Have you suffered a heavy financial loss? Your friend suggested that you file for bankruptcy and you know nothing about it. Here is what you need to know. You can file for bankruptcy, a process through which you can get away with all your debts. It is a narrow escape from your creditors and a big relief to make a fresh beginning. Filing for bankruptcy is a legal process and every step that you take should be correct and things should be in place.

The very first thing that you should do is get in touch with a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy. You’ll want to be working with someone who knows exactly what is required and what steps you need to follow for bankruptcy. When you first meet with the lawyer make sure that you take along all of your financial papers, including bills that you owe, a verification of your monthly income, and statements from your bank.

You and the lawyer will need to determine exactly how much money you owe. You’ll be including everything that you owe so don’t leave anything out just because you don’t want your debt load to appear too high. The goal is to make a fresh start, so you don’t want any forgotten debt to get left behind because you’ll still owe it.

The lawyer might brief you about the secured debt and unsecured debt. In secured debt, the creditor always keeps a back up for the money you owe him. For example he might attach your property or any asset of yours, for the money you owe him. And you might have to part with your belongings, if you are not in the position to repay your loans. However, such criterion is not present in an unsecured debt.

Some debts can't be cleared even by filing bankruptcy. Such debts are student loans, child support and any back taxes that you owe. So double-check that your lawyer has all the information with him to make a perfect application for bankruptcy.

Once you’ve determined all your debt you’ll be filing a bankruptcy petition with the local courts in your area. Your creditors will need to be contacted and notified that you’ve filed for bankruptcy. Once you’ve filed for bankruptcy your creditors will be unable to contact you and won’t be able to collect any of the money that you owe them.

Then a trustee who is assigned to your bankruptcy case will settle your debt. The trustee will then be responsible for paying your debts and staying in touch with your creditors. Incase you have a property or some other assets it would be sold off to pay off the debts. At certain places you are entitled to get some profit on the sale of your property. There are also cases where you can be given an allowance to live off for a certain period of time.

Filing for personal bankruptcy can be a threat to your financial status in the future. Be well informed and give it a second thought before putting your plan into action.

Sad but true, just about everybody has trouble managing their financial obligations at one time or another. This can be especially frightening for homeowners, since they risk foreclosure if they get behind in their house payments. If you fall into this category, there is help available. Read this article for a few tips.

A foreclosure means that the mortgage company or lending institution for your home can take it back to resell if you fall behind on payments. When this occurs, you have several options. First, you can go through a process to keep your home. Second, you can sell the home on your own and then pay off the loan plus any fees. Third, you can allow the home to go through foreclosure where they sell the home and you are responsible for any difference between the price the house sold for and the payoff balance.

If you fall behind on payments and begin to receive letters from your mortgage company, most importantly, NEVER ignore them. Instead, call the number provided on the letter and talk to a representative, explaining the reason why you fell behind. Just as with you, the mortgage company wants you to keep your home. After all, foreclosure is a hassle for them, expensive for them, and not something they want to do. Therefore, they will usually work closely with you to provide all possible options.

There is something called a Special Forbearance that may be available to you. It can allow you to make lower or even no payments for a period of time. This is generally an option if you become unemployed, lose part of your income, or have incurred an unusual increase in your living expenses.

You might also consider a Mortgage Modification. In this case you would refinance your home or extend the time at which the loan is due to be paid off. This option will help you catch up in making your payments. A Partial Claim is designed to help you get a non-interest bearing loan through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Your mortgage company would help you with this, and if successful, your loan will become current.

Remember, if you fall behind, rather than worry about foreclosure, talk to your mortgage company to see what programs you would qualify for so you can stay in your home. Never ignore the problem, because you likely have several viable options to fix your foreclosure problem.

Copyright 2006, Gerry Vandewall, All Rights Reserved. This article may be published on web sites or in newsletters provided this notice and the resource box is included without ammendment.

The new bankruptcy law is in effect, and the climate has drastically changed for people who are considering bankruptcy. In this article we will touch on some of the details of the new law, and explain exactly how these new changes will affect you.

First, let's touch on the new counseling requirements. According to the new law, you must complete credit counseling with an agency approved by the United States Trustee's office before you can file for bankruptcy under either Chapter 13 or Chapter 7. Because this counseling is to decide whether you need to file for bankruptcy, or if an informal payment plan would be a better alternative for your situation. The counseling is mandatory for everyone, even for people who know for certain that a repayment plan is not what they want.

However, you are required only to join in the counseling; you do not have to go with any repayment plans the agency recommends.

But if you are given a plan, you will have to present the plan to the court with a certificate showing that you attended the counseling before you can file for bankruptcy. Once your bankruptcy case is over, you will have to attend another counseling session focused on learning personal financial management skills to complete your bankruptcy and erase your debts.

Another major change that comes with the new law effects many people who want to file chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under the old law, most people filing could choose between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and most people chose Chapter 7. Because of the new law, many filers with higher incomes will be prohibited from using Chapter 7.

The first step in determining whether or not you can file for Chapter 7 is to compare your current monthly income to the median income for a family of your size in the state you live in. In the context of the new law, your current monthly income is not your income at the time you file, but your average income over the last six months before you file.

Once you have determined your income, measure it against the median income in your state. If your income is equal to or less than the median, you can file for Chapter 7. If it is more than the median, you must pass a requirement of the new law called the means test. The means test requires you to determine your amount of "disposable income" by subtracting different variables from your current monthly income.

If your current monthly income after subtracting these amounts is under $100, you pass the means test, and will be able to file for Chapter 7. If you income is more than $166.66, you will be prohibited from using Chapter 7. Those in the middle of these incomes will be able to file for chapter 7, but will be required to still pay a percentage of their debt.

