Bad Credit Mortgage

The saying goes “Time is Money”, which makes sense to me. The more time you spend at work, the more money you make. The more time you spend away from work the more money you don’t make. So things that are time consuming, consume potential earnings. So the question I have is: what do you do with time-consuming endeavors that you engage in to borrow money? When you need some quick cash, the quicker you can get the cash, the better. Today is Valentines Day, and you forgot to get a gift, and you need some money quick. Try getting a loan at the bank and getting your money in just a matter of minutes. It won’t happen. The process to borrow money from a payday lender takes about 10-15 minutes (which includes the application process) and they usually give you cash. You will never find an easier, quicker way to get cash than that. So a payday loan is good option, if you need money, but don’t have all day to spend at the bank. You are in and out and back to work making money, and you got that special someone a great gift for Valentines Day.

Now we can look at the cost of doing a payday loan. Most payday lenders are required to give an annual percentage rate on their loans, which can be a little misleading since no payday lender can charge interest for an entire year. It seems strange that they are required to give an annual percentage rate. You might see an APR of 520%, but only be paying $20.00 in fees on your payday loan of $200.00 until your next payday which is a week away. Let’s look at this $200.00 loan, what if you did not get the loan, and had a check go through your bank account and you did not have the money in it to cover the transaction? Well, your bank will do one of two things; they will either return the check or pay it with an overdraft option. If they return the check they will charge you a NSF fee of $25.00-$35.00. Then the company the check was written to will charge you a bounced check fee of $20.00 or so, and send you to a collection company. If the bank covers the check they will charge you an overdraft fee of $32.00, which most banks would do, and your account would be left with a negative balance. The interesting thing is that banks are not required to give an APR to there NSF or overdraft fees. If they did they would be over 1000.00%.

Here is a common enough scenario. You go out and buy a present for Valentines Day, and it is such a thoughtful gift that you do not let the other person know that you spent that money out of the bank account because it would give away the surprise. Well, your significant other did the same thing and the $100.00 dollars you have in your account will not cover both transactions. After opening your gifts, you quickly realize that you do not have the funds in the account for both checks to clear. You need to make a decision. A payday loan of $200.00 for a week would cost you around $20.00. If you let your bank deal with it, which is what the banks want you to do, you will be out anywhere from $25.00 to $75.00 dollars depending on the bank and collections costs etc. And that is only based on 1 item not clearing your account. What if the account is in the negative, and more transactions come through, well the bank is going to charge you for each one of those items, and could easily lose well over $100.00 dollars in fees, that could have been avoid with a quick, simple payday loan costing $20.00 or so. Any 5th grader with basic math skills can see very simply what the better solution would be to help you manage until your next payday without paying excessive amounts in fees.

Now you can see the appeal of payday lending. For one, you have the cash you need to address whatever financial bind that you are in. And two, the less time you spend borrowing the money, the more time you can spend making money. That is why payday lending is such a wonderful thing and like I said before: “Time is Money”.

Michael New Jr. is an authority in the financial industry. He has written hundreds of articles relating to consumer services and Payday Loans.

Contact Info:
Michael New Jr.
(866)294-4672
miken@checkcity.com
http://www.checkcity.com

A lot of people are paying about an interest of $1,000 every year for their credit cards. This is really a huge amount. In fact, the interests of credit cards are usually quite high. As a result, it will be better if you can cut down your credit card debt.

So the question here is how you can eliminate the debt of your credit cards. In fact, the best way is not to use any credit card. You should cut most of your credit cards. You can keep one or two cards which are of lower interest rates so that you can use it in case of emergence.

Remember, you are keeping the card for emergence. You should not use it if it is not an emergent case. You have to be very clear that thing such as buying a new hi-fi system is not an emergency.

You can also consider re-structure your debt. This is extremely useful if you have to pay back for more than one credit card. You may move the debt of your cards to loans with lower interest rate. In this case you will be able to settle the debt in a shorter period since you can pay less interest.

Besides, you can also try the following strategy. You can firstly settle the debt of the card with the highest interest rate first. This is because it will help you to save the amount of interest you are going to pay in the future. The exact amount you can save will be a very difficult mathematics question. However, the good news is that you can easily find calculators on the amount of debt you can save from the internet.

You may also consider consolidating your debt. You can do it easily if you have a flat of house. You can use the home equity loan to pay off the debt of the credit cards first. So what is the point or advantage of this? The most essential advantage of this is that the interest will be a lot lower. Again, you will be able to settle the debt faster since the interest you have to pay is a lot lower.

