Do a credit check — make sure there are no mistakes. http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:30:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Creating a budget http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/creating-a-budget.html http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/creating-a-budget.html#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:32:36 +0000 admin http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/?p=5 Call it a spending plan, if you like, but however you refer to it, be sure to see it as a positive enabler, rather than a restriction or a barrier. The purpose of the budget is to get you to arrive at your goal. If, for example, your goal is to take a beach vacation next year, putting money aside each paycheck and limiting spending on restaurants and clothing are as important in getting you there as filling the gas tank and turning the car on the highway that leads to the shore.

Start with an understanding of how much income you have to work with, and then allocate it as necessary for living expenses. If you have debt, set aside part of your income to retire that debt just as quickly as you can.

Then, just as important as your expenses and debt commitment, be sure you contribute to your own savings plans: one toward an emergency fund (in case of job loss or illness, for example); the others, for your goals (your kids, your honey, your retirement). Make saving as automatic as possible (an IRA or 401 [k] for retirement, for example); the money can come right out of your paycheck. Use payroll deduction as an easy way to do this  -  and try to put at least half of your future raises in savings. You can spend the other half.

Get expert help on your credit repair.

]]> http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/creating-a-budget.html/feed Obtaining and maintaining your credit reports and credit score http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/obtaining-and-maintaining-your-credit-reports-and-credit-score.html http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/obtaining-and-maintaining-your-credit-reports-and-credit-score.html#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:30:56 +0000 admin http://www.pittsfieldrotary.org/?p=4 Like your annual medical exam, this data serves as your routine credit check up  -  only you’re wise to schedule this exam every four months. Get it more often if you have a need  -  a big purchase on the horizon or a job change, for example. Pay for it, if you have to. It won’t kill you. For information about ordering your credit reports and credit score, read Post 4.

Read your credit reports  -  every word. Errors do happen and when you’re dealing with billions of pieces of data a month, they can happen a lot. Do you count your change when you check out at the supermarket or a restaurant? Your credit report is no small change. Dispute the errors, outdated information, and negative stuff that belongs to someone else’s report.

Check for signs of identity theft and take immediate action if you discover evidence that someone else is using your good name. Post 13 of this site addresses identity theft in detail.

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