From a very young age, I was taught how to manage money properly by my parents.  I was sure to save a bit of everything that came into my pocket and by the time I was 18 I had my own little nest egg of about $10,000.  At this point in my life, I went to college and it was at this point that I started to run into money problems.

It all started with the first credit card that I was approved for an it went on from there.  All of a sudden, I could spend outside of my means and I could just pay it off with a low minimum payment each month.  After my first car, I have a second, then a third, and then I started to run for problems.

I was at the point where he needed to find a guide on how to reduce credit card debt without having to declare bankruptcy.  I had considered taking advantage of some of the poor credit debt consolidation loans on the market but I figured that by taking that route it was only going to be a Band-Aid solution.

It was at that point that I was introduced to the concept of debt diet plans which was a systematic way to reduce your credit card debt while making sure to avoid getting into this situation a second time.  Though I still have a way to go before I am debt-free, I know that by following the debt diet that I am on that I have saved my credit score and avoided going bankrupt.

One of the best parts of my job is that I am in a position to help others.  I have always believed that we should help one another out, and therefore I found myself in a career as a debt counselor.  It has not only been a rewarding job, but when I see the stress melt away for my clients, it makes me feel like I have made a difference in their lives.

I help people that are in situations of financial distress - particularly with debt.  Since so many people have been granted many credit cards and lines of credit without the education that is required to utilize them properly, I find many people in my office at the end of the line.  They have abused the credit that was granted to them, and I am the stop before they declare bankruptcy.

Thankfully, by using the debt consolidation loans that I offer, they never have to go bankrupt.  In fact, it is a better solution that helps them out in the short term, as well as reduces the damage to their credit, which is key if they wish to borrow money in the future.

I am just so happy that I can help them out.

It has been awhile since I received my first credit card, and I can remember that I was so excited.  In some respects it felt like moment where I joined the club with all the other adults who had credit cards.  Even though I was able to get a credit card, it didn’t mean that I knew how to use it properly.  I quickly racked up a balance on the card and eventually my account was sent to collections.

Even though I was eventually able to clear that up and pay off my debt, I still felt that I was not able to control myself if I had a credit card.  What they really needed was some sort of solution as it is very handy to have a credit card around.

While looking at a credit card ratings website, I found that they had such a thing as prepaid credit cards where I could put a cash balance on the card and I would only be able to spend what I put on it.  This way, I can enjoy the convenience of having a credit card without having the responsibility.  Even though I don’t use it that much, it has made sure the my credit account will never be sent to collections again.

If you are a senior citizen, who has been planning financially for your future, than you are probably familiar with the named Michael Dinich. He has devoted his life to helping people, such as myself, be able to feel secure in the knowledge that we have done everything we can to make our later years pleasant.

I remember when my own financial advisor sent me to take a look at Your Money Matters. It was exactly the kind of thing that I had been waiting for and the website was able to answer every question I had about saving for retirement. It was more than just a godsend, it is why I am where I am today.

I still like to go to the site and read the daily article. I actually look forward to it each morning and they have some very smart people posting on it. I feel like I know a lot more than I did ten years ago, when I first started thinking about it. I owe it all to the financial advisors in my life.

When I was in high school, I had never really given any thought to having a credit card. That is why I was surprised at the number of student credit card applications that were given to us during our first week of orientation at college. It seemed that we were being bombarded with them and I was wondering if it was smart to start handing out credit like candy to students who had never really had responsibility in their lives.

I soon found out that college student credit cards were a good investment for the credit company because most of these students would charge everything and then could not pay off their balance in full. It pretty much guaranteed the company to make money on the interest that the students would end up paying for the next four years, until they were done school and could get a real job.

I personally think that credit cards for students are a bad idea and that is the very reason that I did not sign up for a single one of them. I am trying to pay my way through school and charging up things on a credit card is not going to help me out in the long run. I figure that if I can’t pay for it now, than I simply can’t afford it. Period.

