have accumulated enough to put in an investment plan (because they usually require a minimum) such as a mutual fund or CD, DO IT! The sooner the better—you will want to accumulate interest on that money as soon as possible to give you a little something extra. If you don’t have a high income and can’t afford to put much away each paycheck, start out with just $5 per paycheck or an amount that you can afford.

• If you are working with a company that offers retirement plans, by all means you better take it! These are great ways for you to prepare for the future AND often they are tax deferred. You don’t have to worry about a thing because the money is automatically taken out of your paycheck and put into the fund before you even receive your paycheck. It’s a no-hassle way to invest.

Investing your money in a certificate of deposit is a great way for starters to learn how to invest. It is a small investment opportunity with low-risks. I would suggest that you get out of debt before anything else; but if you are in debt up to your ears and will take a very long time to get out, I would probably suggest that you put some money away so that you don’t have to keep digging yourself even more into debt when unexpected circumstances occur.

A great analogy that was mentioned in the article I read, was that of an obese person and the steps for them to loose weight. To become thin and trim you must change your habits and work daily to become the person you want to be; however this could (and will) take years. Just like credit card use and debt control, it could take years to overcome. You have to learn how to budget, stick to your budget, and then be patient and persistent as you watch the debt fall off.

A common occurrence that I find myself falling into is that of having the mentality that I can “pay it off later”. Today, more than ever, this proves to be wrong. With new bankruptcy and credit card minimum payment laws recently passed, there is a possibility that you could reach the end of your life span still stuck in debt.

Having this mind set of “paying it off later” has really put a dent in my credit score and added to my stress level. Even though I have dedicated to put a certain amount of money from each paycheck onto my credit card to reduce my debt, I am still finding it impossible to get out of debt. Each month I continue to add even more debt to my credit card after I make a payment that doesn’t even match up to the amount spent during the last month. I also find myself feeling like “oh, I paid a huge amount on my credit card this month so I can spend a little bit more” when in reality I didn’t even cover all of last months debt in the payment I made.

Just the mental aspect of putting money on my credit card leaves me with this mindset that I can spend more money. It’s like I am deceiving myself by thinking that my debt will eventually go away because I am putting “some” money towards it each month.

Watching the expenses is tough! You don’t realize how much you are really spending when it comes to using that little plastic thing usually located in your billfold or purse. This is another one of my MAJOR mistakes—using the credit card to purchase unnecessary items. If you are a cash carrier, you will notice that once the cash is gone, it’s gone! Whereas with credit cards, you are borrowing money that you don’t have. Once the credit limit is maxed out on that card, you are the one gone!

Debt is a serious serious problem in the world today! It is an addictive drug—the want (and purchase) of unnecessary items must be dealt with accordingly. Today people—and I can testify to this—are not living within their means. Get yourself out of that mentality of “I can pay it off later” and watch those expenditures! It may take a while to learn how to live within your means, but it is do-able.

Here are some helpful tips to get you out of the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living.

• Set a goal. If you have something you are working for, it is easier to watch your money. Think about a vacation you want to take this summer or a new house you’ve had your eye on.
• Keep track of where your money goes. And not just a vague idea in your head. Write it down. Keep track of what you spend and where. You may be surprised at unexpected leaks in your expenditures.
• Don’t eat out. Many families are getting into the habit of eating out every night. Limit your family to one dinner out a month. Eat dinner and home and take your lunch to work. This can save hundreds of dollars a month.
• Be careful when you shop. Don’t do grocery shopping when you are hungry and, ladies, don’t go shopping when you are depressed. Always make a list and stick to it.
• Direct deposit some of your paycheck into savings. Check with your employer to see if this option is available to you. It is much easier to save when it is an automatic withdrawal from your paycheck before you get it.
• Sell something you don’t want or use. Do you have an extra car sitting around that some day you are going to fix? Or that camper out back just in case you ever change your mind and decide you like camping? Give Ebay a try, or even the local classifieds. One man’s junk is always another man’s treasure, and it doesn’t hurt that you can make money off the deal.
• Get a second job. If you still can’t escape the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living, try working a second job for a while. It is no fun, but the extra cash will really help you meet your goal.

Whatever you decide to do to meet your goal of not living paycheck to paycheck, remember that the most important thing is to maximize income and minimize expenses. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away; if you stick to it, you will see a change in your financial situation soon enough!