Financial responsibility is a concept that benefits individuals at every stage of life. If you want your children to understand this basic concept and grow into adults who manage their money the right way, start teaching them the basics of financial responsibility at a young age.

Teaching Your Children Financial Responsibility

Start teaching children about money at a young age. Children need to learn that money is more than just an object if they are to one day appreciate it and understand it. If the most basic education surrounding money starts at a young age, children will grasp this concept quicker and benefit from it. Teach your four year old to count coins so they understand the basic math concepts surrounding money. Let your five year old pay for a treat at the mall so they understand how much an item costs. Talk about prices with your children so that they learn that most items are not free. This is a great way to have fun with your children, teach them basic math skills and start down the path toward financial responsibility.

Allow your child to earn money. Children should understand that money is not handed out for free. Rather than buying items for your children, give them tasks to perform in order to earn the money they need to buy the item themselves. Ask your child to bring the dishes to the sink to earn enough for a favorite toy. Explain to your child that if they pick up their toys they can earn enough for a treat. If your child wants a larger item, give them weekly chores and provide them with money they can save in order to make that purchase. Your child will gain a sense of pride when the chores are complete and they will learn a lot about money in the process.

Give your child the opportunity to understand the advantages of spend a little and save a little. Children can learn a very important lesson about money at a young age, that they should always strive to make more than they spend. A great way to teach this is to encourage your child to spend some and then put the rest away. Explain that the savings can be used for a larger item that they purchase later, for a special treat on a family vacation or even for college or a car when they are of age.

Make money education fun! Children learn when they play, and it is important to incorporate play into everything that you teach your child. Your child will have an increased sense of understanding surrounding finances and want to learn more if you make the activities fun. Play money related games like Monopoly with older children. With younger children, put a bunch of pennies on the ground and encourage them to count the pennies and put them in their bank as fast as they can. Draw pictures of money, sing songs about money and play computer games that involve money. These are all great ways to get financial messages across in a fun and easy to understand way.

Teach your children about money at an early age. They will learn to understand the importance of money and carry these lessons on as they age. You will help to foster their understanding of and love for financial responsibility, and thereby benefit them throughout their lives.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – Type of Personal Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a type of personal bankruptcy that allows you to set up a structured plan to repay your debts over the course of three to five years. While Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires you to liquidate your assets to settle your debts, Chapter 13 allows you to keep all your property. This type of bankruptcy takes longer to resolve, and you have to give up some of your financial freedom–you must work with a bankruptcy trustee and cannot take out a new loan without his permission. However, this type of bankruptcy allows you to keep your property while settling your debts.

In order to be eligible for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, all you need is a steady source of income, such as a regular job or regular self-employment income. You can also qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy if you receive disability payments.

Overview of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

It is much easier to qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy than for Chapter 7; Chapter 7 has strict limits on income, and you can’t qualify if you make more than a certain amount. However, you must have enough disposable income after paying your bills to enter a structured repayment plan if you want to qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

There are limits on the amount of debt you may carry in order to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You cannot file if your secured debts are more than $1,081,400. Unsecured debts can’t be greater than $360,475. You also must be current on your tax filings. Before filing for Chapter 13 you need to have filed your taxes, and paid or made payment arrangements for the last four years.

In order to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must prove that you completed a credit counseling session at least 180 days prior to filing. At your credit counseling session, you’ll learn strategies for improving your financial situation and look at all of your options. If your credit counselor agrees that Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the best option, he or she will encourage you to file.

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires you to pay certain debts in full, while you may only partially repay other debts. You must pay all filing fees and administrative costs of filing in full. You also must pay mortgage debts and other priority debts, such as child support and alimony in full. Finally, you must pay secured debts in full if you want to keep the property. If you give up your car or other property, you don’t need to pay the debt in full.

Some unsecured debts may not have to be repaid in full. This depends on your income level and how much disposable income you have left over after you pay secured debts and current bills.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to take responsibility for your debts without becoming overwhelmed by them. Your repayment plan will allow you to repay your debts in a timely manner and wipe them out, and by the end of your bankruptcy you will feel more financially responsible. Just keep up the new, responsible habits you form during your bankruptcy so that you keep your credit record clean, and you won’t have to face bankruptcy again.

Handle Your Own Personal Financial Situation

If the topic of money is one that overwhelms you or makes you want to turn and run screaming, you need to get a handle on your personal financial situation. However, this does not have to take a feat of superhuman willpower or a total lifestyle overhaul in one week. Break down your journey into the steps listed in the following paragraphs.

First, know where you are. List out all of your debts, how much you owe on them, what the interest rates are and when the minimum payments are due each month. Count up your savings and how much money is in your wallet. Chart your income, especially if it fluctuates. Stack up your bills and lay them out on a calendar.

Having done all that, start tracking your expenses. This can be real easy if you pay for everything electronically. If you pay for anything in cash, get a receipt to add to your print out. The longer a period of time you have complete data for, the more accurate a picture you can get of where your money is going.

As you sift through all this data, remember that you are not looking for a magic bullet that solves all of your problems. Rather, you are looking for the smallest possible things that you can snip out or replace with something cheaper. Could a coffeemaker replace your morning trip through the Starbucks drive-through? If you love seeing a movie every weekend, could you start going to the second run theater? Can you economize one meal out a week or be a little more mindful in grocery shopping? Look for anyplace where you can cut a few dollars, without drastically impacting your immediate lifestyle.

