You no longer have to go through filing cabinets to see Congress members' financial disclosures.

When you move on to the Financial Disclosures section of LegiStorm, it’s pretty interesting to see how much information is public domain. You can find out spouse employment, outside compensation and prior employment, among other things.

Become a member!

If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty and be able to look at PDFs of Congress members’ tax statements and other documents, all you have to do is create a username and password. The database is searchable by name, state and office. You can also look at financial disclosures by category, including Earned Income, Campaign Work and Agreements.

Is anything sacred?

Despite the outcry from Congress members who have called the LegiStorm creator a “peeping tom” among other colorful names, the site does go to certain lengths to protect privacy. On documents that contain social security numbers, bank account numbers, home addresses or phone numbers, those are redacted. The site also leaves out names of minors.

Also, personal loans taken while the person was not in office are not public information, so those aren’t included. Mortgages and home values are also excluded.

Foreign gifts

The next section of the site is Foreign Gifts. I already shared some of the more colorful gifts in Part 3. If you like reading about the strange things political leaders give each other as presents, you could spend hours in this section.

However, it’s illegal for Congress members to keep many of these gifts. Diplomatic protocol generally requires that politicians accept foreign gifts, but if the gift is worth more than $335, the recipients must turn them over to their agencies.

The only question I could not find the answer to was where the gifts go after they are turned over to the agencies. The site says they are transferred to the “General Services Administration,” but where do all the pricey decorative boxes go?

Bob Corker

Congressional salaries are public information. However, that doesn’t stop Capitol Hill staffers from ranting and raving about LegiStorm.com, a web site that makes it a snap to find out how much Sen. Bob Corker makes.

It’s $179,000 per year, by the way.

Making life easier

Yes, it’s true that we have always had the right to know how much public officials spend on trips and what their investment portfolios look like. However, that used to mean sitting in a dusty office on Capitol Hill and pouring over tiny type for hours.

Now, through the magic of the Internet, it’s all on LegiStorm for journalists and conspiracy theorists and anyone who’s curious to see, instantly. If one of your leaders has taken out payday loans lately, you can find out. It’s all there. Tax information, spouse’s salary, you name it. And, boy, are our country’s representatives mad.

The man behind the mayhem

Jock Friedly created LegiStorm, and everyone from your state representative to the White House doctor has been after his head since. Hillary Clinton filed for an extension on her 2008 taxes, by the way.

Friedly calls himself the “transparency’s sidekick,” and that self-appointed office has gotten him more than a few strongly worded e-mails from Congressional staffers. One Congressman’s chief of staff says Friedly is a “peeping tom” conducting a “witch hunt.”

What can you find

The amount of information on LegiStorm is pretty extensive. The site is broken up into salaries, trips, financial disclosures, foreign gifts, earmarks and “the score,” which contains minutes from the House floor. As I type this, they are debating a bill to give the FDA more authority to regulate tobacco products.

Fun facts

Robert Bennett

Just thought I’d share some of the information I gathered today at LegiStorm: John McCain filed an amended tax return in 2007. Joe Biden has taken 74 trips while in office. Sen. Robert Bennet got a miniature engraving of the Sun Tsu’s Art of War on bamboo slips as a gift from China.

There’s plenty more where that came from. Check it out: www.legistorm.com

The key to your financial success is in your hands

When we hear the phrase ‘personal finance,’ we immediately think of banks lending to individual customers and of small ticket personal loans and cash advances.

However, we are not talking about taking loans or cash advances in this article. What we are talking about here is the actual ‘personal finance,’ which means financing your dreams personally. That is how the great American dream was born and funded. It was only in the later phases that public money and cash advances became a part of the story, and, as they say, the rest is history (or a mystery!)

Personal Finance Planning

All of us have dreams that we aspire to accomplish. It can be something as obvious as retiring early, or something as ambitious as setting up your own manufacturing unit. Almost all the big business names of today started small. The excitement of seeing something growing from a small to big scale is one of the biggest joys of life. Anyway, here are a few time-tested tips which will ensure that we can personally finance our own dreams, and make them count – without depending on banks, cash advances or public money for support.

Savings

• Though it might sound clichéd, this is the biggest secret behind successes, and no – it does not take a lifetime. According to 2006 stats, the average savings in an American family was 12.8% (Source – Money magazine); just for comparison’s sake, the average savings in China was 50%, and in India, it was 33%.

The best way to fund your dreams still is to save money – but then, you need to start early. If you are in the age group of 25-30, you should be able to turn your dream into a reality before you are 35 or 40, irrespective of the amount you earn. Proof – Oseola McCarthy, a washerwoman on the southern Mississippi university campus donated $624,600 to the university in July 1995. All of that money was from her savings! Check out Google for more info on that.

Save at least half your money in traditional ways, not the stock markets. The markets are a good way to make money, but they are an excellent way to lose money too – when you go in uninformed. Always take the advice of a professional planner and divide your savings among safe and liquid investments.