Yet another important change caused by the new law is that lawyers may be harder to find, and possibly more expensive. The new law has added many complex requirements to the process of filing for bankruptcy that will make it more time consuming for lawyers to represent their clients in bankruptcy cases. The end result being that attorney fees for representation will increase. Also, the amount of time that lawyers must put into the new regulations has increased and it is likely that it may be harder to find a lawyer that solely specialized in bankruptcy in the future. Many experts are predicting that the stress of these new requirements may drive some bankruptcy lawyers out of the field completely.

Being frugal is a never ending goal. It is something you constantly work on. You can always go a step further, save just a little more.

So if there is no end, where do you start?

There are five things that every person should know in order to live a frugal life.

1. Not every frugal idea is frugal for everyone.

There is a balance between frugality and time that is unique for each person. Some people have time to grind their own wheat into flour and make their own pasta from scratch. Some people only have the time to do simple things, like set the thermostat lower and use less laundry soap/shampoo/hand soap by thinning it with a little water. Some people find the time and it pays for them. Some people find that the time costs them. There are different changes to be made by everyone.

For example, as frugal as I am, I've never been able to shop with coupons. I just forget that I have them or don't have time to use them. So when I shop, I buy a lesser quantity and shop sales.

2. You have to know how you spend your money.

It would be hard to reduce your spending if you don't know what you are spending and where. You need to take the time to track your spending. Look at where, when and why you are buying certain items. You may be shocked at what you find. I know that the first time my husband and I did a budget, we were floored by how much money we were taking out of the ATM and just blowing here and there. But once we saw it, we were able to change it.

3. You can't keep up with others, unless you want to join them in debt.

Life isn't about your boat comparing to Bob's boat. Or having the newest car. Or the latest gismo. Or appearing picture perfect. Or having everything you want.

Life should be about what is important to you. Not what is important to the neighbors. Look at your own goals and dreams when planning your finances. Don't spend or buy anything unless you understand the consequences.

For example, if you are buying a boat because all your friends have boats, that may not be a great idea. If you only take it out once a year, that one trip is costing you thousands. If you take it out every weekend, the trips are costing you a lot less each time.

4. Start saving your savings.

So many people save nothing by saving. How does that work? They use coupons, they shop on sale, they don't buy something that catches their eye. And then they turn around and spend the money on something else trivial. They aren't really saving, they are postponing the spending.

When you save money, you need to go ahead and put the money in a jar until you have enough to put it in the bank. If you save $20 on a shirt you didn't buy, put that $20 in your jar. If you save $1.59 on groceries, put that money in the jar. Many grocery stores receipts will even tell you how much you save. That makes it easier for you.

5. Set your goals and stick with them.

You have to have a reason to be frugal. Whether you want to get out of debt or go on a cruise, you have to have a goal. Don't just leave it vague. Write down the specific steps you are going to take. Look at your goal every day. Keep it at the forefront of your money-thinking. When you consider whether or not you will buy something, look at how it affects your goal.

Managing your finances may seem like an overwhelming task. However, if you break it up into smaller sections, it becomes much easier.

There are four key areas that you should look at when first organizing your finances. These areas are: security, stability, growth and management.

Within each area you will find goals that you need to work towards. You can't successfully manage your finances by simply looking at one area. They are all necessary.

Security is the area in which you prepare for the unexpected. This is where you insurance comes into play. Many people have great retirement savings, little debt, but no insurance. They are financially vulnerable.

Life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, homeowner's insurance and disability insurance all protect your from life's accidents and emergencies. Each type of policy is important.

Start by pulling all of your policies together and reveiw them to make sure that you have enough coverage. If you don't, make it right. Depending on the amount of time you want to devote to this, you can even do some shopping around for new policies. Make a list of your basic policy information and the contact numbers. Keep this information in your safe deposit box in case of a home disaster.

If you can afford to purchase disability insurance you should. Most young people have a greater chance of becoming disabled than dying. Research this type of insurance and decide what is right for you.

If you own anything, even just a vehicle and nothing else, you must have a will. You need to have a will that states what happens to your money and your children if something happens to you. If you don't have a will, this decision will be made by a court appointed official.

A will doesn't have to be extensive, in many states you can simply use a premade form purchased from an office supply store. Make sure you check to see if your state has any requirements when it comes to wills and trusts.

Having a will isn't enough. If you already have one, you need to read it and update it every year. There are many changes in life, and you need to keep your will updated. You don't want the state deciding who gets what and where you things go. And you don't want to put your family through any uncertainty about what you would have wanted.

Now to the money part of security. It is vital that you have an emergency fund. Most advisors recommend having between three and six months of expenses in savings. I know this takes a while, but it is worth it. It will prepare you for any financial disasters you may face, from layoffs to car repair bills. It frees your budget from the unexpected. You are able to repair what needs repairing and pay what needs paid without worry. Make saving into an emergency fund a priority.

Hopefully, your security won't ever need to be called on. But if it is, you will be financial sound by having it in place. It is important to protect what you work so hard for.

Your budget is starting to miss you. After all, you spent all that time to develop one.

The first thing that most people learn after creating a budget is that the first one rarely works. See, budgets aren't concrete things. They aren't written in stone. They are adapted over time. They change. They evolve.

A budget won't work unless you make it. It isn't magic. It won't change your life overnight. There are no secret formulas and no fast ways out of the poor house. You simply have to get to work.

You have to take that budget and wrangle it until it works for your finances.

It shouldn't seem so hard. You know what you want your money to do. But you can't make it do it without the help of a budget. You know that. But how do you make it all come together.

First of all, you can't simply write it down and expect it to work. You have to stand by it every day. Look at it every day. Consider it every day. Even for just five minutes -- every day.

There are two ways to find more money in a budget. You either spend less or make more. Let's assume that making more isn't an option for 99% of consumers.

That leaves us with spending less. You have to pay your bills. So that leaves you with cutting your extra spending. Then putting that money to paying off your debts. Then, before you know it, you have more money.