No matter how you try to cut down the debt of your credit cards, the most important thing is that you do not add new debt. As a result, even if you do not cut the cards, you should not use the card to pay. You should only purchase if you have the cash on your hand.

The author has great interest in finance. You can check his website on Financial Planning and News. Be sure to check Free Forex beginner Tips and Life Insurance for Over 50s Tips.

Whether you’ve been a stay at home mom for a while or are just starting out, this is one of those questions that can really hit you hard. Going down to a single income as a family is quite a tough choice in most cases. And in the current uncertain economy it can be even easier to feel guilty about not contributing to the family’s finances.

Directly, that is. As in earning money.

Indirectly, there’s plenty a stay at home mom can do. She is often the one to handle all the shopping and keeping track of all the bills. If you don’t think that has an impact on the family finances, think again.

Your first consideration is always how the family will manage to get by with one income rather than two. Sometimes the answer is quite surprising. Depending on what you earn, by the time taxes and the costs of wardrobe, eating out, childcare and so forth come out, you aren’t bringing that much home. Sometimes it can easily be made up for; other times it will take more planning.

If having one parent stay at home is going to be a huge sacrifice for your family, take a look at what can be cut. Don’t start with the grocery bill. Just because you have to buy food every week doesn’t mean it’s the most important bill.

Instead, start with your regular bills and figure out what can be cut. Cutting your cable plan down to basic can save you a nice chunk of money every month, and you probably won’t even miss most of the channels you drop. Decide if you really need both a landline telephone and a cell phone. Then decide if one or the other should be dropped.

Cutting those monthly expenses makes a lot of sense. It’s savings you won’t have to think about every time you go shopping.

But the biggest savings of all can be in paying down credit card debt.

Credit card debt, as a rule, is expensive. Much worse than paying for a mortgage. If you can get it paid down, your budget will have far more leeway, and that’s vital if you have only one income coming in.

You should also take some time to think about the things you spend money on, but really shouldn’t. A lot of people, for example, get new cell phones regularly, even though the old one is perfectly good. Same goes for televisions when they decide it’s time for a big screen unit. The list goes on and the numbers add up.

Get those other expenses in control as well as thinking about how you spend money at the grocery store. The broader your efforts the more you will save.

Handling the “What Ifs”

There are a lot of what ifs that you should face if you want to be a stay at home mom. The biggest one is “What if the situation changes?”

“What if your husband loses his job?”

“What if the two of you separate or divorce?”

“What if a medical issue comes up?”

You do need to have a backup plan in case anything happens. Obviously you hope that none do, but life happens. Better to plan ahead than to be caught unawares.

This means keeping up your own job skills, whether or not you work at home. Having savings. Talking about how potential problems will be handled. Not panicking if something does happen.

You may never need your backup plans. But if you do, you will be very grateful to have some idea what to do to keep your family going. The middle of a crisis is a rotten time to have to figure all this out.

Being a stay at home mom has its own challenges. Just due to personality differences it’s not for everyone. But many learn to love it, and soon have trouble imagining doing anything else.

Stephanie Foster runs http://www.homewiththekids.com/ as a resource for stay at home moms. She offers more ways to afford to stay at home at her site.

Credit cards have become more of a necessity in the current environment rather than a desire for a comfortable lifestyles. Almost no one is ready to wait to accumulate first and then spend. All of us want to enjoy the latest gadget, the latest fashion clothes, and what have you, even before we have enough money saved up for it.

The influx of the credit card culture has been so enormous, that, no one, at least in the U.S., can even imagine surviving without a credit card. So most people carry numerous credit cards to avail of enhanced credit limits.

The facilities provided by credit cards are so vast that they frequently lead to temptations that often result in buying more than one can pay for, with ease. Additionally, the interest rates do not let the credit decrease even if you mange to pay the minimum payable amount. And if you have more than one credit card, managing minimum balance payable on each one of them in itself becomes a challenge.

If you have not been able to control your spending due to the presence of a number of credit cards, there are ways and means to handle the tricky situation that you have landed yourself in too.
Credit card debt consolidation is one such loan that facilitates getting out from this complicated situation. Credit card debt consolidation loans are loans whereby you can consolidate all your credit card payables in one place so as to enable you to handle only one minimum payment.

While opting for a credit card consolidation it is important to take sufficient care about the interest rate that you will be charged. After all it is all a matter of the interest rate that will make a difference to your cost. The balance due will remain as it was with the credit cards but a reduction in the rate of interest can make a lot of difference. Along with that you have to be sure that all, yes, all your credit card debt is consolidated into one loan.