Invest wisely :

• Investments need not be only of the stock market variety. With today’s property prices, if you can afford them, you should certainly buy low and sell high (not tomorrow – stay put in your investments till you reach a ballpark figure you have pre-set). Same goes with other solid investments like Gold, and even non-mainstream investments like Art and Antiques. Like we said above, have a figure in your mind and a practical time frame to achieve that. Sell immediately on reaching that amount and do not give in to greed.

No credit card:

• We know that this is difficult, but when you are on a mission, do not spend money you do not have. You will only end up dipping into whatever you have saved to pay off your credit cards, loans, cash advances and other payments. The best way is to keep just one card on you for emergency purposes and leave the rest at home or better yet, take out cash advances when you absolutely need extra cash. Don’t worry, the card company will not feel bad if you don’t use your card (and keep paying them late fees and over limit charges).

Cut down on expenses:

• If you have come this far, you must be thinking, what is so strange about all these points? I have known them all along! But the trick is actually implementing them and not just knowing them. Making an expense list with your family members and each of you cutting down on one little expense will ensure that you get to your dream amount more quickly.

Solve it yourself

All of these are just little ways and more importantly, traditional and time tested ways, to reach your personal finance goal. Why go to a bank and pay interest when your savings can finance yourself? If you love paying interest, pay it to your own bank account. However, if things don’t fall in place as usual, don’t wait for miracles to happen but act within your resources to save yourself and contact a reliable cash advances company to get your financial problems fixed.

Will the economic stimulus package put more money in your wallet?

It’s possible the economic stimulus package will bring down the high number of payday loans that have been issued lately. Many of the measures in the economic stimulus package will benefit individuals in certain situations, just as payday loans can help people in special cases.

Here are some ways that the economic stimulus package will help individuals.

Lower income taxes

The “Make Work Pay” tax credit will mandate that employers withhold a lower amount of taxes from your paycheck. The total tax break will add up to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples, and it will be spread out over the rest of the year. This tax cut applies to anyone who makes less that $70,000 per year, or couples who make less than $140,000 per year.

Middle-income families will not have to pay the Alternative Minimum tax this year. Also, seniors who don’t work, disabled veterans and retired railroad workers will get a one-time payment of $300. That’s the average amount of payday loans in some areas, so perhaps this credit will help some people get ahead a little.

Perks with big purchases

If you buy a car in 2009, you might be able to deduct the interest you pay on your car loan and the sales tax from your taxes. However, this  deduction is only available if you earn less than $125,000.

Anyone who buys a house in 2009 could get a tax break, too. Home buyer credits are already available, but the bill doubles this credit to $15,000. It also removes the previous law that said home buyers eventually had to pay the credit back.

Help with higher education

The bill includes several measures that would help college students and their families. The American Opportunity Tax Credit gives $2,500 to anyone who pays college tuition and makes less than $80,000 per year. It also increases the amount that can be awarded as Pell Grants.

Help for the unemployed

With unemployment at a 26-year high, it makes sense to help out jobless workers. Unemployment benefits will be extended, so people who qualify could collect unemployment benefits for an additional 20 weeks. The bill will also assist with health care for unemployed workers by helping to pay for bills through Cobra and Medicaid.

Perhaps the most helpful provisions for unemployed workers will be the ones that create jobs. President Barack Obama has said that the economic stimulus package will create or save up to 4 million jobs. This would more than make up for the number of jobs that the economy shed in 2008.

More help for needy families

More needy families will benefit from the child tax credit after the bill passes because the income threshold to receive the credit will be lowered. It also increases the amount of food stamps families can receive.

For children with three or more children, the earned income tax credit will be increased. A fund called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will be established. Some needy families may be able to get cash assistance through this fund instead of getting payday loans.

Life was stressful enough when the situation occurred that turned you to take out a personal loan, but now you need to accumulate the cash to pay it back.  Do you worry about how to come up with the money to pay off your personal loan? Is the stress of all of this disturbing you?  Could you use some simple and effective tips to save money, so you can apply that money to your personal loan? If the answers to these questions are, “yes,” then this article is for you.

Droplets make an Ocean

You may look at the tips, below, and think that the little bits of money you are saving in each of these situations is just not enough to make a difference, but, have you heard, “Droplets make an Ocean?”

Economical eating saves money

Economical eating refers to the eating habits that will save you a lot of money. Eating cannot be stopped but ways of eating can save lots of money. First, if you are a food-lover, then you might have a tendency to go to restaurants and fast food to eat. This is the first change you can make. Make your meals at home and save.

Or, if you feel you have to go out, look at the dollar menus of your favorite fast food restaurant.  And keep your eye out for coupons.  If you go to a nice restaurant, cut out the drinks, alcoholic or even soda, and drink water.  And speaking of cutting out the drinks, cut down on the bottles of soda and fizzy drinks at home and work too. Drink water, from the tap, if possible where you live, and save.

