We are back! We have many new ideas and plans for reconstructing our blog. So stay in touch for new ways to Rule Your Money!

Today our friend David from Debtcs.com prepared this new article about ways to reduce personal debt. I personally already use some of these tactics, and therefore recommend you do so too.

-O.

As pathetic as it sounds, consumer spending is one of the many things that keep the economy going. Ironically, the economy is now under a great recession exactly because of that. Many people now are in big financial problem as they are failing to pay off their credit card debt.

If you are one of those people, your money management to save money will help you greatly to get you out of that financial mess that you are in.

The most important fact that you need to realize and also admit to yourself is the reason why you are in debt in the first place. Obviously, more money has been going out of your pocket rather than going in. Chance are also, that you have been spending more money that you actually have in your bank account, thinking that you could pay in installment without knowing that your debt will go up because of interest.

The only way to get you out of debt and try and save money at the same time is by making some budget cuts. To be able to do that, you have to go through your bills to know exactly how much you have and what exactly it is that you are spending your money on. It is easier to analyze this by making a spreadsheet and categorize your expenses such as meals, dining out, entertainment, clothes, kid’s education, gasoline and so on.

Once you know exactly where your money goes you will be able to see how often you actually fill up the car with gas, or how often you eat out, or how often you go shopping for the latest fashion.

The best way to save money on groceries is to make a shopping list before you leave home and then stick to the least. Buy less than you would usually buy and only the essentials. See if you can switch your item for a cheaper brand that can also give you the same satisfaction as the one you usually buy. Think twice before you buy things such as junk snack food. Can you live without it? If you can, you will not only save money and use the saved money to pay your debt, but you’ll be saving your health as well.

A way to save gasoline is to carpool your vehicle for a few days in a week. If it is possible for you to go to several places by bus or on foot, then you should do it. You will be amazed to see how much you can save on gasoline. Try and do all your errands in one trip. Get rid of excess baggage in the car, as added weight makes your vehicle consume more gas. Avoid speeding too much or hit the brake too sudden as these will also consume more gas.

Some clothes can last a few years before you have to replace them. Some will wear out faster. If you really must replace your clothes try buying similar items from a thrift shop or maybe a smaller store as opposed to a huge shopping mall or department store or even designers outlets. If you really want items from these places, waiting for a promo by the store on the item is probably a good idea. You’ll never know. In the recession, a lot of retailers are now slashing prices or making up all kinds of gimmicks just to have a sale and stay afloat. You might have a big chance to get the same item in a much cheaper price.

At home, you can save money by cutting your phone bills, cable, or internet connection. You can either switch to another provider or subscript to a cheaper plan.

There are many other ways to save money and you can find tips on improving your personal finance all over the internet. The money that you can save by making a budget cut can be used towards paying your debt and can be saved for emergency. Finally be free of debt which Includes the information about debt consolidation, credit card management, student loans, debt settlement and advice about how to get help through a variety of relief solutions.

-David (debtcs.com).

Back when I was in college somebody I knew got a rather large inheritance from a family member.  When I heard about this I started to imagine what I would do if it was me that was getting the money.  I was formulating great plans in my mind about how I could invest this in a way that would allow me to essentially retire straight out of college.  I would have no need for the traditional job most of my peers were desperately trying to conform to.  A couple weeks later this person showed up to school in a brand new BMW.

I suppose this shouldn’t have been all that surprising.  After all early 20 year olds aren’t known for their long term planning. It was just was a little disappointing to see somebody waste what I viewed as a great opportunity.

Now this person wasn’t dumb a dumb person.  In fact they did quite well in school and where earning a degree in business and finance.  You would assume that they should have picked up some basic principles about money and investing.  It seems that if they did, they either did not apply this knowledge to their life or figured they had the rest of their life to worry about it.

I guess what I learned from this is that just because somebody is educated and understands financial principles it is of no use unless they apply that knowledge. I use this to remind myself that just because I might know more about finances than the average person it doesn’t mean I am exempt from making bad decisions.  While it is important to constantly work on increasing your knowledge regarding investing and business it is equally as important to constantly attempt to apply that knowledge.

-T!

The second opinion

I’d also like to add that some people do know how money works, but do not believe that if they take care of their money now they would be financially safe in the future. Such disbelieving keeps these people from applying their knowledge. I think it is part of human nature to disbelieve things that we don’t have experience with. It is difficult for a person to apply financial knowledge if her/she have never done so. Probably T!’s 20 year old friend had very little experience in controlling his money, consequently he couldn’t take advantage of this opportunity. I wish everyone would take their first step to apply his/her financial knowledge and start believing that controlling your personal finances now will have positive long term results.

-O.

The most common description of poverty sounds like “poverty is the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions.” For me poverty is about the lack of opportunities to get out of the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions. According to my description of poverty, there is absolutely no poverty in Japan!

Japan has some form of socialism based on capitalistic principles. As the second largest economy in the world it has only two representatives in the Forbes’ 100 billionaires list! (#76 Tadashi Yanai & family, #93 Kunio Busujima & family) How can that be possible? In Japanese society there a very good distribution of wealth, it is very difficult to become very rich. On the other hand it is very simple to become middle class. To be in the middle class a person doesn’t need to graduate from a university; completing high school is enough education! There is absolutely no need to have any special skills because usually all job tasks are formalized and easy to do even for unprepared employees. Of course if a person graduated from a good university or has special skills he/she can become upper middle class citizen rather easily.

I’m not saying that there aren’t any homeless people or people with very low income in Japan. Such people do exist in Japan but usually they are okay living like that! They are barely forced to live like that. They made a personal decision to live such a lifestyle. Even though the unemployment rate in Japan has risen significantly due to the global financial crisis, it is still one of the lowest rates in the world at less than 5%. There are a lot of vacant low pay positions in Japan. Absolutely everybody can apply for a position at McDonald’s or similar place with salary of at least 10USD per hour. Working full-time at one of these places would allow Japanese to rent an apartment and cover other living expenses without problem. Every Japanese person has a chance to get out of poverty and that is why I think poverty in Japan doesn’t exist.

-O.

The Second Opinion:

Japan is a very egalitarian country and has produced an extremely strong middle class. However, I’m not entirely convinced that people who are homeless or struggling to get by do so by their own choice though.  There is a huge stigma in Japan that goes with older people being out of work or looking for a new job.  They are often viewed as having something wrong with them or the new companies are worried that they will be difficult to train and upset the balance of their company with ideas from their old job.  These people may find it very difficult to keep their status in the middle class. While they can always get one of those 10USD per hour jobs it would be impossible to support a family on that salary alone.

-T!