Happy Housekeeping: Home And Garden Tips

It seems hard to remember a time without cell phones, but it’s true – people did exist before this era of constant communication. Today, teens and adults alike feel pressured to have the newest, coolest phone with all the hottest, most expensive features. This can all be a little much for budget-minded individuals, but don’t despair! There are plenty of ways to own and manage a cell phone on a budget.

Unlocked Cell Phones

Unlocked cell phones – or those that can be adapted for use with any carrier – make it possible for you to purchase a fairly expensive cell phone at a fraction of its retail cost. At the same time, you can also use these phones on less conventional – and often less expensive – networks. Depending on where you live, this can help you save an enormous amount of money on some of the most popular cell phone models. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to research the network that the phone will be operating on to ensure you can make calls to any location you please.

Pay as You Go Plans

Without question, pay as you go plans offer a tremendous advantage over a paying a monthly bill. For example, you can purchase a cheap Tracfone for as little as $20 and spend as little as $100 per year on your wireless plan. If you only want to use your cell phone for emergency purposes, you’ll find that this is a perfect solution. Aside from the low cost, you’ll also have access to some of the largest and most reliable networks in the world without committing to an expensive monthly plan. Of course, if you’re known amongst your friends as “The Chatterbox” you probably won’t benefit from a pay as you go plan.

Assessment and Cost Effective Alternatives

When it comes to cell phone plans, think about them the same way you think about your land line phone. Chances are, you used to cringe at half-hour long distance phone calls that ran up your bill. Even though cellular plans give you a number of “free” minutes, they add up faster than you might expect. Therefore, you need to sure that every minute is used wisely.

Of course, the best way to save on your cell phone plan is just to talk less. But if this just isn’t you, you do have some other alternatives. If you find that you’re making a lot of non-emergency calls on your cell phone, consider buying VOIP service or look into cheaper computer-based alternatives. You might also be able to find special deals for new customers if you still want to sign on with a major carrier.

Many people that have cell phones today are wasting their money on expensive contracts and inefficient communication behaviors. If you look at your own cell phone usage, you’ll probably discover at least a few habits that you had to curb while using your land line. However, if you pay attention to these habits, it’s still possible to find a cell phone that’s loaded with features on a limited budget.

Without question, the downsizing of our economy is forcing many people to reconsider where they’re living and whether or not they can really afford it. While these times can be stressful, doing your housing homework will help you create a much more financially-stable future. When you’re looking for a new place to live, you’ll need to identify prime neighborhoods based on their locations, job markets and crime statistics. Fortunately, with a little extra work, it is possible to reduce your housing expenses.

Find a Neighborhood That’s Rebounding

Before the housing and job markets collapsed, many people relied on credit reports to give them an accurate assessment of an individual’s net worth. Today, even the best credit rating or the most prestigious job can hide the fact that a layoff or firing is looming. Therefore, when assessing a neighborhood, it’s not enough to look at average income levels and credit situations. Instead, ask a real estate agent to help you identify a neighborhood that’s been through the worst of the economic collapse and is showing signs of rebuilding.

Studying the Job Market

Unless you’re independently wealthy or own your own business, you’ll need to consider the job market in the areas you want to move to. Check to be sure that there are jobs in the area that you can apply for and obtain – moving in to a neighborhood that’s heavy on automotive manufacturing won’t help you if you’re a banker. That said, statistics won’t help you determine if the job market in a particular neighborhood is healthy, let alone whether or not it will stay that way.

In many cases, it’s best to review local newspapers for several months. Keep an eye on major business developments, as well as the employee turnover rates in your job sector. At the very least, this should help give you some insight into the day-to-day workings of the community.

Your Safety

While law enforcement officers do their best, neighborhoods that were once considered safe are now becoming dangerous. Therefore, before you move into a community, it’s important to know what types of crime seem to be occurring most frequently. You can try to obtain police blotters from specific precincts to get this information, or you may also find that online city guides are of enormous benefit. These resources will give you an opportunity to read comments from people already established in the community. Among other things, they’ll let you know how safe current residents feel in the area, as well as provide insight into the general nature of the people living there.

Although being constantly ready to move can be tedious, it can save you an enormous amount of money and trouble. If you’ve been studying a particular location for some time, you may suddenly spot an ideal job or a cheaper place to live. If you have to downsize your shelter costs in a hurry, you can at least rent an efficiency apartment in the area while you look for more permanent housing.

With the constant pressure to “Buy, buy, buy” it’s easy to wind up deeply in debt. Today, many people that have lost their jobs need to know how to get out of this debt quickly, while still meeting their current financial obligations. Unfortunately, many of the answers to these problems will leave you with a bad credit rating. However, if you need to pay certain bills and still want to achieve freedom from debt, these solutions may be your only opportunity to get out of debt.

Credit Card Settlements

Once you miss a certain number of credit card payments, your creditors must write the whole amount off as a bad debt. While they can still take legal action to force you to pay your bill, they also have to stop charging interest. In some cases, you’ll find that your creditors will send you settlement offers – their attempts to recoup any money on these bad debts. Typically, their offers will be anywhere from 30 - 70% of the final balance. You may also be able to obtain these reductions yourself by calling and trying to negotiate with your creditors.

For the most part, these settlements will damage your credit report – however, they’re still better than going to court or filing for bankruptcy. If at all possible, if you’ve stopped paying your credit cards, try to set aside a little extra money each week, so that you can take advantage of these settlement offers when they come in.

Managing Medical Bills

Catastrophic medical bills have left many people homeless, on top of suffering from life threatening illnesses. If you don’t have medical insurance, there’s no question that you’re at an enormous disadvantage should you develop a serious illness or injury. Even if you can’t afford full HMO coverage on your own, look into whether you qualify for a high deductible health plan or temporary health insurance. At the very least, this will cover hospitalization and other major medical expenses without sending you to the poor house.

If you’ve already accrued a large number of bills, you have the right to know what billing codes are being used to ensure that your bills are accurate. Ask the Medicaid representatives in your state about their maximum payment rates. In many cases, you’ll find that your bill is as much as 75% higher than this amount. From there, you can try writing a letter to your medical provider explaining your circumstances, as well as your research on payment amounts. If you aren’t able to discharge your debt, you can ask for a hardship-based discount or try to make long-term payment arrangements.

Paying Off One Debt at a Time

If you have too many debts, it may be necessary to focus on just one or two of them before you start working on the other ones. For example, if you have five credit cards, you may want to pool all of your money into paying the card with the highest interest rate. Even if you run late on the others, you can try to catch up and pay them off as you go. While this will damage your credit report, leading to higher interest rates, you’ll still be making progress in getting rid of other debts. Of course, if you use this method, it’s crucial to destroy your credit cards once they’ve been paid off and never use them again.

Although you may not like being in debt, getting out of it may seem impossible. That said, even if you’re on a tight budget, it’s still important to do what you can. Some debtors will be satisfied with the fact that you’re making some payments, while other cases may require using strategies that will damage your credit rating. As you might expect, it’s best to seek competent financial and legal advice in order to find the option that works best for you.