Save money on your clothes

Many of us spend too much on clothes, don’t we? This needs a change as well. I am not against buying new clothes and wearing them. I am also not asking you to wear the same jeans for 5 years or so. But money can be saved if you can compromise on one thing when buying clothes-buying brand names. Advertisements looks good on T.V. but it does not mean we have to buy every T-shirt our favorite actor is wearing.

Don’t buy clothes only for the sake of its brand. In reality, there is no such thing as ‘brand-value.’  You will pay 3-4 times the value of the shirt to get the brand name. Try to avoid buying any new clothes until your personal loan is paid off, but if you have to buy something new, avoid costly brand names. One more clothes shopping tip, if you e-shop, search for sites giving free shipping charges. This can save you a lot of money.

Enjoy less today, enjoy more tomorrow

No, this has nothing to do with enjoying your life, but rather it deals with purchases. What do I mean?  Well, say it is the Christmas season.  Instead of buying gifts before Christmas, can you celebrate the week after, saving you maybe even hundreds of dollars in the after Christmas sales?  This is what I mean by enjoying more tomorrow.  Or, what about a product that is launched? Don’t try to be the first customer on the block with that new electronic game. The price will go down in no time.

And what about a vacation.  Should you take a personal loan to take your family to Disneyland?  Wait until your first personal loan is paid off, with all these money saving tips, and then save until you can afford the trip.  Go camping or visit family or friends.  Stay at their home to avoid hotel costs.  But do watch out for long drives. Although the price of gas is down, it is not free and, another thing to consider is that burning fuels makes the atmosphere unhealthy. But that’s another story for another day.

Paying off that personal loan

Follow the tips above properly and apply the savings to your Personal Loan.  You will have that loan paid off in no time.  And that stressed I talked about at the beginning of this article, will subside.

Do these kids know more than you about personal finance?

Boy Scouts are too young to get payday advance loans. However, with a new merit badge up for grabs, more will be ready to properly evaluate their financial options when they become adults.

To earn the personal management badge, Boy Scouts must be able to correctly answer questions about credit, interest and budgets.

Take the quiz

There aren’t any questions about payday advance loans on the Boy Scouts’ quiz, but a little financial literacy goes a long way. If children and teens learn to understand budgeting and long-term interest, they’ll be better prepared to make financial decisions of all types. You can take the Boy Scout quiz at CNN Money to find out if you have the know-how to manage your money like a Boy Scout.

Financial education becoming popular

Possibly the best fallout from the recession is the new-found interest people are taking in financial education. Christian Science Monitor points out that “20 years ago, personal finance was significantly less complex than it is today.” The same article advocates that more states should add financial education requirements to public school curricula.

Land of opportunity – and options

It’s true, personal finance is a lot more complicated nowadays. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. People have a lot more options today than they did 20 years ago. Things like payday advance loans were born out of people’s changing needs as our money culture adjusted to becoming more credit-based.

It makes a lot of sense to educate people about long-term and short-term credit options — the sooner the better.

Good examples

We can rest assured that Boy Scouts will emerge from their programs ready to perform CPR, tie knots and evaluate whether payday advance loans are their best option. But what about everyone else? Financial education should be required for everyone. More states need to follow Kansas’ example and write up bills that would require financial literacy to graduate from high school. That way people will learn to use payday advance loans responsibly and won’t get stuck with bad debt.

Here’s one sensible—and opportune—time to get a cash advance, specifically a few weeks after the rush of Christmas, parties, and giving gifts.  Studies have shown that the most depressing time of year is the third week of January, when credit card bills outlining all the expenses we made during the holidays need to be paid.  Since it is quite possible that all these will arrive at around the same time, it is understandable how most of us will feel harassed, guilty, and even helpless—especially if there just aren’t enough funds to pay off everything we signed for.

Did I Really Buy All That?

Most often, in a moment of generosity and nostalgia, we end up buying presents for family and friends that are way beyond the budget we set—if there was any to begin with.  That, and the hypnotic effect of festive Christmas displays and accompanying music in every mall seem to come all together to convince even the most practical shopper to pick up a few extra things outside of one’s list.  If you planned to give your best friend a pair of funky earrings, you probably heard a voice somewhere urging you to buy the matching necklace as well.  A scarf for Uncle John?  Get him two.  Mom would love those brown pumps—why not get them in black as well?  Christmas shopping is always a test of determination, and most of us fall victim to its power to prey on emotions.  Sure, you get that warm, fuzzy feeling after giving the lovingly-wrapped gift to its recipient, but you’ll be bound to get the cold, hard facts once the credit card statement arrives.

