Debt problem has its negative impact on individuals, businesses and the economy are growing alarmingly in almost all countries around the world. Now it is requiring urgent attention like debt management help.

Bad debt loan has become unpleasant and stressing thing, pointing to the debtor. (more…)

As of May 2002, consumers had about $712.2 billion outstanding in revolving credit, up about 6.8% from the previous year. Some of this credit is paid off each month; however, about 60% of U.S. households revolve some portion of their credit card balances. For those that revolve, the Federal Reserve Board reported that their balances were $4,100 in 1998. Other estimates show credit card balances as high as $8,000 in 2000 (McGinn et al. 2001). One out of five families with incomes under $50,000 spend at least 40% of after-tax income on debt servicing (Kennickell, Starr-McCluer, and Surette 2000). Needless to say, money spent on credit card debt is money that cannot go toward retirement savings. (more…)

People today are more responsible for their own retirement income security. Over the past 15 to 20 years there has been a shift in responsibility for long-term well-being away from institutions (employers, the government) to individuals. For example, in 1980, 70% of pension plans were defined contribution (DC, as opposed to defined benefit plans; DC plans shift more of the responsibility for the growth of retirement funds to the consumer); by 1997, 92% of plans were defined contribution (Conte 1998). In 1988, one-fourth (25%) of workers were covered primarily by DC plans; in 1998, over three-fifths (63%) were covered by such plans (Copeland 2002). (more…)

A number of groups (the Consumer Federation of America, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Americans for Consumer Education and Competition, the American Savings Education Council) have conducted personal financial literacy quizzes with different audiences. Most of these show that literacy levels are low. (more…)

You also must make choices about how you spend money. For example, would you buy the $129 pair of sneakers you saw at the mall or save that money? You cannot do both, because most people have a limited amount of money. To help make choices, consider the time value of money, which is the increase of an amount of money due to earned interest or dividends. (more…)

You can keep your financial documents in different places—in a home file, in a safe-deposit box, or on a computer. To organize your documents as effectively as possible, you may want to use all three. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the types of documents being kept.

A home file is one place to keep financial documents. (more…)

Future value is the amount your original deposit will be worth in the future based on earning a specific interest rate over a specific period of time. Figure out how much your savings will earn and grow by multiplying the principal by the annual interest rate and then adding that interest amount to the principal. (more…)

Do you know what do couples fight about? The answer is always the same for every couple: financial matters. In the marriage, you could spend a lot, while your partner wants to save money. How to avoid financial arguments in married couple? Avoid financial arguments requires couple to have discussion before getting married. Both should be sharing their needs and financial goals and develop plan for spending and saving money. (more…)

In examining your financial condition and setting financial goals, you succeeded in nailing down where you are and where you’re going financially. But it’s important that you conduct these exercises at least annually. Keep the cash in a checking account, and watch it disappear! Wouldn’t it be better to put all the money you’ve saved on that extravaganza toward financing your child’s pay college education? (more…)

You can also use present value calculations to determine how much you would need to deposit so you can take a specific amount of money out of your savings account for a certain number of years. This is knows as series of deposit. If you want to take $400 out of your account each year for nine years, and your money is earning interest at 8 percent a year, how much money would you need to deposit now? Part D of Figure 1.4 will help you find the answer. Find Year 9 in the left column and look across to the 8 percent interest-rate column. The value given is 6.247. Multiply this value by the amount of money that you want to take out every year:

$400 X 6.247 = $2,498.80

You need to deposit $2,498.80 now to be able to take out $400 each year for nine years. This calculation is used for retirement.

Some savers and investors like to make regular deposits into their savings. You can also do the same to increase your savings. A series of equal regular deposits is sometimes called an annuity. Use Part B of the chart in Figure 1.4 (future value of a series of equal yearly deposits) to find out the future value of $1,000 a year at 5 percent annual interest for six years. At the end of the six years, you would have $6,802:

$1,000 X 6.802 = $6,802