The web nowadays has the wherewithal to supply information on practically everything and credit card debt consolidation loans are no exception. Google.com is the ultimate in search engines and one click of the mouse will pop up on your screen myriads of credit card debt consolidation offers. It will be practical to take your time and sift through all of them and look for the one which will take in all your credit card debt and charge the lowest interest rate as well.

The web has the uncanny habit of springing surprises. Your search for credit card debt consolidation loan may spring a pleasant surprise for you too.

To find more financial tips and information about debt consolidation visit http://a1-finance.com

The money transfer industry is steadily growing at about 10-12% per year. This is mainly due to increased migration, globalization and new and improved technologies.

One of the latest additions to the money transfer market is worldwide money transfer via mobile phones. This segment of the industry alone is set to become a $8 billion revenue opportunity for mobile phone operators from around 2012. This indicates a huge growth from 2006 when the turnover was $10 million.

With such a large market there are of course many service providers and new money transfer companies entering the market all the time. Here are ten tips to help make sure that you are getting the best deal possible on your money transfer:

1) Do not overlook hidden exchange rate costs! Some companies do not make it absolutely clear just exactly how much the exchange rate is that they are giving you. Some companies will give you a poor exchange rate after enticing you with slogans saying they have no money transfer fees but the they hit you with a hefty exchange rate possibly leaving you worse off.

2) Check out the details of the transfer. I mean really read the small print. It maybe that you will be ochre more when sending to and from different locations which again can be different from the advertised costs. The speed of the transaction may also be affected by your location.

3) Plan ahead. If you are are able to plan ahead and the need for the money is not urgent you may wish to perform a delayed transaction. Basically you arrange for the transfer to take 2-4 days rather than to be immediate. This will mean the transfer costs will be lower, several leading companies offer this service. The fee could be around 25% cheaper.

4) Ask the following question to your potential money transfer company: The best thing to do is to ask the simple question:

“Altogether how many Pounds/Dollars/Euro/Yen will I receive for my Dollars/Euros/Yen/Pounds?” This may well be the simplest and easiest way to compare money transfer companies.

5) For large money transfers consider wiring the money with a bank to bank transfer. The reason for this is that this is quite possibly the safest way to transfer money. Every account holder will have had to have had their identification checked and verified and also the banks use a very secure method to transfer the money. The information sent is highly encrypted to ensure security and difficult to intercept too.

6) With different companies entering an already fragmented market when deciding which company to use for your security consider answering the following questions before choosing a money transfer agent:

How is the fee worked out and what exactly will it be? What is the exchange rate that is being used? How can the intended recipient physically get their hands on the money? When exactly will they be able to collect the money? Is their a choice of money collection points? are there additional fees for using credit cards?

7) If possible do not use a credit card when transferring money. It is highly likely that you will have to pay a cash advance fee to your credit card company adding to the overall cost.

8)One of the cheapest ways to transfer money would be to simply open a joint account and let the intended recipient take the card away with them. First you would need to find a credit card company offering reasonable withdrawal fees for overseas transactions. These can be found and secondly you would have to of course only do this with a person that you completely trust. The bill would simply have to paid in the country of origin of the card each month as normal.

9) Of course never fail to shop around! Many new companies are joining this expanding market everyday, many of them willing to undercut rivals for your business. This provides you with plenty of scope for finding a low money transfer fee.

10) Cover yourself. Make sure you keep receipts, money transfer reference numbers and any other proof that you are given especially with new start=up companies where there is an increased possibility of things not quite going according to plan. This gives you the proof necessary in the unlikely event that an unfortunate dispute should arise.

So, there you have it, ten tips for making money transfers at a lower price and safely. As ever the lowest priced company does not always provide the best service so bear that in mind whilst searching around for a company to transfer your money. There are plenty to choose from so take your time and consider the above tips.

Money Transfer Review provides free money saving comparison charts, safety tips and money saving advice for all your money transfer needs. Simply click: Money Transfer to discover more.

Having trouble paying your bills? Getting dunning notices from creditors? Are your accounts being turned over to debt collectors? Are you worried about losing your home or your car?

You are not alone. Many people face a financial crisis some time in their lives. Whether the crisis is caused by personal or family illness, the loss of a job, or overspending, it can seem overwhelming. But often, it can be overcome. Your financial situation does not have to go from bad to worse.

