MoneyDigest - Personal Finance, Lifestyle, Money Saving Tips

Ultimate Guide To Handling Credit Card Debt

The credit card is one of the most powerful tools of our nation’s consumers. With that power comes great responsibility. Financial problems can occur if you are missing your credit card bills’ deadlines, constantly transferring balances, and paying your primary card debt with a supplementary card.

In Singapore, over 9 million credit cards were issued as of November 2015. The credit card debt of these cards, worth over S$5 billion, are in the form of balances rolled over to the next statements. Shocking and scary at the same time, is it not?

This is why handling your debts is vital to personal finance. May this tips help keep you on track:

1. DETERMINE THE BALANCES AND INTEREST RATES

The first step in taking control of your credit card debt is understanding how much you really owe on each of your cards. Write down the balances and interest rates for each card. If the interest rate is above 10% then you must transfer this balance to the lowest “interest giving” account. This way, you will be able to pay off the balance at an interest rate you can afford.

2. REQUEST A CREDIT REPORT

Request for your credit card report/s to assess the total amount of debt you owe as well as how bad the situation is. A credit report has the records of your payment history, credit facilities, late payments, bankruptcies, and defaults.

If you saw some inconsistencies or problems on your credit report, call the various authorities to fix the issues. Remember that you are able to repair any past mistakes sighted on your credit report.

3. CONSIDER A DEBT REPAYMENT PLAN

Be honest about your situation to your bank and discuss if you can convert your outstanding balances and unsecured loans into a debt repayment plan. To ease your burden, the debt repayment plan allows you to repay your credit card debt by installments. Pay the debts with higher interest rates first followed by those with lower interest rates but, watch out for penalties.

4. PAY MORE THAN THE MINIMUM

Making the lowest possible payment leads to more interest and time spent in debt. Pay more than the minimum requirement in order to get rid of these dilemmas.

For instance: If the outstanding balance on your card is S$2,000 and its interest rate is 18%, you are required to pay a minimum of 2% of your balance each month. Paying the minimum of S$40/month means that it would take you more than 5 years to pay off your debt in full. During that time, you paid an additional of over S$4,000 in interest. If you increased your payment even slightly, you can get rid of your debt in no time!

5. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

If the above options sound confusing and unattainable, it is time to battle your debt with the experts. Luckily, there are a number of organizations and individuals that are qualified to give you support to finally get rid of your financial problems. Start by approaching the Credit Counselling Singapore through ccs.org.sg.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

Balanced Budget: A Unique Balancing Act

DEFINITION

Balanced budget is a situation in financial planning wherein the revenue and expense columns of the working budget are equal.

Having a balanced budget occurs not only when the person’s total revenues equate to the total expenses but also when the total revenues exceed the total expenses within a full year. So even if the budget shows an outstanding lead on the revenue side of the balance sheet, it can still be called a balanced budget. Company’s operating budget for a forthcoming year can be termed balanced based on predictions or estimates.

An alternative to the annual balanced budget is the cyclically balanced budget. The cyclically balanced budget follows the economic cycle wherein the budget goes through the dynamics of surpluses and deficits. Theoretically, if the economy goes through the ups and downs, it should your budget should balance itself out.

COMPONENTS

The 5 components of a balanced budget are:

1. FIXED MONTHLY EXPENSES

These expenses remain the same every month or year due to Singapore’s laws and Company service-provider terms (e.g. Hand Phone Plan, or HDB Rent).

2. VARIABLE MONTHLY EXPENSES

These expenses include food, entertainment, clothing, petroleum, and other expenses that may change every month or year. The challenge now is for you to choose on which variable expenses you can reduce.

3. OCCASIONAL EXPENSES

Occasional expenses happen a few times a year. This includes holiday vacations and seasonal gifts.

4. INCOME AFTER TAXES

Your monthly income after taxes is the amount of money that you have to work with within the month. This amount varies depending on a person’s career. Use your annual income to guide you while making your budget

5. SAVINGS

Savings is a portion of your budget that you keep for future use. It includes emergency fund and retirement fund as it helps you to reach your financial goals.

NEXT STEP

To attain a balanced budget, you must first know about the basics of keeping one. May this short video help you with that:

Sources: 1,2 & 3

Must Read: Best Financial Advice From The Experts

If a financial expert is out of your reach, the next best thing is to read about their nuggets of wisdom.

1. GEORGE KINDER

George Kinder’s professional background is impressive. He is a financial author, a certified financial planner, and a founder of The Kinder Institute. He surely know what he is talking about when he said:

“It’s about the meaning, not the money. If my investing is not really deeply tied to what I think is most important in my life…the asset allocation, the estate plan, [and] the retirement plan might as well be thrown out [of] the window.”

Putting meaning to the currency motivates and directs you to your goals. If good health is vital to you then spending money on organic food is not a problem. And if family is your top priority, allocating assets to your children should be a part of your Last Will.

2. CULLEN ROCHE

Cullen Roche, the founder of Orcam Financial Group and Pragmatic Capitalism (website), shares that the primary way to financial success is more than just saving. It is by investing more…in YOU! Since your primary source of income is the person you see in the mirror, a good way to maximize your wealth is to make yourself valuable to other people or other companies.

To have an edge from the rest, you must never stop learning. Education that improves your skills so you can adapt to the ever-changing economy. I personally recommend you to start with free Internet education from YouTube’s Khan Academy, YaleCourses or Crash Course.

