Dollar Stretcher Guest Bloggers

A Bleak Holiday for Credit Card Issuers?

2009-11-20T14:25:00Z

by Bill Hardekopf

New holiday spending surveys are providing data that shows consumers plan to cut their holiday spending and reduce their usage of credit cards. Credit card delinquency rates are up again, showing consumers are still under financial stress. Many cardholders are still reeling from large APR increases they have received this year and they can no longer afford to charge their way through the holidays.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $682.74 on holiday-related shopping, a 3.2% drop from last year's $705.01. About 71% of consumers plan to use cash, check or debit cards as their primary payment method when buying holiday gifts. Only 28.3% of shoppers will use credit this year compared to 31.5% a year ago, a 10% decrease.

Paying with cash is the best way to add a safety brake during holiday shopping. Studies show that consumers typically spend 12-18% less when we use cash for payment. Counting out and handing over cash is a sobering reminder of how much items really cost. It makes you pause and consider if the purchase is really worth your labor.

According to a recent USAA survey, more than half (55%) of respondents are planning to avoid charging their holiday purchases and 85% plan to use cash for some of their holiday purchases. Among the shoppers who plan to use their credit cards, 74% plan to pay off their balance immediately so that they do not pay interest. 20% say they will pay off the balance in a few months while 7% say they will only pay the minimum balance.

However, many consumers have not prepared a plan for holiday spending. 19% are not sure how they will pay for their holiday purchases. 22 % who plan to use cash haven't saved any money in advance. (USAA survey) Now is the time to budget and plan for your holiday shopping so you don't get caught up in the moment and spend more than you can afford. Credit cards rates are now too high to just charge something and assume you will be able to pay it.

If you charge $1,000 on a credit card with an interest rate of 15% and just pay $25 of your balance each month, it will take you until May of 2014 to pay off this Christmas, and you will pay an additional $370 in interest. If your APR was recently increased and you carry a balance, leave that card at home so you won't charge anything more on it.

Millions of Americans are still paying off the holiday purchases they made last year. 6% of adults (or about 13.5 million Americans) were still carrying debt from last year's holiday season. In households with children under 12 years old, 10% were still carrying debt. (Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll, October 2009).

Bill Hardekopf is CEO of LowCards.com, a site that simplifies the confusion of shopping for credit cards. It is a free, independent website that helps consumers easily compare credit cards in a variety of categories such as lowest rates, rewards, rebates, balance transfers and lowest introductory rates. It also gives an unbiased ranking and review for each card. The LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index is the most objective and comprehensive resource on the Internet which allows consumers to compare rates for all 1060 credit cards offered in this country.

Latest Credit Card Numbers Show Recovery May Be Slow

2009-10-22T13:33:00Z

by Bill Hardekopf

The September performance numbers from credit card issuers show the economic recovery may not happen as quickly as politicians are predicting.

The delinquency rates, the percentage of accounts where payments are overdue by at least one month, have increased for five of the six top credit card companies when comparing the September rates to August. (American Express reported an identical delinquency rate.)

In addition, the default rates for issuers are still at very high levels. However, the silver lining in the statistics is that five of the six top issuers reported decreases in their default rates in September (only Capital One posted an increase).

These high delinquency and default rates could mean that consumers might continue to see rate and fee increases in the coming months, as well as credit limit decreases on their credit card accounts.

Bank of America has the highest annualized card write-offs (14.25% in September) and payments at least 30 days overdue (7.53% in September). Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis said that the company is looking at changes that need to be made in its credit card infrastructure and other ways it can make money. Just last week, Bank of America announced that it is adding an annual fee to select accounts.

Issuers can't continue losing money. They have to find ways to make up the revenue, even if this angers Congress and consumers. To make matters worse for issuers, some fees and rate hikes will be prohibited after certain provisions of the CARD Act goes into effect in February. Congress is also considering changes to the interchange fee.