If you or someone you know is in financial hot water, consider these options: realistic budgeting, credit counseling from a reputable organization, debt consolidation, or bankruptcy.

Debt negotiation is yet another option. How do you know which will work best for you? It depends on your level of debt, your level of discipline, and your prospects for the future.

Getting Started

The first thing you will want to do when looking for a debt loan management program is to learn more about what a debt loan management program actually is. Basically you can get assured debt relief with one of these programs, and no credit checks are usually required and your interest payments, late fees and over limit fees will be reduced or even eliminated entirely.

It is important to recognize that these programs are not the same as loans, and instead they are voluntary repayment programs that are designed to work with unsecured debt. This program is a safe and viable alternative to bankruptcy, and so is definitely one that you should be considering if you have debt trouble.

Next you want to find out what your options are. Only by determining what is out there will you be able to decide on which is going to be the best for you. The best idea is to start by speaking to your bank about the different options they have available in this area. They should feature at least one debt loan management program that you can work with, and there should be great financial advisors available at your bank that can help walk you through this process.

Take Time

It is very important that you take your time when trying to decide on a debt management program. Firstly it is important that you understand just how much debt you are actually in, because it is really surprising how few people are actually aware of this fact. Many people are much farther in debt than they ever would have imagined, and although it is important to know this at the same time it is important that you do not let it get you discouraged.

There are many great debt management programs that you can use to help get you out of debt, and the best part is that they also help to keep you from getting into debt in the future. This is very important because you do not want to go through all the effort of freeing yourself up financially only to get back in the hole once again.

For more information and resources about debt management please visit my website at Debt Management - Debt Management Plan and Advice

Times may come, when you need to think of something like bad credit payday loan, even if you try to manage your monthly budget very carefully. We may find ourselves short of funds due to any of various types of emergency situations. Tools like bad credit payday loan helps us in such adverse times, by providing some quick cash.

Medical Emergency And Urgent Repairs Are Few Examples
Most of the situations, when you may have to opt for the bad credit payday loan are totally out of your control. You cannot predict when a medical emergency may arise and you cannot delay paying these bills. Similarly, there are times when you have to manage funds for emergency repairs.

It is not possible to get money quickly, if you think of borrowing from a bank or any other traditional financing institute. It may take several days before you get money in your hands. Moreover, you have no chance of getting loan from a traditional institute, if you have bad credit history. Bad credit cash advance, on the contrary, is available even with poor credit rating.

No Paperwork Required

Approach of companies providing no fax bad credit payday loans is totally different from the regular ones, as they give no importance to credit check at all. That is why they do not ask you to fax even your pay stubs or other papers. This makes the entire process a pleasing experience, particularly for a person who is going through a bad financial patch. Apart from this, if you are possessing a bad credit history than also you can avail these loans comfortably.

Another great feature of bad credit instant payday loan is that, money comes almost instantly. You can apply right from your home or office by making use of online facility. Filling up the application form is an easy task and anyone can complete it less than two minutes. You need to provide only some basic personal information, bank account details, and your current occupation details along with application.

Electronic Transfer Of Money

Once your application reaches to lenders office, they do not waste much time in unnecessary formalities. Absence of credit verification makes approval process much quicker. Money from the account of bad credit payday loan lender to your account is transferred electronically. Therefore, much time is saved, because you do not have to wait to receive your paper check via mail. Nor you have to go to bank to withdraw cash.

Bad credit guaranteed payday loan is devised to help you when you need cash due to unexpected events. Bad credit cash advance is easier to obtain than a traditional loan. You need not even fax any documents to get no fax bad credit payday loans.

How can a homeowner know that their greatest asset - their house - is in danger? What are some of the early warning signs of foreclosure? There are a couple clear signs that can’t be ignored, but some signals of financial peril are a bit more subtle. Whether you live in San Diego or the Bronx, foreclosures are happening around you every day. Knowing what the warning signs are will ensure that you’ll know if your home is at risk.

An obvious sign of clear and present danger is missed mortgage payments. Unlike a late water bill or a missed payment on a store credit card, lenders take mortgage payments very seriously. Missing a mortgage payment is serious business. Lenders will usually begin calling you when the grace period passes after your first missed mortgage payment.

Although it’s an embarrassing situation, do not avoid their calls. Tell them exactly what’s going on, and they may be surprisingly understanding. Good communication is very important, so be sure to let them know the state of things and when you hope to make your payment. Missing even just one mortgage payment will damage your credit score considerably, so try to set up a payment plan rather than avoid your lender’s phone calls and letters. If you ignore the lender, they will send your information to a loss mitigation company or lawyer.