Your budget lets you see where you can cut things. It helps you be disciplined enough to do it. It shows you how to do it.

It isn't a restriction of your spending at all. It is simply a plan.

It doesn't matter how much you cut your spending, if you don't know where your money is going, then you can't make it all come together to make your goals come true. You have to use that budget to make sure that things are going where they need to go. On the simpliest form, a budget helps you make sure that each bill is paid on time each month. On a more complicated form, a budget helps you see exactly where you spend every penny. Then you know where you can cut things.

So get out that old budget, dust it off and make it work for you. Set a goal and form your budget around getting to that goal. And keep working at it until you get it right. With time, discipline and determination, you can find a budget that will work for you and your money.

When it comes to managing your finances, being stable means the world. Security protects your finances, stability allows you the ability to meet your goals.

Stability is rather simple. It means that you are living not within your means, but below your means. There is money left over after the bills are paid. You don't spend any more than you earn. No charging on credit cards. No facing overdraft fees. No wondering if something will hit the bank before your paycheck. No paying a bill a few days late.

When you are stable, you don't have to dip into your savings, your emergency fund or turn to a credit card. You can have debt, but make sure that it is good debt. And by good debt, I mean debt that you can afford. This includes a modest mortgage and wise automobile loans. But keep in mind, becoming debt free should be a goal that you are working towards.

When you are stable, you don't purchase things thinking you will have the money later. If you don't have it now, you don't buy it now. Getting out of debt is a priority.

Reports indicate that the average American has over $7,000 in revolving debt, including store accounts, credit cards and rent-to-own. These accounts charge high interest and are really risky. They are easy to use and hard to pay.

This is where a budget comes in. You need to track your expenses religiously. The budget will let you see where you can cut costs. It will really let you know where your money is going. It can really open your eyes.

Make a plan to cut your spending as much as possible. Then make a plan to pay off your debt. Simply list your debts from highest interest rate to lowest. Start paying them off by just going down the list. You may have to get a second job or sell something in order to make a dent. But add up all those minimum payments. Do you want to pay that out for the next thirty years? Then pay them off. And that money will be yours, not the credit card company's.

Stability blends with the next area of finance: growth. Stability is often found in growth. You have to grow your knowledge of finances in order to remain stable. In reading this article, you are already working in two areas of your finance.

Take steps to make sure that you are financially stable. Budget, keep your job, don't go crazy and blow everything you have by getting in debt. Stay informed and stick with the plan. In the long run, your entire life will benefit from stability.

It is very easy nowadays to spend more than you make. Credit cards have made it as simple as swiping a little card through a reader. You don't even have to sign at many places, such as fast food drive-thrus.

And you never really realize that you are spending more than you make.

Until you get the bill.

If you can't pay your credit card bill in full each month, you are overspending. How many times have you bought things on your card and never really thought about how they add up until the bill arrives. Oh well, you'll pay it next month.

And credit cards aren't the only way to spend more than you make. Payday loans and car title loans are a great way to spend too much. They are addicting and easy to get. But you are paying almost 400% interest over the year for these loans. They simply aren't worth it.

You have to be careful with credit. It is a way of buying things you can't afford. Now I understand that mortgages and auto loans are very necessary. But they must be reasonable and you must be able to afford to pay them. If you buy more house than you can afford or a too expensive of a vehicle, you will have trouble.

So how do you know if you are spending more than you make? Can you afford what you are buying?

First of all, if you have credit card debt that is carried over from month to month, you are spending more than you make. Cut up those cards right now. You will no longer charge on them. This is it. You have to pay off that debt.

The way to do that -- and the way to figure out what you can afford -- is to develop a budget. List all of the bills and expenses you have. Everything. To the penny. Be honest. Then subtract the amount from your income. You want to see what is left over. If you don't have anything left over, you have some big changes to make.

It really doesn't matter how much you make, after all. It is all in how much you spend.

When implementing a new budgeting plan, one of the most important virtues to have is persistence. Persistence covers a multitude of sins: start and stops, numbers that aren’t quite right, forgotten expenses all of these are eventually covered if you are persistent.

There’s really no need to stress out and worry about getting your budget perfect the first time you sit down to do it. Just sitting down to do it for even five minutes is a major accomplishment for some people! So cut yourself some slack and just do what you can, when you can, when you feel like it. If you just can’t bring yourself to work on your budget anymore at any one sitting, just tell yourself: “I can come back to this later. I’m persistent. I’ll eventually get this budgeting thing covered.” Instead of feeling guilty for not doing as much as you’d have liked, reward yourself for what you did do!

I use this strategy all the time for my own budget. I revise and work on my budget at most once or twice during a given month. I’ve gotten almost all of my bills set up to pay automatically through my online bank account. I just login to my bank, eyeball the charges, compare them against my plan, and scribble on my printed out plan a little bit – maybe alter and print out a new one if something has changed significantly. Then I’m done. It takes me 5-10 minutes at most each sitting.

I use my own budgeting software, but even a plain old spreadsheet can do the trick. Pencil and paper works great too. Whatever you use to manage your personal budget, just be sure to do something on it at least once a month – even if it’s two minutes of effort. You’ll often find that two minutes painlessly turning into ten and you’ll accomplish more budgeting than you thought you were capable of – all by applying a little persistence.

Without completely changing your work lifestyle, here are four ways to save at least $160 per month.

Say "Sometimes" to Starbucks
We love our coffees, lattés, and cappuccinos. Whether it’s Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, Panama Bay, or a favorite local coffee shop, you can bet you’re spending at least three dollars for every drink. While many studies are showing Americans are grabbing lattés two or more times a day, let’s assume you only pick up coffee only once on your way to work. That means you would spend fifteen dollars each week. Ok, so fifteen dollars isn’t so much, until you multiply that by four weeks. In just one month, you have spent $60 just on coffee. Yikes! That’s SIXTY dollars! And this is assuming you don’t tip, never buy more than one coffee a day, and it actually only costs three dollars.