What’s Done Is Done

There’s no way you can get those amounts erased—unless the store or the bank made a crucial error, or Uncle John prefers just one scarf, which is highly unlikely—so you really must pay for them.  Now’s the time to get real and practical, and review your funds in detail.  Of course, you could pay just the minimum amount, but who are you kidding?  We all know better than to shell out our hard-earned cash for exorbitant credit card interest.  Take stock of what you absolutely need to pay, and try your best to get rid those depressing balances and if you can’t get those paid off try a cash advance to get the limits down.

You’ve Got Cash

If you’ve done all you can, stretched everything far and wide and still can’t meet all your deadlines to pay during this period, fear not; simply get a payday loan.  Before you get all tense over the idea of a loan, remember that a cash advance is a much simpler and more accessible process.  Because they come in amounts ranging from $100 to $1,500, you can be sure that paying them off won’t be so difficult.  Just choose the amount that will cover your immediate needs, the bills you must pay now, and you’ll get a realistic picture of how you can pay it back.  Think of it as an emergency measure to cure something that aches right now, that will make you feel much better faster.  Then you can work on doing things right next time Christmas comes around—or at least be assured that help will always be available.

There are so many possibilities of how you can use payday loans to your advantage.  One of those ways is that the loan can be used to stay away from credit card debt. Many of us find ourselves falling short of credit card payments and accumulating debt. But if we use a little common sense, we can get away very easily from falling prey to such debt.

What usually happens is that credit cards give us an option not to pay the full amount on the payment due date; we think that it is a great help and unknowingly hurt ourselves.  What we actually are doing is accumulating more debt and making it easy for credit card companies eat up our money as interest. This is not a good way to manage our finances. We should definitely curb the urge to do this and take all positive steps to keep away from credit card debt.

Set the rule

To start with, make a promise that you will make your credit card bill payments like clockwork, before the payments’ due date, never late. Also make sure that no matter what, you will not let your credit card company take a penny more than what is absolutely necessary, even if you have to borrow from others to meet that commitment. Well, you might be thinking, if it was so easy to borrow, you would not be using credit cards. Come on; do not get discouraged, I can let you into the small secret I use to get over the borrowing difficulties.

Easiest way out:

It is actually one of the simplest and easiest ways to borrow money for your needs. If you have not already guessed it, yes, I am getting at using payday loans for this. Think about it. You are only short of a few bucks in paying the full balance of what you owe to the credit card company. When you do not have that money, what usually happens is, instead of paying the full balance, you end up paying only the minimum that the company wants you to make.

Assert Yourself:

This is one habit we have to get out of as quickly as possible. When you find you will not be able to meet the full payment for your credit card bill, get a cash advance that is given as a loan on your own income, to overcome the payment issue. Now you know you will not be getting your whole income next month, because you will pay back the cash advance, so you will get control over your spending.

The added advantage is that this all will subconsciously play on your mind whenever you think about using your credit card and you should be deterred from using it. But what if today is the last day I can make a payment on my credit card without having a late charge?  Don’t worry but act fast. Once you apply for your payday loan and if you pass approval, which takes only a few minutes, you will usually have the money transferred to your bank within two hours. The beauty of getting such loans is that you do not have to undergo any credit checks or faxing to obtain one.

So next time, when you fall short of your credit card payment, think of using payday loans to overcome it.

Tips For Smart Borrowers

There are so many important facts and issues that are highly relevant to applying for a payday loan or installment loan that uninformed borrowers pay a higher price. Here are just some quick facts that all borrowers should keep in mind when negotiating with payday loan lenders.

1. Ask your lender if there is a prepayment penalty
2. Ask your lender if they can provide installment payments
3. Ask your lender if they will conduct a hard inquiry type of credit check
4. Make sure you read the lender agreement carefully
5. Ask if there are any frequent customer rewards programs
6. Ask if there is a refer-a-friend program with compensation

Payday loans are your friend in times of need

Many people who use payday loan services are not the type you would think would ever need a payday loan. There are just too many situations that arise in life to never need a payday loan. Emergencies always come up and sometimes they surprise you when you are short on cash. Here is the index of the E-Book so you can get a sneak peak inside the payday loan resource for borrowers.

Index of:
“Payday Loans | Read This Before You Apply”

Payday Loans – Read This Before you apply
What type of Loan do you Really need?
Advantages of Payday Loans
Facts and Fallacies of payday loans
Purpose of this eBook | 4
How we can help | 4
Secured personal loans |  5
Unsecured personal loans |  6
Short Term personal loans | 6
Payday Loans personal loans | 7
Quick Cash | 7
Maintain Your Credit Rating | 8
Easy Application Process | 8
Minimal Criteria Makes Everyone Eligible | 8
Payday Lenders Trap Borrowers Into a Cycle of Debt | 10
Payday Lenders Charge 391% Interest Rates And Higher | 11
Payday Lenders Make Obscene Profits Off of Consumers | 12
Payday Lending Strips Money from the Community | 13
Payday Lenders Prey on Their Borrowers | 13
Consumers Will be Better Off Without Payday Loans | 13
Demographics of Payday Loan Borrowers
Eliminating your dependency on Borrowed Money
Eliminating Consumer Credit debt
Building and Maintaining Credit
Identifying Habits That Cost You Money | 16
Money Saving Tips and Tricks | 19
Debt Consolidation | 21
Good Credit Strategies for Eliminating Debt | 24
Poor Credit Strategies for Eliminating Debt | 29
Good Credit and Financial Success Go Hand In Hand | 31
How Credit Bureau’s Will Judge You | 34
One: Male vs. Female | 14
Two: Age | 14
Three: Income | 15
Four: Education | 15
Five: Minority Exploitation | 15
Payday Loans Targets Families | 15