Watching time lapse without taking action is the single worst thing you can do. Once your mortgage isn’t completely current, your lender may begin the foreclosure process by filing a “notice of default,” which pretty much means pay up or get out. This officially starts your reinstatement period, which means you need to pay all of the fees and late payments or else a date of sale will be established. If more time is allowed to pass, you will receive a “notice of sale” and your home will be put up for sale by your lender. You and your family will be evicted once the process has gone this far.

There are also more subtle signs that your home is in danger. When you purchased your home, did you sign on for a 30 year fixed mortgage, or did you sign up for “creative” financing to lower your payment? If your payments are slated to increase and you can barely afford the bills you currently have, it’s time to consider getting out of your house before it’s too late. Selling a home in today’s market may take a long time, so don’t wait until you’re in over your head to make a move.

The worst thing you can do during this process is to pretend that there isn’t a problem. If you don’t take actions to prevent foreclosure, you and your family will most certainly lose your home. As soon as you think there is a slight chance you won’t be able to make your mortgage payment in the future, you need to look into your options. Don’t just bury your head in the sand and hope it will all work out for the best. The longer you wait, the fewer the options available to you.

Don’t let foreclosure happen to you. It is possible to sell your home long before the foreclosure process reaches its ugly end. Find a trusted realtor or foreclosure counselor and find out your options before your credit is totally destroyed and you lose your home. It is better to sell your home than to have it taken away from you. A little bit of planning and the help of an expert realtor in this situation can make or break your financial situation for the rest of your life.

Kari Shea, of Shea Real Estate & Investment Group, is an accomplished business professional and community leader in the San Diego, California area. With more than 45 years of collective sales, marketing and consulting experience; the Group are master negotiators in the marketing and selling of real properties. Learn more about their services at: www.shea-realestate.com.

There are a lot of rules and regulations involved if you want to apply for a debt consolidation loan in the UK. There are some which are taken for granted like you must be a home-owner living in the UK and over the age of 18 although in some instance the minimum age is now 20 years old.

There also needs to be equity left in your property. So if your home is worth 180,000 pounds and you have 180,000 pounds mortgage on that property then you will not be able to get a debt consolidation loan on the property. A debt consolidation loan is really another name for a secured loan the name coming from the fact that the loan is secured on the property.

These loans can also be called second charge loans as they are the second charge on your home the first charge being your mortgage. So you cannot take out a secured loan unless you have a mortgage on the property.

Some people try to consolidate debt by taking out an unsecured loan however it can be difficult to obtain a loan that is not secured if you have a lot of outstanding debt. Also you will be charged a very high rate because the lender does not have the security they have with a secured loan.

Most people apply for a debt consolidation loan to pay off all there existing bills. It means that they will now only have one smaller bill which is fixed and direct debit from your bank so it puts you back in control of your finances. There is one vital point to remember however about taking out a debt consolidation loan.

Your loan will pay off all your bills and some of them might be very high interest rates and you will be paying a lot less every month. However the reason you are paying less is because the debt consolidation loan can be spread over twenty five years so although you’re monthly payments are drastically reduced now, over the long term you could be paying more.

This is seen as one of the main drawbacks with this type of loan in the UK, and some financial experts say that they are expensive in the long term. However for some people they have offered a lifeline and gave them control of their finances again.

The problems have occurred when people take out a loan to consolidate their debt and now have one nice small payment. However they are now left with a lot more money every month and they start to overspend again, and because they have already one secured loan they do not have enough equity in their property to take out another secured loan so they cannot consolidate their finances.

If homeowners in the UK that have the opportunity to consolidate their debt use it properly and not overspend whenever they receive their loan it can be very advantageous. The control they have over their finances gives them great opportunity to start saving and it’s also possible to pay off their loans early however there might be a redemption penalty.

If you consolidate your debt using a secured loan it is also possible to take out insurance on the loan so your monthly repayments will be paid if you are made redundant or if you are sick. When you apply for a secured loan you can ask to have this insurance in your quote. However it is advisable to shop around as these prices can vary a lot.

You are at no point under any obligation to take out insurance with your loan and you should always make sure that you are quotes with and without loan insurance.

In summary you can take out a secured loan for the purpose of debt consolidation and although they can be more expensive in the long run if they are used properly they can get you back in control of your finances. If you start running up more debts after you have taken out your loan then you might not have enough equity in your property to consolidate any further debts.

