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How to Get Your Whole Family on Board with Tackling Debt

Angela Manning Finance , , , ,
How to Get Your Whole Family on Board with Tackling Debt

Source: Unsplash | Sabine Peters

Debt is an issue that affects the lives of many people in the U.S. Sometimes, problems related to debt are made much worse because family members aren’t all in agreement on what to do about it. Here’s how to get your whole family on board with tackling debt.

Helping Your Children Understand Student Loans

Student loan debt is more prevalent now than it has ever been before. While there are plans being thrown around about it potentially being wiped clean by certain presidential candidates, it’s not a good idea to bet on that idea.

There’s now more student loan debt than credit card debt. And while student loans are often considered to be one of the better forms of debt, as education can boost your employability, the payoff doesn’t always make up for the massive cost.

It’s important for families to understand what it means to have student loans. A lot of young people go off to school without thinking too much about their loans. Times were different for their parents. Plus, if everyone else is doing it, there must be a reason, right?

Families should come together to do some math and get a clearer picture of what it’s going to take to pay off that debt after graduation. Doing this might play a role in determining where you ultimately decide to go to school, and when. You can also come up with a plan for how it makes most sense to tackle this debt if it ends up seeming like the right choice.

Making a Full-Family Budget

Budgeting shouldn’t just be the responsibility of one person in every household. After all, everyone spends money. Shouldn’t everyone play a role in determining how it gets spent?

This doesn’t have to entail the kids getting to determine the candy budget for the month. But there are a few benefits to having everyone come together to build the family budget.

First, this can be a learning opportunity—for everyone. The children will get to see how to make a budget and why it’s important. The parents will get to see what kinds of things everyone is spending money on. And everyone can come together to decide what areas it might make sense to cut back a little.

Getting Your Spouse on the Same Page

It’s always a tough situation when you’re having a hard time getting a spouse to see the importance of reducing your debt. This is something that can drive a major divide in your relationship if not addressed and resolved the right way. This is why it’s so important to come up with a plan, together.

Married couples struggling with thousands in debt can consider utilizing a debt relief program. Looking at Freedom Debt Relief reviews shows they’re a highly reliable resource for this. Many enrollees who leave reviews even mention they decided to try settlement for their family’s benefit following an event like a spouse losing a job or unforeseen medical bills.

It’s always tough when one partner has incurred a significantly higher amount of debt than the other. If you’re the one with more debt, it’s best to address the situation as soon as possible and be open to solutions. When your partner is the one with more debt, it can make things more complicated. You should try to avoid making it seem like you’re putting all the blame on them. Do this by mentioning some of the errors you’ve made when it’s come to debt, too.

Another kind of spouse-debt scenario is when one partner has been hiding debt from the other one. This can have huge financial and relationship ramifications if not addressed in a timely manner. When you’re the one with the hidden debt, get it out in the open as soon as possible. You might think that you’re going to pay it off without them knowing, but this is much harder said than done. You’re also not going to address the root causes of that debt if you continue keeping it under wraps.

Try to establish a team mentality so your family can tackle debt together.

You’re not going to get out of debt if your family isn’t on the same page about it. Sitting everyone down to address any issues will bring you closer together and solve problems.

How to Bring Down Costs In The Office

Angela Manning Business , , ,
How to Bring Down Costs In The Office

As any business owner knows, finances in the company are about more than just bringing in more money, it is also about learning how and where money can be saved. Within the office there are many opportunities to save money, the key is being smart and a little bit creative. The office or headquarters is obviously essential in any business so stripping pieces away or changes aspects of it must be done with care, to ensure that the office still operates at the levels that it should.

If you are looking to save some money on office spending, here are some tips to help you out.

Outsourcing

Not every task that is completed inside the office necessarily needs to be managed in-house and through outsourcing you can really cut back on both costs and time. There are many aspects o office life which can be outsourced, IT for example is a burden which you do not have to bear and through outsourcing the management of your computers and software, you can ensure that issues are dealt with quickly and inexpensively. You can also reduce costs with managed print services that will look after every aspect of your printing needs, remotely. This means that when you need new toner or ink, it will be automatically shipped out, an engineer will be out before you even knew the printer had issues and through this service you can be sure that the printing within the office is not something you need to worry about.

Working From Home

We are living in a world whereby the necessity to actual work from the office is far lower than it has ever been. Through smart software, internet use and easier communication, your staff could very well work from home at least 1 day per week. In doing this you can save a great amount of money on electricity, water and gas, money which will really add up over time. The additional benefit of this will be the happiness of your staff and a happy workforce is a productive one.