If you’re completely addicted to your cappuccino, and going to your coffee shop is one of your little joys in life, by all means, don’t stop going. Instead, try setting specific days you’ll allow yourself to indulge. Maybe you’ll pop in for a cappuccino on Tuesdays and Fridays only. If that’s too much to bear, be creative in the size of drink you order. Order the big size on Mondays (to get you through the week) and Fridays (to reward yourself). The rest of the days, order the smallest size.

Visit the Gas Station Less
With gas prices the way they are, stop driving to work alone! Taking a train or carpooling will cut down on the amount you spend on gas. If you can’t find anyone at work that’s willing to carpool, there are some websites such as www.carpoolconnect.com to help you find people headed in the same direction. If you’re curious to find out how much you save let’s assume you drive twenty miles to work and it costs you 28.1 cents per mile for gas. Driving alone will cost you about $120 per month, whereas carpooling with two other people will only cost $40 per month. That’s an $80 savings!

Pack Your Food
Don’t buy snacks from the vending machine. Not only are they incredibly unhealthy and often full of chemicals, they are huge money wasters. In fact, you can get those same foods for much less at wholesale stores like Costco or Sam’s Club. If you’ve got to have your peanut M&Ms, buy them in bulk and bring them from home. If you’re a soda or juice drinker, it’s still much cheaper to buy wholesale. You usually save a dollar, which isn’t much until you realize you’ve spent at least twenty dollars a month at the vending machine.

If you can, pack your lunch from home too. This can be a little more difficult if lunchtime is your opportunity to network and meet with co-workers. Not going isn't really an option and it’s awkward to bring your bag lunch along. Try cutting down on the cost of your lunch. Instead of a whole sandwich, buy just a half. Instead of the large salad, get the small. If it’s not enough food, just pack more snacks from home. The goal is to bring as much food from home, which is always cheaper, and spend less at work. Remember, if your lunches are more like business meetings, be sure to look into any tax incentives that may apply.

Look Great for Less
It’s important to dress well for work, but that doesn’t mean you need to go broke doing so. Shop at outlet stores or discounted stores such as Ross or TJMax. Hit the sales racks in Macy’s and Nordstrom’s for great clothes at a reduced price. Most importantly, when you shop for clothes, pick out things you can easily mix and match with the rest of your wardrobe.

With your newfound money, you have even more freedom to get out of debt, invest, or save for something you’ve always wanted.

Once you have determine that your credit record needs repairing you have to decide if you are going to use a credit repair service or do the job on your own. There are advantages and disadvantage to both methods although your end goal is the same: to repair your credit record.

You have the ability to dispute anything in your credit file on your own. The thing to keep in mind is that this process will take time to complete. Taking care of one issue may take you hours. You need to apply for your credit report, review the report, make notes about what you want to repair, document what you want to repair and why; then complete the correct correspondence that you need to send off to the appropriate agency. All of this can be time consuming and will require some knowledge of what you are doing.

Credit repair services will do all of the above for a set fee. They can pull your credit reports and prepare the right documentation to send to the appropriate place. A credit repair service will save you time and will add that bit of professionalism to your case.

You should consider getting a copy of your credit report before contacting a credit repair service. You can make this request to one or more of the credit reporting agencies. This way you are familiar with what the report says. The more you know about your own credit history the more effective you are when dealing with the credit repair service. You have the option of directly contacting your own creditors to ensure that their records in the report are accurate. The credit repair service can do this on your behalf once you have made the decision to use them.

Note: Credit Reporting Agencies will charge you a fee to send you a copy of your credit report. If you have recently been declined credit because of your credit report, find out which agency provided the credit report. The agency furnishing the report is required to furnish you a report at no charge.

Credit repair services are experts in the area of debt management. They can help you clean up your credit record whether or not you have been denied credit. They are excellent to work with if you are falling behind on you monthly payments. A credit repair service can help you pay off your creditors faster and more efficiently. Your goal is to turn around your financial situation in the fastest, most accurate way possible. Credit repair services have the experience to help you achieve an improved credit standing and help you work toward the goal of financial independence. Their service will help you establish a budget to help you meet your personal goals. It is up to you to stay within your budget and you need to be diligent about managing your credit going forward.

Ed Grinslade has been in business and has had both sucess and failures over the years. He works primarily as a consultant with many different businesses. Ed is in the process of developing new online businesses and training.

Creating a personal budget is probably the single most important thing you can do to move yourself towards financial security. If you break down the steps to creating a personal budget, it's not complicated.

The big thing that stops most people from creating and maintaining a personal budget is fear - fear of facing the ugly beast of too much debt, too many bills, not enough money. If you have this fear, you need to take care of it first or else your budget efforts won't go anywhere. The best way to conquer any fear is to meet it head on, to the best of your ability…one little step at a time. Commit to yourself just to do the first of the steps below, and then only proceed to the next step if you're comfortable with it. You might surprise yourself!

1. Get a piece a paper and a pen (or an empty notepad or spreadsheet on your PC if you prefer) and off the top of your head jot down what you pay out every month and to whom. For example:

Rent 900

Food 600

Car payment 360

Credit card 200

Phone 50

Internet 40

(you get the idea...)

This list doesn't have to be perfect! This is just the first step!

2. Pull up your online bank statement (or grab a recent paper one.) Add your income to the list with a big plus next to it. If you have more than one source of recurring income, list it separately, with a note regarding frequency (bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, etc.) Also, check your statement against your list to see if you forgot anything. Refine the guestimates you came up with in step 1. 95% gets it done for now - your list doesn't have to be perfect, just close!