The service station that my parents own is starting a new campaign. They are selling gas cards, to use to charge up fuel purchases. They have just installed new pumps and the cards can be used at the pump to pay for gas purchases even when the station is not open.

My brother has had a gas credit card for a long time now and he says that it is really handy for when the stations are all closed. There have been several times that he has needed fuel before the service station was opened and the pay at the pump card has saved him.

I hope that my parents are able to sell gas a lot of gas credit cards. They are not very costly and I hope that the town’s people will realize how handy it can be to get gas when the shop is closed. If everyone gets one than my parents would be able to shorten their hours and I think that would be really good for them right now.

I have been doing some checking into my Roth 401k plan that I have established over the last year. As tax season dawns, I want to make sure that I am investing towards my future for maximum benefit and that my money is working as best for my future as possible.

I do not think that investing into a 401k plan is a choice. I rather think it to be an obligation. I shake my head at people who say that they can’t afford it. If they can’t afford to put a little bit away right now to help sustain them in the future, I hate to see where they will end up when it is time to retire. I can honestly say that they will probably have more money now than they will when it comes time to retire.

I did happen to do a 401k rollover this year and I am convinced that was the best decision for my future. To me, it is important to have the necessary funds to sustain me through my senior years, so as to not put unnecessary burden on my children.

Well, I have been spending most of my day today searching for payday loans online.  I want to find the best rate, the best terms and go with the best company out there.  I have been burned in the past a couple of times, so this time I wanted to do it right.  While looking for the information and reviews I needed, I came across a goldmine of financing information I did not know about.

You see, I found out one thing that I didn’t know anything about - you could apply for a home equity loan online.  In fact, there were places that you could go and see offers from many companies side by side - something my bank sure has never shown me. 

Digging a little deeper, I found that you could also get debt consolidation loans online as well.  I will have to let my sister Jennifer know about that as they are having big problems with their current debt load and keeping up with the payments.

Who knew that the Internet had so much to offer in terms of financial information - either this is new, or I was just a little naive, but I am happy to know this information now.  It will help me out in the future.

Do you remember having to go to the bank to get cash?  I do.  I remember always having cash on hand in case you needed something and you usually went to the bank before the week was over - to stock up on cash for the weekend.

Those days are long gone.  With the advent of ATM machines, we no longer had to talk to a teller to get money from the bank - we could do it anytime we wanted to.  There was still the limitation of having to go to the bank to use the ATM - but you didn’t have to talk to a person to use it.

Now, things have moved forward again.  When I was in an ATM rental shop today, I was talking to the sales clerk about renting some ATM machines for my lounge.  He immediately took me over to the mobile ATM machines.

He explained to me that mobile ATMs were the way to go - all they needed was a wall outlet for power and that was it.  I had to ask about needing a phone line - but he said that the communication equipment was all self contained in the ATM - so I could conveniently move it around as I pleased.

I have ordered a couple, and they should be at the lounge in the next day or two.  I cannot wait until they invent something that gets rid of having to plug in things to the wall.  Wait… I think I read something about that too…

Looking through the mail today, there was the usual junk.  Flyers for stores, some deal on used cars, and one piece that was interesting.  The interesting piece of mail was about credit and bill consolidation help.  Why is this interesting?

Well, you see, my in-laws have had a big money problem for some time now.  Unfortunately my father-in-law has been in construction all his life and his body is starting to give out on him.  It is so bad that he is unable to work full days anymore - and their finances have been suffering.

Quite often, you can hear them having fights when you are over to visit, or talking to them on the phone.  Sadly, their burden of debt is affecting their marriage, and I fear if they don’t figure something out, it will be the end of their marriage too.

Reading the flyer I found out that they have a debt negotiation program - where they negotiate to reduce your debt and monthly payments.  I think for my in-laws, they will be especially happy that they offer credit card negotiation services as their cards are all at the limit.

So, next time I see them, I’ll have to give them the flyer.  They have been talking about going bankrupt, but dad is too proud to do that - maybe the solutions presented in the flyer will help them out.