Digitalize

We are no longer as dependent on paper than we used to be and in digitalizing your office, you can save a great amount of money on paper and supplies. The job is quite time consuming but once all of the office activities are put onto computer rather than paper, you can be sure that the activities in the office will be more streamlined, and the cost of supplies will drop significantly. Another benefit of this is storage space, how many rooms are required to keep all of your documents? Get rid of the paper trail and utilize computers in order to free up that space, speed up the business and cut down on costs.

There are many other ways in which you can also save money in the office, from encouraging staff to be energy conscious to cutting down on company expenses. Get creative and get saving!

5 Tips for Going Green and Making a Difference in the World

Angela Manning Education, Finance , , , ,
5 Tips for Going Green and Making a Difference in the World

If you want to make a difference in the world by going green, then this article is for you. Click here to discover 5 important tips for going green.

Recent studies show that 50 percent of the trash Americans throw out is recyclable.

Most people have the misconception that going green is difficult and cumbersome. The fact is that being more eco-conscious is an easy process that will not take up a lot of time.

The first place you need to start when trying to go green is your home. There are tons of products on the market geared towards making homes green environment spaces.

The following are some of the things you can do to make our living space more eco-friendly.

1. Go Green By Investing in Efficient Appliances

Homeowners spend thousands of dollars each year to power their living spaces.

If you are looking for ways to go green, you can start by investing in more energy-efficient appliances. When shopping for appliances, be sure to look for the EnergyStar logo.

Appliances with this logo on them have been tested and certified as energy-efficient. While these new appliances may cost more, they will pay for themselves in the long run due to the energy they can help you save.

2. Get a Programmable Thermostat

One of the biggest sources of energy waste in a home is the HVAC unit.

When a unit is allowed to run all day and night, it can cause energy bills to skyrocket. The best way to avoid this problem is by getting a programmable thermostat.

These thermostats allow you to decide what temperature you want your home while you are away. Some of the programmable thermostats on the market allow you to change the temperature settings from a mobile device.

Keeping the HVAC unit off while you are away can save you money and reduce the strain you put on the environment.

3. Embrace the Power of Solar Energy

Using the power of the sun to provide electricity to your home is also a good way to go green.

There are tons of government rebates and tax credits you can take advantage of when installing a solar system on your home. Due to the complexity of this work, you should hire professionals to perform the solar panel installation process.

These professionals will have no problem getting the system in place quickly and correctly.

4. Don’t Forget About Recycling

Recycling more is a great way to keep the Earth green.

If you make a habit of saving your food waste, you can use it as compost in your garden. This natural compost will provide your plants with the vitamins and nutrients they need.

Most cities offer recycling pick-up, which makes it easy to go green.

5. Go Paperless When Possible

Most companies allow their customers to pay their bills online.

Going paperless and receiving your bills online is a great way to reduce strain on the environment.

Once you get used to paperless billing, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

Need More Advice on How to Going Green?

The work you put into going green will pay off in the long run. If everyone does their part to help the environment, it will be easy to keep Mother Nature happy and healthy.

Are you looking more advice about how to be more eco-conscious?

Be sure to take a look at the great articles we’ve got on this subject and many more.

How to Teach Your Kids To Save Money

Angela Manning Finance , ,
How to Teach Your Kids To Save Money

I have always been a saver thanks to the lessons which my Dad taught me when I was younger and I am currently working on trying to teach my own kids the value of money and how to save.

Saving can help in so many different ways, it can help you to pay for big items, it can help you if you run into difficulties such as losing a job and it can also give you more financial power when negotiating things like a mortgage. The best time to start learning about the value of saving is when you are young and here are a few ways in which you can teach your kids to save their money.

Double Reward

I often encourage my kids to save 30% of their pocket money over the course of the month. The incentive which I offer them is that I will double whatever money they have saved in the month, on the provision that the additional money also goes into the savings pot. I know that in the real world, there will be nobody to double your savings but doing this at an early age really helps my kids to understand how important saving actually is.

Savings Goals

I wanted to teach my kids that saving was not just some endless task which saw a number grow higher whilst they had to make do with the rest. In order to prove my point, I gave each of my kids a figure which they had to save up to, once they reached this figure, they were allowed to buy an item of their choosing, within reason, using 50% of what they had saved. I tried to get the point across which my Grandad tight me which was that you shouldn’t make a large purchase until you could afford it twice. Not only this, I think that through being able to purchase something with your savings means that you are more inclined to be inspired to save more, and purchase the bigger items in life.

Bank Account

My kids have had a bank account since a very young age, savings account included and I have allowed them limited access to their account as well. They cannot pay for anything or move money but they can track how much they are saving and this is something which I believe inspires them to save even more. Thankfully, a little competition has started amongst the kids to see who can save more than the other and I know that this will stand them in good stead in the real world.

Teaching kids the value of money is about handing them the responsibility and the accountability of it. Through doing this you can better educate them and better prepare them for the future. Saving is important and I have no doubt that getting this into the minds of your children from a young age is the best way to help them.