2-28-06
More and more people find themselves in financial difficulty.
Some people are obviously aware of this and are doing everything possible to get out of this situation.
Other people just aren’t sure if they are in trouble.
In this blog, I want to address financial difficulty and give you some information to help determine if you or somebody you know might be in trouble or getting close.
The first thing you should do is determine your loan-to-debt ratio. This is fairly simple. Figure out the gross income for the family. Next, figure out what your monthly payments are on all loans, including credit cards, student loans, etc.
Your debt-to-income ratio should be less than 36 percent. If you are above that total, you need to address this now. If you don’t, there is a good chance that you are in trouble.
Here are some other questions you need to ask yourself.
*Are you having to use more and more of your income to pay debts?
*Can you only pay the minimum payments on loans and credit cards each month?*Are your credit cards either maxed out, or close to that level?
*Do you find yourself borrowing money or using credit cards to pay for items you used to purchase with cash?
*Are you having trouble making your payments on time?
*Do you run out of money before you run out of month?
*Is your account frequently overdrawn?
*Do you have to use money from savings to pay bills?
*Have you put off visits to the doctor or dentist because you can’t afford them?
*Are collection companies calling?
*Do you have to work a second job or overtime just to make it through the month?
*Is money something you worry about a lot?
*Do you know how much you actually owe?
*You have to use credit cards to pay for food or rent?
These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself if you are worried about your finances. The more of these questions you answered yes to, the worse off you are with your finances.
Some people are obviously aware of this and are doing everything possible to get out of this situation.
Other people just aren’t sure if they are in trouble.
In this blog, I want to address financial difficulty and give you some information to help determine if you or somebody you know might be in trouble or getting close.
The first thing you should do is determine your loan-to-debt ratio. This is fairly simple. Figure out the gross income for the family. Next, figure out what your monthly payments are on all loans, including credit cards, student loans, etc.
Your debt-to-income ratio should be less than 36 percent. If you are above that total, you need to address this now. If you don’t, there is a good chance that you are in trouble.
Here are some other questions you need to ask yourself.
*Are you having to use more and more of your income to pay debts?
*Can you only pay the minimum payments on loans and credit cards each month?*Are your credit cards either maxed out, or close to that level?
*Do you find yourself borrowing money or using credit cards to pay for items you used to purchase with cash?
*Are you having trouble making your payments on time?
*Do you run out of money before you run out of month?
*Is your account frequently overdrawn?
*Do you have to use money from savings to pay bills?
*Have you put off visits to the doctor or dentist because you can’t afford them?
*Are collection companies calling?
*Do you have to work a second job or overtime just to make it through the month?
*Is money something you worry about a lot?
*Do you know how much you actually owe?
*You have to use credit cards to pay for food or rent?
These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself if you are worried about your finances. The more of these questions you answered yes to, the worse off you are with your finances.
posted by Craig Hall | 7:58 AM
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