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Money Management and Credit Repair - Why it's so Hard
by: Michael Saunders The first step toward taking control of your financial situation is to do a realistic assessment of how much money you take in and how much money you spend. Start by listing your income from all sources. Then, list your 'fixed' expenses — those that are the same each month — like mortgage payments or rent, car payments, and insurance premiums.
Next, list the expenses that vary — like entertainment, recreation, and clothing. Writing down all your expenses, even those that seem insignificant, is a helpful way to track your spending patterns, identify necessary expenses, and prioritize the rest. The goal is to make sure you can make ends meet on the basics: housing, food, health care, insurance, and education.
Your public library and bookstores have information about budgeting and money management techniques. In addition, computer software programs can be useful tools for developing and maintaining a budget, balancing your checkbook, and creating plans to save money and pay down your debt. There may be several reasons why adults have money-management problems. The lack of knowledge on how to deal with these problems can be one of the biggest causes of why so many families, generation after generation, continue to suffer financially. But, with regard to your lack of knowledge in dealing with money-management issues, it may not be totally your fault.
Remember back in high school when you were learning calculus, art and science? There wasn't a class in money management. Unless you are in the calculus, art or science field, how many times do you need those subjects to make it from day to day? Probably none. So, it really isn't your fault that you were never formally taught how to manage your money effectively. So how did you learn to effectively manage money? You either had to teach yourself, or you inadvertently learned from your parents (whether their ways of managing money were good or bad), or you just never really learned.
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Did you know?
If you need to work on your credit report, the FTC warns that no one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this. Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
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Money Management and Credit Repair - Why it's so Hard
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