Shaun Parker is a leading financial expert with many years of experience in the loans industry. Find out more about consolidation loans at http://www.ukwebloans.co.uk

All loans come under one of two umbrellas, and these umbrellas are secured or unsecured loans. A secured loan is a loan that is secured against an asset, which is usually the home, and therefore is only available to homeowners. You will usually need to have some level of equity in your home to get a secured loan, although some lenders will offer finance to those with little or no equity. In order to calculate your equity levels you simply deduct the amount of any outstanding mortgage or other secured loans from the market value of your home, and the remaining balance is your equity.

Secured loans offer a number of valuable benefits to borrowers, making them an effective and affordable borrowing solution to fund a wide range of purposes. One of the main benefits of a secured loan is that you can enjoy a low rate loan to fund purposes including debt consolidation, home improvements, purchasing a car, paying for a holiday, funding a wedding, and more. Even those with bad credit can often get a secured loan if they are homeowners even if they have faced difficulties getting an unsecured loan because of their credit.

There are a number of other benefits offered by secured loans. For example, you can enjoy greater borrowing power with a secured loan compared to an unsecured loan, although the exact amount that you can borrow will usually depend on the level of equity in your home. You will also be able to enjoy longer repayment periods than you would get with an unsecured loan, which means that you can spread your loan over a longer period, and therefore cut back on the amount that you have to repay each month.

A secured loan is an effective and affordable way to borrow money if you are a homeowner, but you need to remember that the terms of borrowing can vary from one lender to another. It is therefore important that you compare different secured loans and look at areas such as the typical APR, the repayment period offered, any exclusions or restrictions, and any hidden fees. You should also make sure that you get at least several quotes before you make any commitment, as the cost of a secured loan can vary from pone lender to another.

You should remember that whilst there are many benefits to taking out a secured loan there is a downside to consider as well. A secured loan is secured against your home, and therefore if you default on your repayments you could be putting your home at risk. Also, if you take out a secured loan for close to the limit of your equity levels and then house prices fall you could find yourself tied into negative equity.

As long as you bear the negatives as well as the positives of a secured loan in mind if you decide to take out this type of loan you should be able to enjoy affordable and convenient borrowing with this type of loan, making the most of the equity levels in your property.

Joe Kenny writes for Only Stop, compare loans in the UK, visit them today for great secured loans quotes from the leading UK loan providers and also mortgages.

I know a lot of people who carry a rather large amount of debt, yet they claim to be frugal. And they are… with small things. They try not to eat out a lot, keep driving that same old paid off car, and watch what they spend on groceries.

But where they go wrong is with the technology.

A lot of people get into debt because they want the latest and greatest technology. This has become particularly prevalent in areas such as home theater, cell phones, video gaming systems and MP3 players. Even people who don’t have a lot of money too often have the latest gadgets in these areas.

And it means they carry quite a bit of debt.

Having nice things is wonderful, but as a rule if it’s making you go into debt you need to rethink your money strategies. For example:

* Do you really need a big screen television, or can you keep using your old one until either it dies or you have the money saved up for the big screen. Try to avoid putting it on credit.

This is particularly challenging for people right now, with the upcoming switch to digital broadcasting that will make some televisions require additional equipment to receive signals. Many would rather just upgrade the whole set. But if you don’t have the money for a new set, be financially smart and start saving. There’s still time, and there are coupons from the government for the equipment to adapt your old TV.

* Video games and movies get expensive fast if you buy them. But if you’re buying several a month, consider a Netflix, Blockbuster or GameFly subscription. Just think how often you really watch even your favorite movies, or how many games you really need to have available to play at any one time. If you’re spending more than the cost of a monthly subscription to one of these services on purchases, they can probably save you money and give you a greater variety.

* Think before you upgrade. People love to upgrade cell phones, MP3 players and such because they want all the new features? How much do you really need those features? Can it wait another year or two?

My own cell phone is 3 years old. It doesn’t take pictures, although it does have a color screen. I’ve never downloaded a ringtone or texted anyone. Sure, some of those features would be nice, but do they matter on my budget? No.

Learning to be frugal even in these areas can be a huge help to your overall financial picture. It takes some self control, and you have to remember that having the latest technology is really not that important. Just think of the money you could save so that you have a cushion in case of a lost job, an illness or other circumstance. Spread out your frugality to cover all the ways you spend your money, while still enjoying your life.

Stephanie Foster blogs at