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• The dirty secrets of debt reduction

  Posted Aug 04 2008, 06:06 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Spending, Credit, Get Rich Slowly
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  This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.

  When I was a sophomore in college, I got my first credit card. I thought it was awesome -- it was like free money. Soon I got another credit card, and before long I'd maxed them both out. I entered the workforce with a handicap. I had the start of a nasty credit habit.

  My parents had never been good with money, and as a result I had no notion of proper financial skills. I made some bad decisions, which were in turn compounded by some rotten luck. Just five years after graduation, I had about $20,000 in credit card debt. For the next decade I tried to kick the habit. Sometimes I'd make progress, but then I'd find other ways to fall behind.

  Here are some of the mistakes I made along the way and the steps I took to correct them.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 76 comments) 80,331 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• Great consumer tips -- and they come from Uncle Sam

  Posted Jun 16 2008, 06:25 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Get Rich Slowly, Karen Datko
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  The federal government may not be winning many popularity contests, but our partner blogger J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly found a treasure-trove of wonderful consumer tips in a U.S. government publication, the 2008 Consumer Action Handbook.

  The fact is, there are plenty of useful federal government Web sites about all sorts of personal-finance matters. (Two we've found particularly helpful are www.irs.gov and Social Security Online.)   Read More...

  Discuss ( 46 comments) 31,541 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• Use 'reverse credit' to stick to your budget

  Posted May 12 2008, 05:18 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Get Rich Slowly, Budgeting

  This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.

  Ralph sent me an e-mail recently describing a clever budget trick he picked up from a friend:

  My wife and I had dinner last night with a couple of young women we know. We talked a little about personal finance. One of the girls has an interesting idea on forced savings. She calls it "reverse credit."

  "When I want to buy something expensive, I go to the store and buy a $20 gift card," she said. "I save these up. When I'm ready, I take all the cards and go get my new thing."

  I think this forced savings plan is brilliant, and told her so.

  I've actually been doing something similar.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 9 comments) 3,393 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• The wise use of credit: Money lessons from 1960

  Posted Mar 17 2008, 06:50 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Spending, Credit, Get Rich Slowly

  This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.

  "To develop a better understanding of the wise use of credit, let's spend a few minutes with a certain individual we'll call 'Mr. Money,'" suggests the narrator in "The Wise Use of Credit," a short video created in 1960 by Sutherland Educational Films.

  In this film, produced with help from the National Consumer Finance Association (which is now the American Financial Services Association), Mr. Money teaches John and Judy the ins and outs of credit.

  His advice is familiar to most of us:   Read More...

  Discuss (no comments) 863 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this