Keeping an Affair with Credit

The story, which carries on from the first novel, begins with Becky receiving a marriage proposal from Brandon.  This fabulous news, combined with her new career as a personal shopper at Barney’s, should have signaled a well-planned life for Becky—but no, everything had to be confused by parental intrusion, since both her mother and Brandon’s declared that the couple would be married in England and New York, respectively.  Since Becky could not refuse either one, she simply went on with the plans and devised an idiotic scheme so she and Brandon could be present at both weddings, which would take place within twenty-four hours of each other.  Quite a hilarious setup for fiction, but the decisions Becky made along the way dug a deeper hole for her financial state.  See, Becky herself got excited over the idea of two weddings that she began lapsing into her old ways; and her credit card—now supercharged with extra strength via association with Brandon—plowed through a rigorous workout.  While not many real brides-to-be would find themselves in the same situation, getting carried away with wedding-related expenses is a believable scenario.

Setting a Budget

Most couples planning their weddings set budgets that they can work with, considering their financial situations.  However, in the quest to make everything perfect, other expenses creep in and soon take over the whole plan.  Unlike Becky’s style of throwing caution to the wind and make her debts take care of themselves, keeping track of these unplanned purchases within a reasonable amount may make the problem much easier.  The solution?  Get payday loan.  This way, those extras and touches that would make a wedding memorable are kept just the way they were meant to be, without being significant enough to mark the start of a new life with huge debts.  Because payday loans are generally fuss-free and anywhere within $100 to $1,500, newlyweds would be assured that they could be paid off easily.

A New Life Begins

At this day and age, lavish weddings are distasteful and unrealistic—unless you’re Paris Hilton.  But since many couples would definitely want a wedding to remember, making the right choices are key.  Do some research, attend weddings.  Ask newly-married friends about their suppliers and costs.  Enlist the services of a friend who can create wedding gowns, or find a young new designer who still charges low fees.  There are many ways to keep expenses at an amount that will best produce the most beautiful experience ever, without going in over your head.  If you find yourself getting carried away, don’t fret—there are payday loans just waiting in the wings to tide you over.  To keep you in touch with reality, just remember Becky Bloomwood.

A Payday Loan in all its simplicity…

A payday loan can be an attractive option, for those of you who are shy of borrowing or self reliant but have some emergent money needs. In such a situation, it would be hard to find an easier or simpler remedy. This loan can be obtained easily from the privacy of your home with no questioning eyes or uncomfortable moments. What you basically do is borrow from your own money, so you simply do not have to go knocking on any doors or convincing your boss why you need the cash advance. If you find this notion interesting, read through this article to learn how you can land such a loan.

The way to go:

First of all, make sure that the need for a loan is absolutely necessary. Remember, you will be putting a dent on your own payday income, so you should be absolutely sure that you need a cash advance at the moment. If your need is unavoidable, the next step you will have to do is sit down for a little research. Go online and search for the term “payday loan”. A list of companies providing such loans will pop up. Pick a few and check them over, do some comparison shopping. For this you can get free quotes from the companies you are interested in. Choose the company that you feel will be most beneficial to you, browse for their online application and fill it out and submit.

After all of my research, I chose to use Personal Money Store, and I have been very happy that I did.  You will be surprised at the ease of all of it from there on. Things are going to happen pretty fast. Yes, if you qualify, you will find your bank account credited with the money you requested, the very same day of your application. An application for this loan can also be made over the phone by contacting the concerned lender. Whichever method you choose, the entire loan process can take less than a day. Does this sound simple enough?

What else should you know?

Like any other loan, this loan also comes in various shapes and forms. The loans are basically given for short period and small amounts, ranging up to $1500. For this, most lenders do not require a credit check, so even if your credit history is not good, you may still get a loan. Most of these lenders also do not ask you to fax any documents, saving you even more time and headache. Personal Money Store does not charge processing charges. All things considered, the terms and conditions for these types of loan are not typically different from any other types of loan.