Also consider things that you can do to boost your income a little bit. Are there tax breaks you are not taking advantage of? Do you have things in your closets, attic, garage or basement that you could sell online or through a yard sale? Do you have any skills that you could contract or freelance with? Do you have time to maybe take paid surveys online?

Between tiny cutbacks in your expenses and small boosts to your income, you can start creating a gap of money between your income and outflow that you can use to increase your savings. Apply this money towards high interest debts or the building up of your emergency savings fund.

Take Charge of Your Financial Situation

Once you have made token cosmetic alterations to your budget and lifestyle, you should be far less intimidated by what is involved and maybe even emboldened to tackle some larger changes. Look at your major expenses and see if you can make changes that will still suit you. Could a cheaper car still get you around? Can you vacation closer or cheaper? Always be willing to consider refinancing anything you owe money on and always shop around for new car insurance at renewal time.

With some simple steps to start off with, you can easily take charge of your financial situation. Start small and then gradually build into something bigger, using the outline in this article.

Tips to Start Saving More Money Today

Everyone is looking to saving more money these days, and if you look more closely at your household’s handling of food, you will probably see a whole lot of room for improvement. Check out the following ways you can start saving more money big on your food bill.

1. Dine in more often. The difference in price between the same food in a restaurant or made in your own kitchen is astronomical. What you could spend less than five dollars for at home will cost you up to three or four times as much, just for a little ambiance. Multiply that savings by how many times you dine out in a year and you’ve got a new flat-screen, energy-efficient washer and dryer or a real hefty savings bond!

2. Make your own great coffee. Americans spend millions on to-go and specialty coffees, and if you do the math by the cup, that’s mega-bucks that could be in your pocket instead. Start with a great coffee maker, pay a little more for the coffee you prefer most and buy a travel mug. You save money, end of story.

3. Buy generic. For most items, there is little to no difference between the store brand and national name, other than that price tag. In fact, most popular brands get their products from the same places as the generic companies; they just pay so much more in advertising to get you to like them, so you can pay more! The no-name brand is often cheaper than big-name products that are on sale.

4. Bargains by the bulk. So much money is there for the saving more money when you shop in bulk quantities, it’s almost silly not to! Particularly non-perishable, necessary items such as toilet paper, napkins, paper towels and cleaning supplies. Actively seek out saving more money of time by buying in larger quantities.

5. Brown bagging lunch. Not only is this method more economically efficient, it’s also much healthier. Most especially if you are trying to manage your weight too, packing a sandwich on whole-grain bread with a few pieces of delicious fruit on the side will definitely work in your favor! To keep your bread from getting soggy, store lettuce and tomato in a small, reusable plastic container. Invest in ways that will make the meal more appealing to keep your motivation for doing it up.

6. Make a list and check it twice. Shopping by design will save you a lot of money and time; have a standard list and add to it only after you have planned out a menu for the week. This will prevent you from buying things you don’t need and on impulse. Give yourself a time limit for grocery shopping too, or only go when you are in a hurry.

7. Check expiration dates before you buy. If you are not going to use an item prior to its end-date, you are probably going to end up throwing at least some of it away. That’s a waste of your money; read the label and plan your purchases accordingly.

We’ve got to make tough decisions when it comes to pinching pennies, so put these tips to good use in your household and look for even more ways to spend wisely. It only takes a little time and effort to yield extraordinary saving.

Due to the current state of economy, bankruptcy has become quite common. If you find yourself in the position to have to file for bankruptcy, do not feel that you are alone. The best thing you can do at this point is learn more about what you need to keep in mind during the process. Continue reading this article to find out more.

Should You File For Bankruptcy?

Before you make the huge decision to file for bankruptcy, you should verify that it is necessary. To figure this out you simply need to compare your income to your bills. From there determine what, if any money, you have to put towards your debt. Then add up the monthly expenses of paying your debt. If your debt payments are more than twice what you have in excess earnings, then it is likely that bankruptcy is the right choice for you.

If you are planning to file for bankruptcy you should request your credit report from all three of the major credit bureaus. Once you receive all three credit reports, you need to go through them and determine which debts you would like to include in your bankruptcy. Depending on the type of bankruptcy you choose, you might want to include almost all of your debts. Whichever you choose, you should then make a formal list of all creditors, their contact information and the amount that you owe them. This information is important for the next steps in the bankruptcy proceeding. Without it you will be leaving yourself with any debt that you do not record with the court.

After you have compiled a complete list of all of your debts, it is your responsibility to inform your creditors in writing that you are in the process of filing for bankruptcy. This will let them know to not call and harass you, and it will also inform them that they need to take action in the court proceedings as well. If you do not inform them in a timely manner, they will not be required by law to acknowledge your bankruptcy.

After you have begun the bankruptcy process, it will be very difficult to obtain lines of credit. Of course you probably already knew that. To counter the effects that the bankruptcy will have on your credit rating, you should get at least one secured credit card. This will incur fees that are higher than with a standard credit card, but the benefit is that it will show the credit bureaus that you are paying your bills on time. If this occurs for a year straight, your credit score will be greatly improved. Having good credit again will save you a lot of money when you start to take out loans again.

Now that you know what is important when it comes to filing for bankruptcy, you should feel better about going on with the process. Be sure than you use the information in this article, and any other articles that you read, to make the best of your upcoming bankruptcy.