How to Negotiate to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rates

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According to CreditCards.com, the average credit card debt (per household with credit card debt) is $15,956, and the average APR paid on that debt is 12.78%.

Annually, the average household is paying over $2,000 a year just in credit card interest.

If you do not want to or are unable to transfer your balance to a credit card with a lower interest rate, your next best line of defense is to negotiate with the credit card company to get a lower interest rate.

Before you call to negotiate, remember that you will need to be calm and polite the entire time. 

Do not let your emotions enter into the negotiations.  Also, keep in mind that credit card negotiations are effective about 50% of the time.  Don’t use this knowledge as an excuse to give up, but also recognize that you may not always be able to get the credit card company to budge.

Follow these tips when calling to negotiate to lower credit card  interest rates:

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Making the Most of Your Wedding Registry

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If you are engaged, one important task on your wedding to do list is to create a wedding registry.

You may spend a few hours with your fiance choosing a store to register for your wedding gifts and actually picking the items to appear on the list.  Some people find the process so overwhelming that they continue registering over the course of a few days.

If you are recently engaged and planning to create a wedding registry, here are a few tips to make the most of your registry:

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Will Divorce Make You Happier? The Emotional and Financial Implications of Divorce

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It happens to the best of couples. 

You start out deeply in love, and then, with the stresses of life, child rearing and career growth, you don’t spend enough time together.

You grow apart.

You start to get upset with one another and find flaws.  (Ironically, often the traits that most endeared your spouse to you in the beginning are now the very traits you find most irritating).

It is at this point that many couples consider getting divorced.

According to Dr. Heller, a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts, “about 10% of all marriages end in divorce during the first five years and another 10% by the tenth year.”

Divorce can seem like the easy way out.
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Grow Your Own Garden This Summer to Save at the Grocery Store

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Fruits_Vegetables

If you are like most Americans, you have probably felt the pain at the grocery store cash register when buying your family’s groceries.

While the increase in the price of gas most often makes the nightly news, the increase in the price of groceries hits consumers’ wallets even more so, especially if you have a family.

If you don’t want to resort to being an extreme couponer buying processed foods for pennies on the dollar, there is another way to save—grow your own garden.

Can’t Grow a Garden Because You Live in the City?  Think Again

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The History of College Student Loans

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Every other week, it seems, we hear dire warnings about how much debt our college students are burdened with when they graduate.

Indeed, more than ½ of college students take out student loans, and the average student loan tab for a graduating senior is just over $25,000.  Coupled with a rough economy and a general lack of financial knowledge, recent college graduates are struggling financially like never before.

Yet, it hasn’t always been this way.

Many of us just grew up knowing that student loans have, and will be, available, but that hasn’t always been the case.

A Brief History of College Student Loans

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Have a Student Going Off to College? Teach Your Child about Student Loan Debt

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If you have a soon to be graduating high school senior, she has hopefully been accepted to several schools and is in the processes of deciding which to accept.

Your high school students should be blissfully debt free right now, but as soon as she decides what school to attend, that may all change.

Far too many students decide what college to attend because they like the campus or the atmosphere or because they want to move far from home.

Ideally, before she even begins to apply to colleges, you, as the parent, should sit down with her and discuss finances.  This conversation should occur no later than before your child makes a decision as to what college to attend.

Most parents would like to pay for their child’s entire college education, but that is often not possible due to the current economy and rising tuition costs.

Chances are, if your child attends an expensive university or private college, she will have to take out student loans, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars worth of student loans.  The cold reality is that she may be paying these loans for the next 10 to 20 years, and she may have to delay important life events such as getting married, having a child and buying a home all because of her student loan debt level.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

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Fourth (4th) of July Deals, Freebies, and Discounts

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fourth of july fireworks

For the last several years, companies have generously offered freebies as a way to get new customers in the door (and perhaps spend more money with the business offering the freebie).  A wise consumer may choose to take advantage of the freebie and not necessarily buy more.

If you are looking for some frugal fun on the days leading up to the 4th and on the 4th itself, check out some of these 4th of July freebies and deals:

Holiday Celebration Gear

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The Argument For Healthy, Simple Eating

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I enjoy reading financial blogs as well as deal blogs.

What I find is that while financial blogs tend to argue that raising your income through your job and creating a side income is the best way to get ahead financially, many deal blogs argue that saving money, in part by using coupons, is the best way to get ahead financially.

Extreme Couponing Isn’t All It Is Cracked Up to Be

Several years ago, I was impressed to see a blogger share how she bought groceries with a retail value of $53 for only $3.67, but the cynic in me has taken over, especially after I watched an episode or two of TLC’s Extreme Couponing and watched how stressed out and uptight the couponers could get about finding the right deal, not to mention the time they were investing.  I also looked closely at what they were buying—pop, chips, frozen meals, boxed food, and bags and bags of candy.

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Should You Discuss Money In Front of Your Kids?

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The economic downturn beginning in 2007 caused financial hardship for many families who had to cope with job loss, foreclosures, and bankruptcies. 

While not every family may have had such a difficult time financially, there are still other strains on family finances such as rising gas and grocery prices.

As a parent, should you talk about money with your spouse in front of the children?

Of course, this is a deeply personal issue, and many will have differing views.  However, there is a valid reason to talk about money issues in front of your kids.

Benefit of Talking about Finances in Front of Your Kids

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Should Every Student Pursue a Four Year College Education?

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The availability of student loans has changed our financial and employment landscape. 

While attending college used to be something just a few did, “We now send 70 percent of high-school graduates to college, up from 40 percent in 1970,”according to Marty Nemko, a career counselor based in Oakland California (The Chronicle of Higher Education).

While 70 percent of high school graduates attend college, the number of students who graduate with a degree is smaller.  Even when a student does obtain an undergraduate degree, a job is not guaranteed.

“Among the members of the class of 2010, just 56% had held at least one job” (The New York Times) by the spring of 2011.

This naturally begs the question, should all high school graduates attend a college?  Should attending college be something we encourage our children to do?
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