Simply put, the easiest loan to go for would be the one who lends at nominal rates, without any credit check and faxing of documents. So if you can feel comfortable and the loan seems amenable to your expectations, then go ahead and apply for your payday loan here…

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Becky Bloomwood of, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” fame is the poster girl for young career women whose paths toward success require a pair or two of Jimmy Choos and a basic Louis Vuitton bag.  The problem, though, is the fact that Becky, like many of these women, almost never make the direct correlation between credit and cash.  They should, however, make this correlation because an uninformed pattern of credit card use may end up in huge payables that may take years to bring back to a positive standing.

Fact is stranger than fiction

The novel, owing to its fictional nature, shows how Becky forges on to use credit irresponsibly, making up excuses each time about how she absolutely needs that new dress or set of designer luggage.  But the saying that, “truth is stranger than fiction,” applies in many cases of young women in this same situation, treating their new credit cards as unending sources of cash that will pay for themselves somehow.  Throughout the book, Becky is hounded by letters from her credit cards’ bank manager, who repeatedly reminds her of her dues.  Ironically, Becky is a financial journalist—albeit one who knows finance in theory, but not in practice.

Cash over Credit

What Becky could have done from the start was to set an amount to cover all her potential expenses—a budget, in simple terms—and taken out  cash advance loans, if necessary.  Since her salary obviously isn’t enough to pay for all these new ‘investments,’ a cash advance would allow her to purchase a few classic pieces.  Classic pieces such as a good pair of shoes and a well-made business suit would have given Becky the responsibility of managing a fixed amount that she can apply and pay for without hassle.  Once this has been paid, she can choose to get another one, so she can buy that new outfit at Selfridges or a Denny and George scarf.

Learning Finance, In Simple Steps

Having the freedom of a credit card poses the question of maturity and responsibility, not to mention one’s knowledge of reality.  Obviously, Becky’s behavior runs on the negative end of the spectrum, since her concepts of credit card use were pretty much delusional.  But like the modern fairy tale it is, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” ended with Becky finally paying off her debts, establishing a friendly relationship with her bank manager, and landing a millionaire boyfriend whose net worth would give her access to more shopping opportunities.  However, if things did not end up as perfectly as they did, Becky Bloomwood would have again been the excellent profile of one who would benefit from cash advance loans.  By taking out a payday loan that would pay for her unpaid credit card balance, Becky would have realistically reduced her debt and learned more life and financial lessons along the way.

Sophie Kinsella’s, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” has become so popular that it has been adapted for film, and is due for release in January 2009.  Let’s just hope that the screenwriters are financially savvy themselves, so the millions of possible viewers of this movie would learn a thing or two about the huge differences between cash and credit.

McCray-Miller says she plans to introduce the bill after the Legislature convenes Jan. 12.

Necessity

The recession has wreaked all kinds of havoc on the everyday lives of Americans. However, it’s also causing people like McCray-Miller to assess the causes and come up with solutions for preventing a repeat performance.

McCray-Miller says, based on Americans’ increasing debt, education is needed for individuals to avoid another financial crisis. She argues that children learn by example, and they have watched their parents (and their government) accrue debt all their lives. Her aim is to break the cycle.

While a payday loan may be a welcome relief for someone in a bind, it’s certainly ideal if people can prevent financial emergencies when possible.

If it ain’t broke … oh wait, it’s broke

I think we are well past the point that people can argue there’s not a problem. Yes, we can blame mortgage lenders and creditors for causing this recession. But while we can’t directly control what investments banks and government entities do with their money, we can control what we do with our money.

Some factors that went into causing this recession couldn’t be prevented. However, educating children about the dangers of accruing bad debt is a step in the right direction toward a generation of individuals who are more capable of financial freedom.

Lesson plans

A 2003 law in Kansas already requires financial literacy to be included in Board of Education guidelines for lesson plans. Apparently this law isn’t clear enough, because some schools still don’t teach the topic. McCray-Miller’s hope is that her law, if enacted, will require that students be financially literate in order to graduate.

So what should be included in personal finance education? Well, I have a few ideas. First, if children learn the difference between good debt and bad debt at a young age, they are more likely to avoid bad debt. Also, students should know how to assess whether the terms of a loan are realistic. With this kind of education individuals will learn how to manage their finances in a smart way and avoid risky deals, such as sub-prime mortgages.

Impressionable age

Some may argue that Kindergarteners are too young to understand personal finance. I believe if the subject is broken down into its simplest, most rudimentary concepts and then built upon year by year it will be successful. It’s like learning math. First, you teach counting, then addition, then multiplication and so on.

So first teacher would educate students on what debt and credit are and then go from there. If students can understand the difference between negative and positive numbers, they should be able to understand debt. After they understand the concept of debt, teach what kinds of debt are dangerous. If children learn this at a young age they are more likely to believe the concepts are true and avoid financial hardship in the future.

Hope for the future

Emergencies do come up, and with so many people teetering on the poverty line, there will likely always be the need for an occasional payday loan. However, starting financial education at a young age will help the next generation to be smart about their money, even in tough times.