Here are the delinquency rates by issuer for August and September. These represent the percentage of accounts where payments were at least 30 days overdue (at least 35 days for Citigroup accounts):

	August	September
Bank of America	7.47%	7.53%
Discover	5.35	5.57
Citigroup	5.38	5.50
Capital One	5.09	5.38
JP Morgan Chase	4.48	4.69
American Express	4.10	4.10

Here are the default rates by issuer for August and September. These are the annualized percentages of credit card write-offs:

	August	September
Bank of America	14.54%	14.25%
Citigroup	12.14	10.15
Capital One	9.32	9.77
Discover	9.16	8.69
American Express	9.00	8.40
JP Morgan Chase	8.73	8.12

Freezer Cooking

2009-10-21T13:26:00Z

by Susanne Myers, The Hillbilly Housewife

As a busy mom, I love being able to make bigger batches of some of our favorite family meals and then freezing half or more for later. I developed quite a few different freezer cooking strategies including cooking double (or even triple and quadruple) batches of food, cooking a different freezer meal alongside what you’re cooking for dinner, etc.

One of my family’s favorite freezer meals is baked taco beef squares. I can easily make a double batch of this, have one for dinner and freeze the other one. Here’s the recipe.

Baked Taco Beef Squares

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 C Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 C Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies, drained and chopped
1/2 C bottled taco sauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees and allow the oven to heat. Break up the beef in a large skillet. Position the skillet over medium heat. Brown the meat for 10 minutes or until completely cooked through, stirring occasionally. Drain the meat well and return to the skillet. Stir both types of cheese into the meat. Add the chilies and stir to combine. Pour in the taco sauce and blend it in well. Add the egg and stir until completely combined. Spread the mixture evenly into an 8 inch square baking pan. Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 6 servings

To reheat, partially thaw in the refrigerator. Place in a casserole dish and cover loosely with foil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heat the casserole for approximately 35 minutes or until completely heated through.

Since you’re browning ground beef with this recipe, here’s another quick freezer meal tip. Buy your ground beef in bulk and then brown all of it at the same time, seasoning it only with a little salt and pepper. Drain off any excess oil, then allow the beef to cool a bit before packaging it in single use portions into freezer bags and sticking them in your freezer. Then when you’re ready to make spaghetti meat sauce, tacos or a casserole that uses cooked ground beef, just grab it and cook with it.

If you’re thinking ahead, you can stick the frozen ground beef in your fridge in the morning and it will be thawed and ready to use in your recipe by the time you get back. If you’re like me and forget to do that half the time, you can either defrost it in the microwave or heat it in a skillet until it’s thawed.

If you’d like more freezer cooking tips, get Freezer Cooking Made Simple. As a thank you for participating in my frugal blog tour, I’d like to give you a special coupon that will allow you to order the freezer cooking made simple guide for $5.00. Use coupon code STRETCHER$5

Of course 20% of all sales during the month of October will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Again, I would like to encourage you to leave a comment and share your tips and ideas. I will randomly pick one person to win a copy of the Freezer ebook as well as several recipe collections that complement and expand on the Freezer Cooking Made Simple cooking made simple guide.

Susanne Myers is responsible for HillbillyHousewife.com website. You may want to check out the HillbillyHousewifeClub.com, a membership site for frugal minded moms where we share recipes, tips and plenty of resources to help us all stretch each dollar to the max.

Collection Complaints? What To Do If You Are Harassed By A Bill Collector

2009-10-13T13:17:00Z

by David Moakler

New hotline designed to report the abusive actions by rogue bill collectors. Consumers may call the Collection Complaint Hotline. If they have been victims of abuse, they may turn the tables and seek compensation. Settlements are being awarded to consumers.

Waxhaw, NC September 1, 2009 -- When senior citizen Dorothy Jones got home from having heart surgery, she thought the worst of her troubles were behind her. Then she got a call from a debt collector who didn't care that she was recently hospitalized. "He called me a thief, a liar, and said he was glad I wasn't his grandma." After days of the calls and abusive language, Jones found herself back in the hospital due to the stress and anxiety. Weeks later, she received a large check as a result of the collector's obnoxious behavior.