3. Get a calculator (or use your spreadsheet functions if you've gone that route) and add up the money you're paying out each month. Then add up how much you're earning each month. If you get paid twice a month, it's pretty easy to figure your monthly income. If you get paid bi-weekly, multiply your bi-weekly paycheck amount by 26 then divide by 12. Is the money you're paying out less than the money you're bringing in? If yes, awesome! Congratulations! If you're spending more than you earn, recheck your numbers and then don't fret if that's correct - this is very common. Think about where you can reduce spending to get you back in the black.

4. Guess what? There is no step four. You've already created a personal budget! It really is that simple. Just repeat steps 1-3 whenever you feel the need and you'll continue to refine it to match you and your family's needs. If there's too much going out for restaurants and such either tighten your belt a bit or go out and get more income. Just the simple act of making a list of what you spend and consciously starting to make choices about where your money goes is all it takes to create a good first personal budget.

Do you read the labels when you choose your food? Do you think you understand what they really mean? You may have to change your thinking. Here are some of the grocery shopping secrets you need to know.

Grocery Shopping Secrets - Lying Labels

Read labels much and you'll notice that almost all packaged products have hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil in them. This is the stuff scientists give to mice to cause heart disease when they want to study that disease! The good news is that, due to consumer demand, some brands have stopped using it in some of their products. The bad news is that it is still in well over half of all packaged grocery products.

Look at those labels when you're grocery shopping, and you'll also see that sugar is showing up in almost everything. It is even added to most brands of kidney beans, which used to be packed in just water and salt. Why add sugar? Two reasons. The first is simply that our taste buds have come to crave sweetness. This, however, doesn't explain why it is in things like kidney beans. That is a bigger secret.

Sugar is added to kidney beans, peanut butter and many other products that don't need it for taste because these are convenient places to dump it. You see, sugar is cheap - cheaper than the other ingredients. Government subsidies have helped produce so much cheap sugar that growers need to dump it into as many products as they can. This works well for the makers of food products. More sugar and less of the more expensive peanuts in that peanut butter means more profit.

Here an even nastier secret: Manufacturers are lying about the amount of sugar they put in their products. You may be aware that they have to list the ingredients on the label in order, according to how much of each their is. What if they have a product that has more sugar than anything else? They don't want it at the top of the list where everyone can see that it is the primary ingredient, right?

This is how they hide it: They put three types of sugar into the product, so that no one of them is a larger amount than whatever "healthy" ingredient they want to appear at the top of the list. For example, suppose you read on that juice bottle label, "cranberry juice, corn syrup, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and vitamin C."

It looks like the primary ingredient is just natural juice. Perhaps the real story is: 27% juice, 25% corn syrup, 24% sugar, 23 % high fructose corn syrup, 1% Vitamin C. The three types of sugar add up to 72% of the entire bottle's contents! This little trick is becoming depressingly common.

Think you are buying whole wheat products? Whole wheat bread is only whole wheat if it says 100% whole wheat. In fact, even then you should look closer. It might actually say, "Contains 100% whole wheat," which just means they at least threw one wheat grain in there.

"Wheat bread," "wheat flour," "unbleached wheat flour," and "wheat," all just mean some variety of processed white flour that originated from wheat grain. "Wheat" bread is usually nothing more than white bread with enough whole grain thrown in to color it. "Wheat blend" pasta is the latest trick to make you think you're buying whole wheat. It is again just white flour (always the first ingredient, if you look on the label) with enough whole wheat "blended" in to let you feel you are buying a healthier food, so they can charge more.

Here is one more grocery shopping secret or those who want healthier fruits and vegetables. Most frozen fruits and vegetables, when tested against "fresh" fruits and vegetables, have more vitamin content. Why? The flash-freezing that is done shortly after they are picked, preserves the vitamins. "Fresh" fruits and vegetables are in trucks for days, exposed to heat and air, then sit at the grocery store for days,and finally in your refrigerator for days. They lose much of their vitamin content as a result of this treatment. Frozen fruits and veggies can be healthier, and they are even cheaper at times, like when the particular fruit or vegetable isn't in season.

If you're like most parents, saving for your children's college education is a priority and a big challenge. Tuition and related costs at both public and private universities have been rising at 5% per year or more, far exceeding the rate of inflation. To put that into perspective, a child born in 2006 should plan on $110,000 in total expenses for four years at the average in-state public college; $300,000 for four years at a private university.

Financing these costs for one or more children is going to take planning and, most importantly, disciplined savings. Tax-advantaged "529” College Savings plans are the savings vehicle of choice and offer important advantages over other options. A $3,000 annual contribution, beginning at birth, to a growth-oriented 529 plan should pay for one child’s in-state public education, and a $7,500 annual contribution for a four-year private education. A later start means higher annual contribution amounts.

529 Plan Advantages

- Large Tax-Free Contributions: Parents, grandparents, other relatives and even friends can contribute up to $12,000 per year per child, tax-free, to a 529 plan.

- Tax-Free Earnings and Distributions: All earnings in a 529 plan are tax-free. Distributions are free from all federal income and most state income taxes when used for tuition or other qualified college expenses. This makes 529 plans as powerful as Roth IRAs for long-term savings.

- Donors (parents, grandparents, etc.) "own" the 529 assets: Unlike a custodial account that typically becomes the minor’s property at age 18, 529 plan assets are always under the control of the donor.

- 529 plan assets are more advantageous for financial aid considerations: Plan assets are counted at a 5.5% rate by college financial aid offices, compared to the 35% rate used for custodial account assets.

- Unused funds in a 529 can be rolled over to another child’s benefit.

Have I caught your attention? Now the question is which 529 Plan is best for you and your children?

Choosing a 529 Plan

All plans are sponsored by individual states, but are typically available to residents of other states. Some states offer residents a state income tax deduction for contributions to their own plan. So, for residents of these states, that is the way to go. For those without that tax incentive or residents of states without an income tax, you can choose from just about any of the available plans.

Be aware that many 529 plans are heavily promoted by brokerages and other financial institutions and can carry large and completely unnecessary sales charges. Go with a plan with no sales or other load charges. Typical annual fees for asset and account management combined should be 1% or less.

