Showing posts with label Financial House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial House. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
PF4TP: We're Here to Help
Personal Finance 4 The People (PF4TP) aims to reach out to those individuals who lack financial education including budgeting, saving, prioritizing, and debt reduction and management all while instilling the importance of being Financially Independent. Financial Independence occurs when an individual has control over their finances and has at least a basic understand of their cash flow allowing them more control over their daily lives. We realize this journey is a whole personal make-over and we provide support for those moments during the journey when all seems impossible and one step forward leads to two steps back. With a societal focus, PF4TP focuses on those types of behaviors that are often cyclical and universal to those who are minorities in the general society who are underemployed, unemployed, or disenfranchised by a system that is failing to meet its own expectations. We teach that controlling one’s Financial Independence allows for a sense of empowerment that alleviates stress, as they will have an Emergency Fund, debt management skills, an understanding of priorities, and even possess the knowledge to pass this information to their children so future generations will not be trapped in the negative cyclical patterns. Alleviating this stress from their lives will, in turn, alleviate stresses from their communities as the residents will provide newly increased tax revenue into their communities; resulting in a positive cyclical effect on the community as a whole.
With a background in Sociology, PF4TP sees the “big picture” of how these underserved groups are being disenfranchised by their lack of financial knowledge and the lack of financial education provided to them. Cycles of negative financial habits have been passed from generation to generation leaving these groups underserved and disenfranchised more and more each generation. PF4TP firmly believes with education and guidance those who want to be Financially Independent should be able to set financial and life goals and reach them.
What sets PF4TP apart from other financial type businesses is our focus on personal finance from a societal view point. Believing this understanding of the importance Financial Independence leads to individual and communities these groups represent – often times overlapping – becoming more productive and self-sustaining.
Aside from working with individuals, we intend to teach basic financial classes where the education will be accompanied by optional guidance just as one would receive if they were working with PF4TP on an individual basis. Ideally, we aim to work with community organizations, churches, and schools to teach financial education as an additional aspect of the services provided.
Becoming Financially Independent is not just an individual accomplishment, it is a community accomplishment!
Email: personalfinance4thepeople@gmail.com
Blog: http://personalfinance4thepeople.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @peoplesfinance
Phone: 202-431-8008
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Five Financial Moves... to Make RIGHT NOW
There is never a better time to do anything, than RIGHT NOW...this goes for anything you have on your TO DO LIST. One area that you should really look at RIGHT NOW is your finances. Why wait to check in on your finances? All you are doing is delaying, and possibly worsening, the enviable.
Here is a short list that will give you a full look at your financial situation:
Review Your Credit Reports
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to review your credit report every 12 months at each of the three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). Take advantage of it. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your credit report so that you can review it for errors and omissions. Making sure your credit report is correct has a huge impact on your credit score, which is what lenders and other businesses use to decide whether or not, and at what cost, to do business with you. If you do find an error, report it to each of the bureaus as soon as possible since resolving it can take some time.
Start an Emergency Fund
If you don’t have a rainy day emergency fund, start one today. An emergency fund acts as a buffer in the event you experience a financial emergency, from an unexpected medical bill to a car repair to losing your job. Experts recommend that you keep a minimum of six months of expenses in a savings account, preferably an online savings account offering higher interest rates, for this purpose. If you are feeling conservative, you can always put a year’s worth of expenses in your emergency fund. Once you have the fund set up, you might consider laddering CDs to boost the interest rates even more. Remember, the purpose of this fund is to protect you in case something happens, it’s not designed to generate a lot of income.
Restructure Your Debts
If you’re currently battling debt, look to restructure it to either consolidate that debt or lower the interest rate. If it’s a double digit credit card debt you’re struggling with, consider doing a credit card balance transfer to give you a year or more to catch up on the balance. Compare the post-promotional APR to your current APR, along with your ability to pay, to see if this is a good deal. If not, consider joining a credit union and turning the high interest credit card debt into a lower interest personal loan. If that still isn’t an option, research peer to peer lending as it might be a way for you to trim the interest rate without much hassle.
Shop Around Everything
As I said in the beginning of this article, shop around every service you pay for, not just car insurance. Whenever my cable and internet contract expires, I always go back to the provider with competitive offers and request a reduction in my rates. It’s so much cheaper for them to charge me less than it is to find a new customer, especially after you consider what goes into getting a new customer.
Clean Your Financial House
Spend a few minutes each week just cleaning house, whether it’s closing dormant accounts to shredding documents you no longer need, keeping a tidy financial life is crucial to reducing mistakes. The last thing you want to have to deal with is a CP2000 letter from the IRS because you omitted a 1099-INT from a bank you forgot you had an account in.
Here is a short list that will give you a full look at your financial situation:
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to review your credit report every 12 months at each of the three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). Take advantage of it. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your credit report so that you can review it for errors and omissions. Making sure your credit report is correct has a huge impact on your credit score, which is what lenders and other businesses use to decide whether or not, and at what cost, to do business with you. If you do find an error, report it to each of the bureaus as soon as possible since resolving it can take some time.
If you don’t have a rainy day emergency fund, start one today. An emergency fund acts as a buffer in the event you experience a financial emergency, from an unexpected medical bill to a car repair to losing your job. Experts recommend that you keep a minimum of six months of expenses in a savings account, preferably an online savings account offering higher interest rates, for this purpose. If you are feeling conservative, you can always put a year’s worth of expenses in your emergency fund. Once you have the fund set up, you might consider laddering CDs to boost the interest rates even more. Remember, the purpose of this fund is to protect you in case something happens, it’s not designed to generate a lot of income.
If you’re currently battling debt, look to restructure it to either consolidate that debt or lower the interest rate. If it’s a double digit credit card debt you’re struggling with, consider doing a credit card balance transfer to give you a year or more to catch up on the balance. Compare the post-promotional APR to your current APR, along with your ability to pay, to see if this is a good deal. If not, consider joining a credit union and turning the high interest credit card debt into a lower interest personal loan. If that still isn’t an option, research peer to peer lending as it might be a way for you to trim the interest rate without much hassle.
As I said in the beginning of this article, shop around every service you pay for, not just car insurance. Whenever my cable and internet contract expires, I always go back to the provider with competitive offers and request a reduction in my rates. It’s so much cheaper for them to charge me less than it is to find a new customer, especially after you consider what goes into getting a new customer.
Spend a few minutes each week just cleaning house, whether it’s closing dormant accounts to shredding documents you no longer need, keeping a tidy financial life is crucial to reducing mistakes. The last thing you want to have to deal with is a CP2000 letter from the IRS because you omitted a 1099-INT from a bank you forgot you had an account in.
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