There are a lot of things which cause debt.  Most of us know what those things are and may have even found ourselves in such a situation.  Is there a time when payday loans can help?

Identify the causes of debt before it's too late!

Being that the average American has thousands of dollars in consumer credit card debt, I will assume for the duration of this article that you are currently in such a dilemma, perhaps borrowing payday loans just to stay on top of your current finances or maybe you are quickly headed that way with the forceful push of our slumping economy.

Nonetheless, I thought by revealing the biggest causes of debt, you and I could be watchful for the things that may cause us to end up there, thus taking the safer road less traveled.

Leaving Your Spouse? Think Again

Ironically, yet understandably, the biggest cause of debt is divorce, and the biggest cause of divorce is debt or disagreements regarding money. If it cannot be done civilly between you and your spouse, you may lose what you have and then some just to make the break.

The best advice would be to work it out if at all possible.  Remember you loved your spouse enough once to get married so look at other alternatives besides divorce before jumping on what you “think” is the freedom train. This train may leave you buried in debt.

Living Beyond Your Means

Oftentimes, especially in today’s economy where credit is used more then cash, we tend to find ourselves living beyond that which we can afford. This is either because we fail to keep a fair record of our finances or because we suffer some setbacks professionally leaving us taking less home each payday than we have been used to.

Failure to make the necessary adjustments when your income is reduced can find you accumulating debt quickly. If you find yourself in a similar situation, prioritize your expenses and eliminate what you can afford to live without as soon as possible.

Failure To Manage Your Money (Get A Budget!)

Yes, we have been told how to budget our money since we were young, so why don’t we?

If we do not know where our finances are being spent, we will never know where we can make changes to begin saving. Budgets are critical to any income large or small and anyone can benefit from one. If you don’t have a budget, it’s time for you get one started for the sake of both yourself and your family.

To prove the importance of a budget, record every expense both large and small for one month. At the end of the month, categorize your expenses and see how many fall under the “unnecessary” or “wasteful spending” category. The results are usually shocking. A budget helps you to save money as well as keep you accountable from spending your funds excessively or wastefully.

Unemployment Can Be Underestimated

Finding yourself without a job due to layoffs or some other factor, may leave you with unemployment, but these funds are hardly comparable to what you have been used to each payday.

Many times after being laid off, spending habits don’t change due to the optimism of finding a job in the immediate future. If things happen to the contrary, you may find yourself in a heap of trouble and no way to get on top of it.

If you happen to get laid off or lose your job, make the necessary sacrifices to your spending habits immediately because every dollar you spend during this time will be working against you.

America’s Favorite Pastime… Gambling!

Believe it or not, gambling is quickly becoming America ’s favorite pastime. With tribal casino’s making gambling available in just about every location on the map, consumers are having a hard time telling themselves when enough is enough.

Gamblers, who catch the bug will spend the cash they have on hand, the emergency funds they have set aside, borrow payday loans or pawn off valuable assets just to try their luck at obtaining fortune.

If you like to gamble, do so responsibly. Don’t bring your ATM card to the casino. Instead take a predefined sum of money that you can afford to lose and when the spending is done, you will be forced to walk away. Moderation is key as this habit can quickly get out of hand.

Hopefully the above will be helpful indicators in identifying the potential pitfalls that cause debt.

The state of our economy is getting progressively worse and at an alarming rate. More people are seeking help from third parties such as payday loans stores just to pay their monthly bills. With layoffs in 2008 quickly approaching numbers equaling that of 1945, a depression is seemingly becoming more and more likely.

There is no doubt that we have all been affected to some degree by the economic fallout already experienced by the economy’s downturn in the last year and a half but since things are likely to get worse before they get better, it would be wise for you and I to discuss some things we can do now to help avoid things getting worse than they have to later.

Budget and Save!

Is YOUR wallet safe?

Ironically, procrastination is usually blamed on not having any funds to save. However, if you don’t know where your money goes, it is difficult to see where you can save.

Make note of all your bills and allotted expenses once doing so, you will usually see that there is a significant portion of your paycheck that will go unaccounted for. These funds are those which are spent casually on things which are typically unnecessary or unimportant and could easily be set aside each month as savings. Even if the amount that you can save is small, make the effort to set it aside as savings for a rainy day as their may be several on the way.

Insure Your Self Against Disaster

If your not a believer in insurance you should be. Today they make insurance for just about everything and soon or later everybody wishes they would have gotten it for something. Whether it is for your home, your auto, or your health insurance, you need to have the insurance. The costs may sometimes seem like an added expense but the lack of these types of insurance can quickly find you in a world of financial hurt if an accident happens that would typically call for insurance to step in.

Another type of insurance that you may want to consider investing in during this troubled economy is credit insurance. Your creditors will typically provide you with an insurance that will step in and pay your monthly payments if you are not able to. With the number of people loosing their jobs, you may want to consider what would happen if you lost your job as well. Consider how you would pay your creditors if you didn’t have a payday coming in?

