Do you sometimes feel a sense of panic setting in when you see your credit card bills begin to spiral out of control? When you get that feeling of being trapped by debt, your thoughts may turn to cashing in your retirement money or borrowing on your 401K to get enough money to bring down your debt levels.

This could be a huge gamble. If you win, you could eliminate your debt entirely. But if you lose, there goes your protection for your senior years and maybe the little nest egg you wanted to pass along to the kids as an inheritance.

Hitting the 401K to pay off your credit card debt is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The most obvious one is that your retirement money is tax deferred. So when you tucked it away, you didn’t pay any taxes on it, and you won’t have to pay taxes on it until you take it out. On top of that, the money is intended to stay in reserve until you hit retirement age so in most cases, if you take it out early, there is a penalty to pay. Continue Reading »

If you’re having financial problems, you might find that your credit card debt is spread out over three or four or even more cards. Maybe you have a Visa, a MasterCard, a Discover card and a Capital One card, plus a few department store cards, each carrying several thousands of dollars of debt.

The result is an ugly parade of bills, with each company needing a minimum monthly payment that mostly pays the interest and takes just a small amount off of your debt.

If it seems that the debt mountain never seems to go down, that’s not an illusion. The situation is not designed to help you get that debt down. It’s a cruel mixed message the credit industry sends us because if you have high credit card debt, your credit rating goes down. But even if you have too much debt, the credit card companies just keep raising your credit ceiling and sending more and more credit card offers to lure you into more debt. Continue Reading »

Scrapbooking is an interesting, even absorbing, hobby. First, you study the subject and gather as much material as you can, then you’ll need to visit a shop that will offer you what you need for your scrapbook. That part is easy, but how do you keep your scrapbook materials neat and organized?

Ideally, you should take a little trouble and get your scrapbook things into a structured form. This will save you time and be less trouble in the long term, as things will be much easier if you are well organized. So you’re free to work on your projects, come up with new ideas and shop for even more supplies!

One of your most important requirements is a shelf, or rather, many shelves. You’ll have some boxes and containers and put the bits and pieces you need into these, but you’ll also need shelves to arrange them neatly on. Otherwise your things will be everywhere, messing up your desk or surfaces you might need for something else. Your shelves should be strong and durable – you don’t want all your stuff to collapse into an enormous heap!

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Thrift stores are an excellent way to add flair to a home or a wardrobe without spending a ton of money. To find treasures, thrift store shoppers can benefit from a few tips and tricks.

Keep a list of what you need. It’s easy to get lost in a thrift store and come home with a whole lot of nothing or way too much. Keeping a list of items you need or would like to have is a sure way to stay on top of your budget and to make sure to not end up with a storage place that resembles a thrift shop of your own.

When searching for clothing items be sure to have a tape measure with you and to know your measurements. Many times sizes and tags are missing from items and it’s easier to measure than to have to return something.

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Looking for a craft to teach your children? A craft which will result in quality, usable and functioning products? A craft which will teach them focus, goal setting and accomplishment as well as design, planning and follow through? Sounds like a tall order, right? Nope, the answer is as simple as teaching them to crochet or knit.

Crocheting

Crocheting is a great place to start, particularly for younger children, because it uses a single needle. Children as young as four can be taught to crochet.

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