Don't Let Debt Defeat Your Family

Debt is the last thing anyone really needs - but it’s certainly a much more sensitive problem when a family is in debt. Finances are becoming a more common worry among American families than ever, with debt being particularly (and worryingly) common among the population. While debt shouldn’t always be considered a terrible thing - there are some benefits to being in small amounts of debt when it comes to building a good credit rating, as long as you’re on top of the matter - it can become an overwhelming issue for many families.

It’s been estimated that as many as eight in every ten Americans are in debt, with the majority of these people being a parent living with children. These statistics probably won’t look any better in a few more years once more students have graduated from college with a bunch of student debt on their shoulders!

If your family is in debt, it’s important to understand that your situation may not be as dire as you imagine it to be. Again, the idea of being in debt has become such a terrifying prospect that a lot of people end up worrying too much about it. But if you know that your family is in significant debt, then you need to start taking action before that debt overwhelms you. Let’s have a quick look at the ways in which you can ease the stress of this debt on your family.

Talk to the experts

The type of professional expert in this field that you should consider talking to will depend on your specific circumstances. You may need to talk to a standard financial advisor, or, if the situation is a little more complex and involves property or divorce, you might need to enlist the help of family law services. But a lot of families won’t consider this option at all. After all, hiring such help costs money - and spending more money doesn’t seem wise when you’re in debt, right? You’ll need to consider your situation carefully and perhaps look into any free consultation you can get, but don’t dismiss this idea. Experts may have the tools and resources you need to ease the debt.

Consolidation

One of the main reasons that debt becomes so overwhelming for a family isn’t always how much is owed - it’s how many institutions that money is owed to. Debt consolidation brings several debts together into one debt, which can be much easier to deal with. While this doesn’t generally reduce the amount that you owe, it can help alleviate much of the stress associated with debt - which is a more important element of dealing with this situation than you might think. Research this option to see if it’s right for you.

Negotiation and settlement

The lender or merchant to whom you are in debt may be more willing to discuss options with you regarding your loan than you may think. This is why you shouldn’t assume that negotiation and, eventually, settlement of your debt is completely off the table. While there’s no guarantee that a given institution will be willing to let you settle the debt for less than you borrowed, many are willing to cut their losses if they feel your family really won’t be able to pay them back.

Find Out Whether You're Secure In the Rental Market

With property prices so high it can be, it can be difficult to enter the property market. This leaves many renters in a predicament of insecurity when it comes to their long term home. The current generation of millennials are labelled as many as ‘generation rent’ as the property market has been pushed too high for many people to even consider putting a deposit on their own property, let alone plan for retirement. With such a high proportion of young renters and very little to protect those renters, let’s have a look at some of the risks involved in renting a property and how to avoid them.

Eviction is the biggest concern to most renters, and with a bad economy and high house prices many renters can find themselves evicted suddenly. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about a sudden eviction, however there are strategies to deal with the stress that comes along with it. If you find yourself in a situation where the landlord wants possession of their property, it is important to remain calm. This can be difficult when the rental market is so competitive, however staying calm will allow you to assess your options. 

If you need to leave a previous rental property suddenly and have not found somewhere to stay, ask around with your friends or family and see if you can stay with someone for a couple of weeks. Once you have a temporary roof over your head you can plan your attack. Although the idea of sharing with someone can seem tedious to most people who, it can be a great alternative while you find your feet and try and find the perfect property to rent independently. If you have a family, possibly speak to the landlord and see if you can negotiate the time you move out. If you are still unhappy with the results, as a tenant you have a legal right to dispute any decisions made, as long as you do it within the designated time frame.

Another growing concern in the rental market is the security of a rental property from burglaries or damages. Many people dismiss the idea of contents insurance when they rent as they often think they won’t be eligible as a renter. However, there are services available that provide contents insurance to renters. A renters insurance quote is often free and can provide advice on how to protect their possession in the case of not only burgalaries, but also flooding and storm damage. Despite many people thinking it is not necessary, it does supply an extra layer of security and peace of mind for many when purchased.

If you do find yourself in a difficult predicament in the rental market it is best to get legal advice. Remember to stay calm and negotiate your rights. Protecting yourself from an early onset can alleviate your stress from accidental damage or robberies, meaning you can claim for the damages that have occurred. Hopefully you never find yourself in this predicament, however if you do remember these tips.

