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The first thing we did when we decided to get out of debt was reevaluate our budget. We knew that we had to change the way we spent our money before our financial situation could change.

The amount of information out there on budgeting is overwhelming. There are lots of trite and obvious articles out there (like this one) that give such groundbreaking (and condescending) advice as “Incurring debt is easy but getting out of debt is not.” or “Reducing the luxuries will always be the best place to start for you to make some real savings with the least impact on your lifestyle.”

I’ve even read articles recently discouraging people from budgeting because, “You know you should budget, but you also know you’re not really going to do it.”

I vehemently disagree with this logic. The NUMBER ONE reason people are in so much financial trouble right now is that they are not willing to put in the work and sacrifice needed to save money, wait for purchases, or do without some things altogether. The simple act o

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This document basically outlines what you owe, to whom and why and how this debt will be settled. You will most likely be familiar with some of the contents from several forms you may have filled out for a personal or home loan or whatever type of credit.

This agreement is a sample template and is of a universal temperament.

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Debt consolidation is one way to simplify your debts if you have them with more than one lender. Credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans – many people borrow money at some point or another. However, having debt in too many places can be a real headache, as can dealing with lots of different lenders.

A debt consolidation loan consolidates all of your unsecured debts into one, leaving you with one monthly payment to make. It can be an ideal solution to the problem of complicated debt repayments if:

• Your credit record doesn’t prevent you from taking out a loan large enough to cover all your unsecured debts.

• Your debt consolidation loan has a lower APR (Annual Percentage Rate of interest) than your current debts.

• Your earnings are stable and you can afford the monthly repayments for the full length of the debt consolidation loan.

• You aren’t struggling to keep up with repayments at the moment.

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For some reason, I had presumed this was a modern phenomenon.  Apparently not. From Bastiat in 1848

But, by an inference as false as it is unjust, do you know what the economists are now accused of? When we oppose subsidies, we are charged with opposing the very thing that it was proposed to subsidize and of being the enemies of all kinds of activity, because we want these activities to be voluntary and to seek their proper reward in themselves. Thus, if we ask that the state not intervene, by taxation, in religious matters, we are atheists. If we ask that the state not intervene, by taxation, in education, then we hate enlightenment. If we say that the state should not give, by taxation, an artificial value to land or to some branch of industry, then we are the enemies of property and of labor. If we think that the state should not subsidize artists, we are barbarians who judge the arts useless.

I get to teach one class a year in the senior economics class at my kids school.

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Deals of the Week January 3rd 9th

Welcome 2012!  Do you have many new resolutions for the new year?  Do you want to make this the best year ever?  Let’s start by saving money with our weekly specials:

Aldi

Is kicking it off focusing on health & fitness.  This week you can get all the gadgets you will need to look and feel your best!

• Crofton Juice Extractor with a 2-quart pulp container for $34.99
• Crofton Extreme Blender $17.99
• Electric Mini Food Chopper $7.99
• Digital Kitchen Scale $9.99
• Welby Body Fat Scale + $14.99
• 4-count Fit & Active Breakfast Sandwiches $3.99
• 10-count Fit & Active Multigrain Waffles $1.29
• 32 oz. Froze

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India, meanwhile, has been watching its supply of natural gas slowly disappear.  The Asian nation has since been trying to find overseas suppliers from which to purchase the valuable resource.

But now GAIL India Ltd., India’s energy company, has made a 20-year deal with Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMEX: LNG) to receive natural gas.

In the deal, Reuters reports, Cheniere has agreed to supply 3.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to GAIL annually from its Louisiana plant at Sabine pass.

The deal is to take effect in 2017.

Cheniere previously struck deals with two other international companies—namely Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain and BG Group PLC of Britain.

The company has become the first U.S. company to export natural gas, CBS reports.

Other U.S. comp

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Saw this on CNBC.com this morning:

Foreclosures are setting new records again, this time not in their overall numbers, but in the time it is taking for all of these properties to be processed through the legal system. The average loan in foreclosure has now been delinquent a record 631 days, according to a new report from Florida-based Lender Processing Services.

Further along in the article (bold mine)…

…we are now beginning to see the effects of ineffective loan modifications. Repeat foreclosures made up nearly 45 percent of new foreclosures in October. Of the 2.1 million modifications since the start of 2008 more than 10 percent were in foreclosure with another 27.4 percent delinquent 30 or more days, as of the end of the third quarter of this year, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

This should not surprise any of us. I s

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For any homeowner, having good tenants can make the difference between a profitable financial investment and taking a big loss. This factor is important for other tenants as well. For instance, you need to find a tenant with tenanthunter.com, because your lease is not expired but you want to move out. This option allows you not to break the agreement and avoid high penalty fees.

A professional property manager who helps with the interview process and review of prospective tenants is critical to the success and peace of mind of a landlord. Read full post…