3. FRED SCHWED

A timeless advice resides in the classic book by Fred Schwed entitled Where Are the Customers’ Yachts?. As published in 1940, Schwed wrote:

“Like all of life’s rich emotional experiences, the full flavor of losing important money cannot be conveyed by literature. Art cannot convey to an inexperienced girl what it is truly like to be a wife and mother.”

Paradoxical as this may sound, the book expressed that life is more than just something you read from a piece of literature. Same goes for finance. You cannot simply learn and understand everything about money by merely reading two books written by experts. Instead, you must experience wins and failures firsthand. An investor can never detach himself from his portfolio gains or his portfolio losses.

4. MIRANDA MARQUIT

Miranda Marquit, the founder of Planting Money Seeds, highlights that by knowing that you have enough purchasing power may turn into comfortable spending without keeping the best options for your finances. Just because you can afford something, does not mean that you should buy it. Purchase within your means by balancing what you need and what you want.

5. WARREN BUFFETT

Warren Buffett needs no introductions. As he is extremely frugal, he shared this sentiment: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” Frugal people know how to distinguish between the price and the value in order to get the best deals and achieve long-term goals. For instance, a frugal person will use accumulated coupons and purchase items that are only on his or her shopping list. While a cheap person will highly decline to spend more than S$90 on a week’s groceries even though it is not sufficient for the whole family.

Be frugal and not cheap!

Sources: 1,2 & 3

Buzzworthy $langs That Every Singaporean Investor Must Know

BID WHACKER

Although it sounds like a superhero’s name, a bid whacker is someone you do not want to invite to the market! Bid whacker refers to the investor who sells below or at the bid price. This act temporarily drives down the market prices of a security. As sellers normally negotiate for a price between the bid and ask quotes, the unconventional bid whackers usually upset other sellers.

TRIPLE WITCHING

Triple witching or Freaky Friday occurs on the third Friday of December, March, June, and September. At this time, the stock market index options and futures expire in one day. This leads to great volumes of trading as investors try to offset their options and futures before the time is up.

BLUE CHIP COMPANIES

You often hear financial gurus advising you to invest on the blue chips, but what do they really pertain to?

Blue chip companies are large companies that are considered to be well-renowned, highly established, and more financially sound. If you want to invest your money in stocks that have proven their strength and profitability through economic downturns then you should consider these companies. International blue chip companies include H.J. Heinz (HNZ) and Disney (DIS) while local blue chip companies include Singapore Press Holdings (SGX: T39) and Singapore Telecommunications (SGX: Z74).

ANKLE BITER

An ankle biter refers to a stock that has low market capitalization. These are also known as small-cap stocks and encompasses many emerging technologies. Ankle biters as an investment tend to be more fickle and typically thinly traded. However, the growth potential in these stocks are higher than the large-cap stocks.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

STALKING-HORSE BID

Stalking-horse bid is an initial bid on a bankrupt company’s assets. It usually comes from a serious buyer selected by the bankrupt company itself in order to prevent low-ball offers and enforce an engaging bidding war. Once the stalking-horse bid is received, the bankrupt company will open its doors to other interested companies that are willing to offer their own bids.

With this strategy, the bankrupt company is able to attain the best possible price.

Sources: 1 & 2

10 Wonderful Treasures That Money Cannot Buy

1. RESPECT

Genuine respect from your partner, your workplace, and yourself is something that almost everyone desires to achieve. One gains respect not by paying for it, rather it is gained through humility, hard work, and nobility.

2. WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge and education are acquired through time and effort. While, wisdom comes from the knowing how little you actually know. Submitting yourself to updated books and new experiences can fuel the lifelong learning process.

3. FULFILLMENT OF DREAMS

Whether you call it dreams or passions, dedicating your life to something you love and value can help you unlock happiness. However, arriving at your true calling takes a complicated and a highly personal route of self discovery.

4. GOOD HEALTH

Although we are aware of the benefits of physical activity to our health, most of us do little of it. Instead of getting consumed by earning, lead a healthy lifestyle packed with exercise and balanced diet.

5. AFFECTIONATE RELATIONSHIPS

Since our time here is limited, we must constantly put effort into making our loved ones feel that they are appreciated. Show affection by your presence, hugs, and kisses. Help one another in the time of need as this will only keep the bond stronger.

6. SECURITY

Security is defined as freedom from risks and danger. Aside from keeping piles of wealth to secure your future, prevent the harmful attacks from people and diseases by employing overall security and preventive measures.

7. INNER PEACE

The state of being mentally and spiritually at peace is achieved when one accepts everything that life has to throw at him or her. Positivism even in the most negative circumstances are attained due to knowledge and understanding of oneself. This is one thing that I personally want to attain without the help of wealth.

8. TIME

If there is something money cannot buy, it is absolutely time! Time is one of the most important commodities on Earth. It is limited. Once it is gone, you cannot take it back.

9. CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY

The true closeness of a family cannot be bought by money even if you combine all the wealth in the world. It comes from spending quality time, giving adequate attention, and pouring unconditional love to each family member.

10. STRONG WORK ETHIC

Building strong work ethic is a matter of becoming an action-oriented person that steers to the direction of self-development. Boost it by practicing hard work, wielding self-discipline, and embracing responsibility.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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