Getting Rid Of Debt

The best thing you can do right now if at all possible is get rid of debt. Unfortunately, as may be the case with you, Americans are steeped within debt today with the average citizen owing thousands of dollars. It would be worth downgrading things such as your automobile and getting out of the monthly payments so that you apply those payments to outstanding balances elsewhere. The more in debt you are the more at risk you become.

With interest rates down, now may be a good time to refinance your home and pay off your debts. It will be much easier to only have to worry about your mortgage rather than several miscellaneous creditors bugging you if things get tight.

Besides, refinancing your debt in with your mortgage will allow you to spread that debt out over thirty years lowering your monthly payment. You can always pay more if you are able to but get your payments down as low as possible.

Hopefully come next payday you will have a budget in place that will provide you with the emergency funds you need to get out of debt and prepare for the tough times ahead, and if you have a sudden expense payday loans are always there for you.

-To your financial health

I have heard talks of people saying they got  no fax payday loans to cover the cost of advice or services from a credit repair company, and the advice they got from the supposed credit repair company was information they could have gotten off of the internet for free. The truth is the majority of these credit repair companies are scams. They offer consumers false hope by telling them that they can remove negative marks from their credit report to help them finance a car or get a mortgage for a home, but the truth is that no one can remove negative information from your credit report; it’s against the law.

Your Dollars Spent For No Reason

Due to the current economic crisis our nation is suffering, these credit repair companies are using the financial worries of consumers to prey upon them and sometimes even make their debt worse than it was before. In researching this topic, I have found that consumers are paying these companies thousands of dollars for their so called “repair counseling or repair services” and they are not seeing any improvement on their credit scores. That’s money that could have been put towards paying off debt not lining someone else’s pocketbook. In fact most of the credit repair companies are encouraging you to stop making payments until you have validation or proof of your debt from the creditor. This is probably the worst thing you can do to your credit; not only will it put more negative marks on your score, but it can also lead to the creditor “charging off” your account which will in turn put your debt in the hands of collection agencies, again adding even more negative marks to your credit score.

How to Spot a Scam

The first thing you should look for is if the company is asking for fees up front before they provide any information or services. This is a giant red flag. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot ask for payment up front and they must complete the promised services before a payment is issued to you. Second, does the company ask you to stop making payments to your creditors? Again, I stress to you that this is the worst thing you can do to your credit; even if you need no fax payday loans to make payments on time, you should always try to pay your creditors on time. The next thing you should watch for is if the company will provide your rights without paying a fee first. The last major thing you should look for is if the company advises you to acquire an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security Number to obtain a new credit identity and credit report. This is probably my favorite of all, because this does absolutely nothing to change your current credit report and it sounds like they could possibly be involved in some sort of fraud.

Credit Isn’t Repaired Overnight, It Takes Time

The only person who can truly make a difference to your credit report is you and you alone. Repairing your credit will take a vast amount of time. “I Dream of Jeannie” is not going to show up on your door step and make your credit disappear with a twitch of the nose. If you are about to fall behind on payments for loans or credit cards, no fax payday loans can help you keep negative marks off of your credit report. You can also find more useful information on how to repair your credit and no fax payday loans at personalmoneystore.com.

PersonalMoneyStore.com has labored to educate you, our readers, about the responsible use of money, and payday loans. From the free informational eBooks, to the friendly online discussion and personal contributions of our many writers and registered users, we are always looking for a fresh perspective in the world of personal finance that will challenge us to become better stewards of our funds – so we don’t have to keep getting payday loans.

Well, today we have for you just that!

Girls Just Wanna Have Funds

Ginger, a self proclaimed “fashionista”, wants it all and isn’t afraid to say so. Although there is never an end to what you can achieve, Ginger has accomplished more than most for her age. A true example of an Entrepreneur. We are glad that there informative blogs out their like this.

Most of us, regardless of our accomplishments to date, have goals and dreams that we would like to achieve and see as a reality. Learning to balance the most important things in our life such as marriage or family with personal ambition will surely present its share of troubles and this is where Ginger shines.

Ginger offers you this unique perspective on her personal blog called Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. The witty name, quite obviously spun off the 1980’s hit song by Cindy Lauper, quickly gives you a feel for the fun and humor you might just find there.

The blog itself, although dedicated to woman who want to take charge of their personal finances, is also of equal value to men as well if seeking the same. With the focus on topics such as budgeting, investing, frugality and mindful spending habits, anyone can benefit.

Challenge yourself to take control of your financial well being as well as your future destiny by visiting Ginger’s blog at Ginger’s Personal Finance Blog for Women. You are sure to find valuable insight, fresh perspective, and even some inspiration to move forward, wherever that may be!

Thanks Ginger.

Personal Money Store – The Payday Loans Source.