Recommended 529 Plans

There are at least a dozen excellent options to choose from. Among these, we like the TIAA CREF-managed plans (California and others) and the Vanguard-managed plans in Iowa, Nevada, New York and Utah. The Vanguard plans, with their index investment strategies, have operating costs of less than 0.75%. A new entry is the Alaska plan managed by T Rowe Price. It offers a choice of first-rate actively-managed funds and at relatively low cost.

No matter which plan you choose, we strongly recommend an “age-based” investment strategy. These strategies range from Conservative to Aggressive. Age-based programs are dynamic asset allocation programs, similar to Target Retirement date funds. They are heavily invested in stocks when your child is young, gradually converting to more fixed-income and cash as college age approaches. This approach protects against the risk of a major stock market downturn just as the funds are needed.

I am often asked to explain the various options for dealing with debt, and most of the time people want me to start with options that do not involve personal bankruptcy. Assuming a debt consolidation loan is not an option, people in debt want to know whether they should get credit counseling, do a debt management plan, or file a consumer proposal.

First, it should be noted that credit counseling and a debt management plan are often two different descriptions of the same service. A credit counselor works with you to deal with your debts, and that often means they file a debt management plan. That's why the phrases credit counselling and debt management plans are used interchangeably. A debt management plan is a negotiated settlement with the people you owe money to, called your creditors.

In most cases the creditors will agree to waive all interest if you pay off your debts in full, generally over a period of no longer than five years. Debt management plans work best with credit card debts, and with bank loans. Credit counseling and debt management plans are much less effective with government debts and some payday loan debts.

A consumer proposal, which is only available in Canada, and is similar to Chapter 13 in the United States, is also a negotiated settlement with your creditors. In contrast to a debt management plan, however, you do not necessarily need to repay your debts in full, and they are binding on government debts and payday loans. In addition, once a majority of your creditors accept your consumer proposal, it is legally binding on all unsecured creditors.

So which option should you choose? If you have a manageable amount of credit card debt, and you can afford to repay it over the next two or three years, a debt management plan through a credit counsellor, is probably a good option. However, if you cannot afford to repay the debt in full over a five year period, or if you have government debts, a consumer proposal may be a better option.

Each person's situation is different, so I always recommend that you meet with a professional advisor, such as a credit counselor or trustee in bankruptcy to review your finances and help you evaluate your options.

A recent national business report announced that a record number of workers in the U.S. are now over age 55. In a study of government labor data, it was determined that 24.6 million workers are employed, with about 25% of those being more than 65.

Longevity is also increasing…more people are living longer lives in better health than ever before, thanks to a combination of medical advances and widespread health communication.

Suppose you will not retire at 62 or 65, but may work twenty or fifteen more years, not because you have to (though that is often the case) but also because you want to (and work is a vital social and emotional connection for most people). Now is the time to consider how much you can SAVE and how much you will INVEST in order to increase your chances of choice about how you want to spend the very last years of your life.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, as quoted in Reuters News Service, employment in the 65-plus age group grew by more than 10 percent between 2003 and 2005, double the rate among 45 to 55-year olds. More and more people are staying at work or finding new jobs in retirement.

Challenger observed that older worker’s health, productivity and ability to learn are as good as their younger counterparts.

So if you are able to continue working, which has been documented to be a positive health factor in itself, and you continue to earn, then NOW is the time to begin saving as if your life depended on it. It very well may. And if you have 20 or 25 years of decent work in reasonable health, you will be able to break the Zero Savings Habit of too many Americans.

Make a budget today. Divide your earnings into essential expenses, debt reduction, increased savings and high probability investing tools. Divide your investment dollars into several instruments. Wherever possible look for vehicles that compound interest, and plan to reinvest this interest. Check out Annuities, Zero Coupon Bonds and the highest rate CD’s that you can find.

If you do not have a financial advisor look for one now. Promise yourself that you will be working with a financial advisor that you trust by the beginning of the New Year.

The beginning of a new year at college is filled with expectations of cool courses, new friends, catching up with old ones, and something that that never seems to change for freshman or seniors alike; a limited cash flow. How to successfully oversee your student loans, credit cards and cash-on-hand can ease some stress and allow you to concentrate more on acing your courses.

Your mantra should be "it's not how much money I have, it's what I do with it". Once you can map out what you spend money on, how to save it, and how to stretch it, you'll be ahead of many of your classmates. Being chronically out of money is as common for millionaires as it is for those starting out on their own, once you get the spirit of money you can manage it instead of it managing you. Look at handling your money as a part time job, once you do you'll have much more of it. Here are some tips to get you started.

-Make an computer file to keep track of all your spending. A spreadsheet works good, list the categories of your spending and the date and amount spent. Don't be surprised at what you spend your money on, it's always an eye-opener. Keep a notepad or enter amounts into your blackberry when you make a purchase to enter later into your spreadsheet.

-Get a free copy of your credit report, you're allowed one each year from the three large credit reporting agencies. If you find inaccuracies take the time to email or write them to clear them from your record. Check out:

http://www.experian.com

http://www.equifax.com

http://www.transunion.com

-Credit is a given for the rest of your life. Learn how to use it, and the signals when it is being abused. Open a department store account and pay balances on all purchase in full each month. If you can't pay a balance in full for a big ticket item each month think twice before buying one. Resist taking on major credit cards with high lines of credit, it's too tempting. Figure the real cost of charging that new sweater or pair of shoes if you don't pay it off right away. Look for credit offers that charge the lowest interest rates. Don't have more than two credit cards. You might want to help a friend out, but don't let anyone put charges on your credit cards.

-If you live off-campus, pay your utility bills on time, they effect your credit history too. Telephone pre-paid calling cards are an inexpensive way to call long distance.