Bulletproof Your Bank Balance

Let’s face it. The cost of living is high. Much higher for us than it was for our parents. Despite working long hours and doing our best to make shrewd choices when it comes to household purchases many of us are dangling by a thread financially.

As we dangle over the precipice we see below us a roiling sea of debt and loss. We want to avoid it at all costs but the ground into which we’re desperately digging our fingers feels like it could crumble at any moment and send us plunging into an abyss of financial uncertainty.

You need a lifeline!

Payday loans online are a perfectly acceptable short term solution but they need to be handled intelligently. You should know exactly how much you need, what your interest payments should be and exactly when you should have it paid back. For many of us, though, prevention is usually the best strategy.

Here are some easily achievable ways to bulletproof your bank balance to inoculate you against any unpleasant surprised if you should find yourself facing an unexpected financial difficulty or temporarily unable to work.

Save, save save

There’s really no substitute for a healthy savings account but with the rising cost of rent, groceries and utilities many people are finding themselves drastically reducing the amount they squirrel away for the future, or are dissuaded from saving altogether. The good news is that any saving, however small, is helpful so long as you get into the habit of doing it regularly (even if it’s just a penny jar). 

Little lifestyle changes can make a huge difference too. Quitting smoking (or at the very least cutting down) and putting what you would have spent on cigarettes into your savings account at regular intervals is a great way to watch the balance climb. That latte you get yourself from Starbucks on the way to work every morning? Why not take a thermos full of your own coffee in the morning and treat yourself to the expensive latte on Friday?

Making extra on the side… With your phone!

Thank Heaven that you live in the smartphone age because there’s a wide range of apps that can help you make substantial savings and even a little extra cash here and there with a minimal investment of time and effort. 

Keep selling your old stuff

Most of us have a shelf that’s bowing under the weight of all the books, CDs, DVDs and Blu ray discs that lie unused gathering dust. Be sure to rotate them on a regular basis, be ruthless and sell off any that you have no desire to see / hear/ read again before they depreciate in value. By downloading the Decluttr app and scanning in the barcodes of your items you will instantly know how much you can expect to make from your unused clutter. They’ll even send you a box or envelope to put your stuff in and come and collect it for you, resulting in quick and easy cash for you to stash away for a rainy day.

Home Truths: Building Up Your Property For Profit

Our homes are veritable goldmines in many ways, but it’s not like we’d want to sell it right now and potentially shake up our lives. But as a way to get some extra money, selling your home has its plus points, especially if you require a quick windfall of cash. But if you are that desperate for money, you could be selling yourself short, which is why it begs the question, is it worth it to plow a lot of money into a home that you're going to sell on anyway? There are two schools of thought on the matter:

One: you could spend decades building up your home into a mini palace and sell it on, only for there to be a dip in house prices, and you are barely getting more than the asking price, which just about covers the cost of renovation.

Two: you don’t change a thing and get a decent price, but it can take a while to get there, by which time you could have done up a few houses and sold on.

The time versus money factor is the big thing to be aware of. And if you are looking to sell your home on years down the line, then you may as well make it livable for you and not think about anything else. But as houses are appearing to get smaller, the one thing you can do for future buyers is to make more space. Building an extension is the one thing that can add value to your property, but if you don’t have the finances and the planning permission ready, it can be a long time coming. But another way around this, which is cheaper and would add value to your property is to erect a steel building on the grounds of the property. Not to be confused with an outhouse or a shed, steel building suppliers like Armstrong Steel have touted the benefits of these for some time. As a way to add some value and bypass lots of red tape, this could be a solution that strikes a balance. It also cuts down on construction costs when you compare it to a new build.

Everything can add value to your home, but the key thing to think about when aiming to sell your home in the future is the taste of the average house buyer. For this, you need to think about your location, buying trends, and the style of your property. Having the right strategy will help in this instance. So if you are in an urban area, an additional steel building could be an advantage because of the lack of space in built-up places. But if you're out of the way, in a quiet area, expect more space for your money. It’s a delicate balance.

When aiming to sell your home, if you have time, then you can focus on picking the right elements to renovate. But as time goes on, you can end up putting more money into it than planned, and does this mean you'll actually make a good profit by the end of it?