Victims like Dorothy can now call the Collection Complaint Hotline at (800) 379-0688. Since many collection agencies still believe that being "nice" doesn't get the bill paid, some continue to use threats or find other ways to harass to get people to pay up. According to the FTC, collection complaints have risen steadily since 2003. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a code of conduct which collection agencies must follow by law. If they continue to call you at work after you ask them not to, or treat you rudely, or disclose your debt to any third parties, you may be entitled to money damages. "If they violate the requirements under the law, a victim can receive a speedy settlement, typically around $1500," says attorney Jeffrey Hyslip. In addition, the debt collector is required to pay the attorney fees for anyone that successfully sues them. Consumers can call the hotline to speak with a counselor about a troubling experience they are having with a collection agency. If a violation is found, the department will file a collection complaint and seek compensation from the collector. Hyslip, a former debt collector himself, has assisted over 5000 consumers with collection complaints. The group has helped victims recover over $3 million in the form of settlements. The Collection Complaints Hotline has been a useful ally for numerous consumer groups.

For more information, contact the Collection Complaint Hotline (800) 379-0688. This is a free hotline for consumers. The department receives a portion of the proceeds from settlements reached. Therefore, no fees are due for the service unless a settlement is paid to the victim.

The Collection Complaint Hotline is one of several relief hotlines managed by CareConnect USA. Families and employees can connect with resources for financial relief nationwide. Their other help lines include assistance with Debt Relief, Mortgage Relief, Tax Relief, and Free Bankruptcy Advice. All hotlines can be found at CareConnectusa.org.

Financial Planning Week: What are you doing to reach your financial goals?

2009-10-02T16:17:00Z

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – A New Horizon (www.anewhorizon.org/) is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) credit counseling organizations, announcing its support for Financial Planning Week which is October 5–11, 2009. This is going to be FPA's (Financial Planning Association) eighth annual Financial Planning Week.

During Financial Planning Week, FPA is going to try and build the public's awareness of the financial planning. Many people are so busy with life itself they forget to take care of finances. We try to remind people everyday that it is important to manage their finances wisely. “Financial Planning should not be confined to investments. It should include the wise and sound use of credit; and when that credit has exceeded the families ability to pay, a reputable credit counseling agency, like A New Horizon, should be consulted” Said Steve Stark Chief Operating Officer With financial literacy and monthly articles on our website, reminding people to take care of money matters.

Ways to Celebrate Financial Planning Week you can:

Make sure you checkbook is balanced.
Open up a savings account for your children.
Pay above your minimum on your credit cards.
Make a budget worksheet and see where your expenses are going.
Start to save for the holidays and make a budget for it. Don’t go overboard
Get with a financial planner and plan for the future.
Set monthly financial goals and try and keep them.
Instead of going out to eat often eat at home
Make a savings jar that your family can put change into
Go over all your bills and cut where you can (Ex : Cable bill, cell phone bill)

Just doing some of these may help you financially and assist you in continuing doing them in the future. “It’s like the old adage I have seen from Hugh D, Culver about Time Management “people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan”. It’s the same principal for individuals and families to achieve financial wellness.” Said Peter Carvalho, New Business Development

A New Horizon has been providing Credit Counseling Services since 1978 including Debt Management and Financial Literacy Celebrating over 14 years as A 501 (c)(3) Non-profit Organization ISO-9001:2000 Certified Operating Nationwide & in Puerto Rico Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

If you would like more information on this matter please contact Stuart Lieberman who may be reached at (800) 556-1548 Extension 1126 or at slieberman@anewhorizon.org A New Horizon – www.anewhorizon.org

Staying Positive in Unemployment

2009-09-28T14:23:00Z

contributed by David

I was thinking about how many of us (including me) are unemployed or underemployed. In such a state, it's very easy to focus on the negative. I started making a list of benefits to keep positive, and I thought others might also benefit from them. They also might benefit from creating their own similar lists.