-It's easy to get carried away when you're out for an evening of fun. Find lost cost or free ways to have a good time with friends or on a date. Binging on entertainment is a sure-fire way to blow your budget. Don't carry all your cash when you go out, you'll be tempted to spend it.

-Look for sales on personal care and hygiene items, and stock up when the deals are especially attractive. Look for effective generic brands or combine manufactures coupons to boost savings. Ditto food and household necessities.

-Explore resale, consignment and vintage clothing stores. Most new cloths loose a far amount of value once you walk out the door. Good and funky buys are available if you willing to look for them. Estate, church and garage sales can be treasure hunts for quality stuff at bargain prices.

-Borrow the minimum in student loans, you might want an extra cushion but try to pay miscellaneous expenses and non-educational ones from out-of-pocket. Do you really want to finance your college lunches for the next ten years?

-Make working while in college a given. It will give you some additional income that you won't have to pay back. Plus it shows to you summer employer or internship prospect that you're vested in making your own way financially.

-Buy used books for courses if you can. Sell the ones you no longer use back to the bookstore or put all that unused stuff you accumulate on ebay.

-Balance you checkbook or debit account each time you receive a statement, don't forget or procrastinate on entering checks and debits, bank fees on overdrafts are killers to a budget and sometimes repeated ones can force a bank to close your account.

-Save a little each month. Even if it's twenty-five dollars, you'll feel better knowing you have achieved a goal and have some back-up reserves.

-Don't loan friends money. You don't have the luxury of excess funds and your friends don't probably have the excess to pay it back.

-If you're used to shopping and spending money and need a fix, find items around a dollar in cost to get the consumption buzz.

-Identity theft is on the rise and the Internet is the number one place for your to be stolen. Only use secure payment sites and never give account information in emails.

Most people who borrow money do so fully intending to repay the loan according to the agreed upon terms. Perhaps, at the time they borrowed the money, things in their lives were going well financially and having the resources to repay the debt was not a concern.

Unfortunately, things can happen in a person's life that can severely change their ability to satisfy their debts, such as a death in the family or losing their job. For these people, not only do they have to deal with whatever tragedy has befallen them, they also have to deal with angry creditors who have no sympathy for their plight.

People who find themselves in these situations feel frustrated because there really doesn't seem like there is a good solution. The companies that they owe money to constantly call them, or send their debts to a credit agency that may harass them even more in an effort to collect the debt. To get out of this terrible situation, some people may consider filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy with the hopes of wiping out their debt and starting over again with a clean slate.

However, the new bankruptcy laws can make this difficult, since now there are income levels that must be met before this is allowed to happen. The people filing for them must also take credit counseling classes prior to the debts being discharged. Other people may consider filing a chapter 11 bankruptcy and pay the debts off over a period of time. The money is paid to a trustee of the court, but even though an effort is being made to repay the debt, it could still take a long time and in the meantime the person's credit is totally ruined for up to a decade.

A third option is to try to settle the debt for an amount that is less than the one owed. It may seem like a good idea, but there are many things that the people who attempt this are not aware of. It's not easy to get a company to agree to accept less than the full amount due. Even if you do get them to agree, you are still not that much better off. As an example, if you owe a creditor $10,000 and get them to agree to accept $5,000, the additional $5000 left over is subject to taxation, since it is looked at as actual income that you received. Now you may be placed in a tax bracket that is higher than the one you are usually in and may have to pay extra taxes to the government, plus your credit is still adversely affected.

It is far better to contact the creditor and see if they will work with you, perhaps lowering the interest rate or accepting lower payments to help you pay off your debt. This way you can repay what you owe and hopefully not make your credit standing worse than it already is.

Emergency savings accounts are the backbone of a well managed financial plan. Think of it as your own personal little insurance company. Emergency savings allow you to maintain your current lifestyle and budget, even when things go wrong.

For example, ever have a car break down when you can least afford it? Worried about losing your job? Have you ever had an appliance stop working or your home need repairs?

If you have an emergency savings account, you don't need to worry. Your budget is safe. You won't have to fall back on a credit card that will charge you high interest. You don't have to wait until you have the money. Because of your forethought, you already have money earmarked just for emergencies.

Most advisors suggest that you have three to six months of expenses in your emergency account. That can take a while to build up, but you shouldn't be discouraged because given time, it will build up. Some insiders say you should have up to nine months saved. Some people make it their personal goal to have a whole year saved. Unless you are already maxing out your other savings goals, six months should be sufficient for you. Go with what you are comfortable with given your personal financial situation.

This money should be in a readily available account. You aren't looking for a CD or mutual fund for this money. A savings or money market account is perfect. The main purpose of the account isn't to draw interest, it is to simply be there when you need it.

And you are saving money by having an emergency savings account. By not having to fall back on a credit card, you are saving on interest. Now you have interest paid to you, and even though it isn't much, it is bettter than paying it to someone else.

Your emergency savings is there to use when you need to. We've used ours many times for emergencies. And it is surprising what effect it can have on your finances and your stress level. Instead of fretting and loosing sleep over a dryer that just up and died on us, we simply went and bought a new one. We had the money tucked away and it didn't affect our monthly budget at all.

And if you happen to lose your job, the emergency savings will allow you to really look for a new job that will be good for you and your family. You don't have to take a job that you hate just to pay the bills. You have a little time to look.

An emergency savings account is like an insurance policy for your budget. While accidents and repairs happen, your budget doesn't have to take a hit because of them. Let your emergency savings account take care of anything unexpected. And leave the worrying to someone else. You are prepared.

One of the most important aspects of money management is saving money. It is also one of the hardest parts to master.

Saving is basically a habit that you have to form. Much like making a habit out of only paying for things with cash, it is slightly tough. But you have to keep your eye on the goal. By watching your money accumulate and build interest, you will soon find that it is easier given time.

You should start by planning a budget. Gather all of your bills in one place and find out what you spend each month. Take the time to track your spending so that you know how much you are spending and on what.

