90 Days to Financial Stability

Does that title sound contradictory to you? That you can live a great life on a budget? Many people won't believe it. After all, the word budget suggests a limited amount of funds because, if you had unlimited funds, you wouldn't need a budget, right? I can see the logic in that but let's look at budgets a different way. The majority of us live on a specific amount of money and that money has to cover the basics such as the roof over our heads, food, clothing, utilities and transportation as well as the extras like entertainment. Some people live their lives by spending everything they get when they get it then either suffering until the next pay period or living on credit to survive.  I've done that and it isn't fun - I was always waiting until the next time money came in and counting the days until I would again have money in my pocket. Instead of living each day to the fullest, finding joy in just being alive, I was wasting my life waiting for more money! Are...

None of us likes to be embarrassed or humiliated. The memories of those burning emotions can make us relieve the embarrassment years later. But embarrassment doesn't kill us. Nor does it hurt us. In order to avoid humiliation in the areas of finance, many people will sign up for overdraft protection with their bank or credit union. This will ensure that, if a person writes a check or makes a payment through electronic means and there isn't enough money in the account to cover it, then the bank will 'dip' into the overdraft to get the money to pay for the charge. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. There is a monthly fee you will be charged. Plus a fee for when you use the overdraft AND interest on the amount in the overdraft. Or you may decide to use the pay as you go method. I saw one bank that will charge you $5.00 for each day the overdraft is increased or created. Whichever method you use, the charges are going to add up. And you will be contributing to ...