more family time
more thinking time
time to ride a bike as far as you want or can
more creativity
less junk you don't need
yard sales with interesting customers
enough sleep to watch sunrises and sunsets in the same day
can develop the ability to connect to people using skills other than how much money you earn
counting your blessings and realizing you still have it pretty good
friends and family can give back to you and this makes them feel good
time to read
time to learn new skills
you can appreciate when someone else gets a new job or has some sort of success in any part of his or her life
time to cook, a need to cook, and who knows what you can make with the things on hand
gardening
fixing what you have instead of throwing it away automatically
libraries are free
think of new ideas of ways to make money and stretch things
expanding other identities than only what job you do
losing things because you can't afford payments makes you realize what is truly important and most of the time it isn't things at all
ability to see the humor when people start talking about how the economy is turning around or how many jobs have been created
after many NOs or dead-ends, caring less and less and being more and more adaptable
No longer a slave to the clock
Time to do the things that you were always too busy to do before.
becoming more resourceful

Everyone is smart about something! That's why we have The Dollar Stretcher Guest Blog. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by email to MyStory@Stretcher.com

We Were Expecting a Layoff

2009-09-21T14:56:00Z

contributed by Nancy

Late last summer, things started getting shaky at the company I had been working at for nearly five years. Layoffs were on the horizon, and panic was everyone’s reaction. “How can we live on unemployment?” was the ever-present topic of conversation, with most people saying, “I can’t live on that…” It was a real wake-up call for me. I looked at what unemployment would pay, and I looked at my bills. Not surprisingly, the two numbers were not very close. While I was not living extravagantly, I had my comforts, a car loan and some credit card debt, but no real savings other than my retirement account. Not good. So I put myself on a serious financial diet. Brown bag lunches, no fancy dinners, vacations or new clothes; and no expensive Christmas presents for friends or family. By last month, when I finally got “the layoff talk,” I had paid off my car and several credit cards. I’d cut my monthly expenses by almost 30%, and put every bit of the savings into paying off debt.

I will not say it was fun or easy, nor was I always able to stick to the plan. In fact, it was miserable at times. Knowing I was doing the right thing for my financial well-being didn’t make it any easier, or make me feel any less stressed and frustrated at the ever-present uncertainty. Morale at work was low; everyone was walking on eggshells as the rounds of layoffs began and the “fortunate survivors” were expected to do the work of those let go. Watching friends that had been out of work for months and were losing their homes and/or being forced into bankruptcy was pretty miserable too. I have always been an emotional spender, so finding ways to cope with the stress that didn’t involve “retail therapy” or “little extra treats” was a constant battle, and one that I didn’t always win. However, after a year on this “diet,” I was amazed at how much I was able to cut my overhead and pay down my debt. Unlike many of my coworkers, I had reached the point where I could survive on unemployment until I found another job. All the struggles with my emotional spending paid off, and it finally felt worth the hard work. I knew that no matter what happened with my job, I would be okay.

Within the last month, fortune smiled on me and I was able to find a new position before my old job ended, just days before my final paycheck. I was able to put a chunk of my severance pay into savings, completely upgrade my wardrobe (as required for the new job), and still have money to live on without having to incur any debt. I’m not out of the woods yet. I still have some credit card debt, but I’m in much better shape than I was a year ago. I’m not going to keep living on this strict a “fiscal diet” forever, but I’m not going back to my old ways either.; In these uncertain times, debt equals stress, and there’s more than enough of that to go around without making it worse.

This post originally appeared in Financial Independence. FI is a daily message designed to help people take control of their financial lives. To find out more, check out the Financial Independence page.

How to Reduce Grocery Bills

2009-09-17T14:52:00Z

by Joanne in Suffern, NY

I agree with your comments on reducing the $1800 grocery bill. Our family of 6 (2 adults, 4 children) spends about $100 a week. I would add the following suggestions to yours:

Eliminate snack foods that are unhealthy. We stopped buying soda (we now drink water from a filtered pitcher) and chips (we snack on cereal and fruit instead).
Shop from the store's circular. I go over our supermarket's circular every week and plan my shopping list and the week's meals around it. If nothing good is on sale, I can fall back on items in my freezer and pantry to get us through the week (see below).
Combine sales items with coupons whenever possible. (editor's note: We'd like to direct your attention to two great sources for coupons, which are SmartSource and Coupons.com.)
Set a price for items and refuse to pay any more than that price. For example, I will not pay more than $2.50 for a big box of cereal. (editor's note: We advocate using a pricebook. You'll find more information about starting a pricebook here and free pricebook pages here.)
Stock up on bargains. Buying a small freezer is a great way to have space for multiple packages of meals that were on sale or for freezing fresh meat and other fresh items that you also bought on sale. You should also keep a pantry stocked with basic canned and packaged foods.
Reduce the amount of meat you eat. Pastas, rice dishes, eggs, soup, and beans are healthy and cheap alternatives
Our supermarket puts up about-to-expire meat and bakery goods early in the morning that are 50% off. These goods are fresh and safe to eat and are covered by the store's usual money-back guarantee. Meat and most baked goods can be frozen and used later.
Limit yourself to one shopping trip a week. If you run out of something, do without it until next week.

I am very proud of my grocery shopping bills and skills. Saving money while shopping takes discipline, but it is one of the easiest areas to budget.

Everyone is smart about something! That's why we have The Dollar Stretcher Guest Blog. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by email to MyStory@Stretcher.com.

My Story: Utility Budget Billing Plans

2009-09-14T15:05:00Z

contributed by Tam

This is in response/addition to the tip about the equal payment plans offered by many utility companies.

We bought our house in early spring and our power bill was very inexpensive the first few months, but the first bill of the colder months showed an increase of over 300%! We live in a very old farm house that is not very energy friendly. I talked with the power company and was put on "comfort billing" and then we started taking steps to cut our power use.

The following spring we went through some changes with the finances and the power bill didn't get paid on time. In all honesty it had been forgotten. We realized the error when we received our disconnect notice and a demand for payment of nearly $1500 (because this was the balance we were in the red at the end of winter) to keep the service on! This was the first time we'd ever been late in the year that we'd owned the home so I tried to appeal. I was told since we owed such a large balance, the best they could do was require half immediately and break the rest of the payments up over the next few months. The entire balance had to be paid before the colder months came again and I could not be placed back on the "comfort" plan until my account showed a zero balance.

I would recommend folks call the companies they have these payment plan options set up with and ask about the consequences if any of these situations were to happen (disconnect notice, moving, etc). Better to know ahead of time what may be required, and prepared if circumstances arise, than caught unaware with a large bill that has to be paid immediately.

Everyone is smart about something! That's why we have The Dollar Stretcher Guest Blog. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by email to MyStory@Stretcher.com

Monthly Food Cycles

2009-09-10T13:14:00Z

by Michelle in Rolling Meadows, IL

I attended a class that discussed the monthly food cycles that grocery stores rotate through, and I decided, "There's no way I'm going to remember all this stuff." So one lazy weekend, I printed all the information on address labels, and put them on the appropriate month in my calendar. The following are the items I posted to my calendar:

January - Football food: chili,chips and 2 liters of pop

February - Valentine's Day: candy and chocolate (which I freeze and use in future baking recipes)

March - Frozen foods

April - Spring cleaning: cleansers and paper products

May - Summer BBQ prep: condiments and meats

June - Beat the heat: ice cream

July - Summertime: sodas, more condiments, hamburger patties and buns

August - Breakfast: frozen waffles, cereal and juices

September - Back to school: lunchbox snacks, drink boxes, packaged lunch meats and canned soup (I don't have kids, but I use this info to pack my lunch for work.)

October - Frozen foods and baking products (in preparation of the holidays)

November - Foods to warm you: hot cocoa, coffee, tea, canned soups and foods and Thanksgiving staples

December - Holiday parties: party platter foods, cold cuts, sour cream, dips, chips, crackers, ham, stuffing, potato mixes, butter, pie fillings, pie crusts and soups

Now I don't have to remember when is a good time to shop for sales on particular products. And, if I have coupons, I can hang onto them in anticipation of these monthly sales!

Everyone is smart about something! That's why we have The Dollar Stretcher Guest Blog. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by email to MyStory@stretcher.com.