Once you have a budget, you can see where you can eliminate unnecessary spending. This is the money that will go into your savings account. Sit down and write down what your goals are. They may include early retirement, going on vacation, buying a newer car and so on. These are the things that you are saving for. If you keep them in mind, passing up on something small in order to put more money towards your new car doesn't seem like such a sacrifice.

Once you know how much money you can set aside each month, you need to make it as easy as possible. If your employer will direct deposit for you from your paycheck, have a certain amount of money directly deposited into your savings first, with the rest going into your checking. This is the easiest way to save money. You won't even notice it is gone, because you never really see it. Out of sight and out of mind.

Next, you need to protect your savings and your budget. To do this, you will need to have some savings set aside specifically for emergencies and unexpected expenses. You never know when a vehicle will break down and require costly repairs. Or what if you lose your job. You should try and have at least three months of living expenses in a savings account. This will be a buffer between unexpected expenses and your budget. And it will prevent you from dipping into your long-term savings.

However, if you are in debt with a large amount of credit card debt, you need to be paying off that debt instead of saving. Go ahead and start building an emergency fund, but keep your debt payoff as your top priority. It simply makes more financial sense in the long run. Once you have paid off your credit cards and other debts, you can take that money and put it into savings. Believe me, your money will grow faster this way than by saving first and paying off debt later.

More money and more money. I need it, you need it, everyone seems to need more of it. The question becomes, how do I obtain more money? Sometimes the hardest questions often have the simplest answers. Its just that sometimes we tend to over analyze situations. The best place to start may be your existing job. What?! I know it sounds crazy, especially when it seems that your supervisor has the intelligence of a zombie from ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ What if I showed you a simple way to bypass your boss and get an instant raise, would you be interested?

Instant raise anyone? The solution lies with a secret form within your personnel or human resources department. You also need to take a different frame of mind when it comes to finances in your life. OK, maybe this secret form isn’t that secret. Actually, its just the W4 form you filled out when you were hired. But as mysterious as it is combined with the fact so few really fully utilize its potential, it may as well be a top secret CIA document. I’ll come back to fully using the W4 momentarily, first I think you need to understand why you must take a different view of your finances.

Prepared to be shocked! Uncle Sam may not always have your best interests at heart. Did you know that the refund you get after filing your taxes may not be entirely a refund? Items like Earned Income Credit (EIC) are actual refunds, but what about the part from the Federal? Well, that’s just money you loaned Uncle Sam and told him to hold for you. In other words, you over paid your Federal taxes and now you’re just getting those funds back (if you fie your taxes correctly). This is where the W4 form comes into play.

Very simply, the W4 determines how much taxes you’ll have cut from your check. The more exemptions you claim, the less taxes taken out of your check. To get the full benefit of this form, you should claim 9 exemptions. Anything more, and your employer will have to get permission from the IRS. Remember, its nobody’s business why you’re changing your W4. Claiming 9 exemptions should give you approximately 90%-95% of your check. Lets run the numbers.

This is an oversimplified example:

Say you earn 65k per year and you’re in the 35% tax bracket. That means you pay $22,750 in taxes. Changing your W4 should allow you to have over $20k back in your pocket during the year.

Now for the reality check. If you increase your exemptions, you must have the deductions to match, or you may end up owing taxes back to the IRS. This shouldn’t present a problem if your intentions is to enter the entrepreneur/small business arena. You automatically gain access to deductions you wouldn’t have otherwise. Have a home office, then some of your house expenses become deductible. Your phone, your car, and dozens of other items now become deductible. As I said before, some of the toughest questions have the simplest answers.

Christopher Wright is a small business owner and entrepreneur. He earned his BA from the 'College of Trials and Errors.' He then went on to get his MBA from the 'University of Hard Knocks.'

In his past lives (careers), he has been many characters in life's grand play. He's been an insurance agent. He managed a tax office in the Birmingham area for the second largest tax franchise in the country. He has been the owner of a cleaning franchise. He believes that you only fail when you stop trying.

It’s amazing how simply forgetting to do something can end up costing money. Having a bad memory can actually end up costing a small fortune. If you haven’t given this any thought before, it’s probably a good idea to start thinking about it now. Just take a look at all the ways that forgetting costs money:

The most obvious way that forgetting can cost you money is when you forget to pay your bills. Late charges can be pretty nasty, especially on credit card bills. Forget to pay your credit card bill, send it in only one day late and you could be facing some rather steep penalties. Not only do they charge you a high late fee, but they almost always increase your finance charge too. In fact, credit card companies can increase your finance charge if they find out you paid another company late!

Another big way that forgetting costs money is through your check book. Forget to write down even one purchase, lose track of your balance and you’ve got rubber checks bouncing everywhere! The banks will hit you with overdraft charges almost as heavily as the credit card companies. They can also charge you a fee for each and every overdraft, even if they were a result of the same one mistake. In addition, you face paying penalties by the merchants you wrote those bad checks to.

Let’s not forget about those “free trials”. You know the ones…the ones that have the term “membership” attached to them? They ask you for payment information up front and they will conveniently start billing you at the end of the trial period if you don’t cancel the membership first. How much money have those cost you for forgetting to cancel?

Miss an appointment or forget to call within 24 hours of that appointment to cancel and you could be charged for the entire visit.

Return your movie rentals or library books late and you pay late charges.

Forget to get a package in the mail and you end up paying extra shipping charges to get it there on time.

Forgetting costs money on the less obvious things too. You lose money when you forget to use coupons and when you forget to mail in rebates. You spend extra money on gas when you make extra trips to the grocery store to pick up forgotten items. (Did you forget your coupons on the return visit too?) You shell out money for eating out or on cafeteria lunches when you forget to pack a lunch.

If too many of the above scenarios sound familiar to you, it may be time to put some sort of reminder system in place. Big mistakes or little slip-ups, forgetting costs money!