Getting Out Of Debt In 6 Months

It’s certainly a question that begs asking, if it’s possible to get out of debt within a short period of time, and 6-months may sound completely impossible, but there are options out there, even if you have bad credit and a lot of banks won't touch you with a barge pole. Here is your four-step plan to getting out of debt. Be warned, a lot of it isn’t easy!

Have A Strategy

This is the absolute bedrock of getting out of debt in a short space of time. If you don’t have plans in place, your finances will be all out of sync, and you won't be able to plan ahead and do anything. So this is the first thing to get sorted, but the question is, what's the best way to go about it? This is down to you. You need to look at your habits and money spending, what are your main outgoings? Do you buy a lot of food? If so, then you may try to offset some of the balance by having a meal plan. Planning your meals for the week makes you get into that mindset. And if you plan ahead, you can plan for any unexpected issues that may arise. Preparation is always key to getting out of debt.

Get Advice

You may not have any clue how to get started. But there are plenty of online money forums available to give you an idea of how to proceed. It is tempting to look at online loans with monthly payments, which is feasible, but you need to make sure that you are aware of the terms of the contract. And there are companies that give loans over a short period of time like six months, and if the amount borrowed gets you out of debt, then that’s great, but you have to make sure that you aren’t digging yourself a bigger financial hole by taking out a loan. It’s a delicate balance, so read the fine print and get as much advice as possible. We’re all different in how we spend our money, rather than how much.

Look At Your Outgoings

This will be the hardest part. You may struggle to believe that you're spending so much on “essentials” every month, and so you may realize how you managed to get in so much debt. This is where you can start to make appropriate precautions, such as walking to work or to the shops, or getting into the mindset of looking for bargains rather than buying what you want. A lot of the act of spending money is much easier now with contactless payments, and it’s so convenient to buy something on the way home or on the way to work. It is these little outgoings that add up, which is something we don’t really tend to think about. If time is ticking on and you don’t think you can get out of debt quick enough, are there things you can sell? The act of getting out of debt in a short space of time is a sacrifice, and this is what you need to understand.

Handling Your Finances While You Are Unable To Work

There are several valid reasons that you might not be able to work. Most revolve around being too physically or mentally unwell to be able to carry out the tasks required of you sufficiently well. But when you are too unwell to work, you still need to get by and fork out the costs of everyday living. Rent, bills, food and other necessary sustenance don’t come for free after all, even to the most disadvantaged of us. So how should you cover yourself until you are back on your feet? The most important thing is to know your situation and know your rights. Don’t allow yourself to fall into debt or financial trouble. Here are a few ways to handle your finances when you are unable to work.

Injury Through No Fault of Your Own

Thousands of workers every year are unable to work due to a personal injury experienced in the workplace. These are often through no fault of their own and are the result of others’ negligence. So if you’ve hurt yourself in the workplace and are no longer able to carry out your responsibilities, you are entitled to compensation. Contact a personal injury law firm who will be able to analyse what has happened and determine whether you have a viable claim. If you do, you will receive a lump sum which should help to compensate the pain and trouble you have experienced at the hands of another’s mistakes. Making a claim also benefits other members of your workplace. The employer is more likely to keep on top of health and safety and rectify any issues which led to your injury in the first place.

Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, you may find that you need to take time off work when you reach the later stages of your pregnancy and are less able to get about and carry out tasks that you usually find simple. You don’t want to risk your health or your baby’s health by continuing to work and straining or injuring yourself when heavily pregnant. You will also need some time to care for your newborn once you have given birth. This will let you bond with your child, get into the swing of parenthood and take care of your little one at one of the most vulnerable periods of their life. So know what kind of paid leave you are entitled to. This should be made clear when setting out your contract in the first place, so refer to this. You are entitled to a certain period of maternity leave by law. Check the legislation for your local area and ensure that you receive what you are entitled to. Paternity leave can also be paid if the father intends to be the primary carer of the child during the early phases of their life.

Savings

You may want to plan ahead. Many people do this by creating a savings account for a rainy day. This is essential if you are self-employed, as you won’t receive sick pay. Put a small amount of your wages aside into a savings account that you can dip into if you find yourself unable to work for short periods of time.