This featured post is presented by Fabulously “Broke” in the City.

To be honest, I don’t want too much choice.

I mean, I want choice. I want about 3-6 choices, and that’s it. I don’t want to be shown 50 different things, because there are a couple things that could go wrong:

1. I end up liking all 50 and now have to go through and rank them until I pick the top choice
2. I get confused and end up not wanting anything at all

So how does this play into decluttering my life?

Continue reading Guilty choices at Fabulously “Broke” in the City.

This featured post is presented by The Year of Living Frugally.

I’ve been a little down in the dumps since the weekend. I started off the year of frugality with high hopes to have the whole damn debt wiped by Dec 31st 2009. Looking at what income I have coming in and how much time I have left in the year – I think I may need to concede that it is not going to happen this side of Christmas! Unless I suddenly either win the lottery, get a mystery benefactor to wipe the remains of my debt or win £10,000 in one of the writing competitions I have entered. On the off chance these *might* not happen. I have to think contingency for payoff in 2010. Boo!

Continue reading Overcoming Frugality Fatigue at The Year of Living Frugally.

Many people have made the switch to a frugal lifestyle as a result of the recession. Most people are glad that they did this but there are some people who can’t wait to get back to living a more lavish lifestyle one day. Before you jump on that bandwagon, you may want to think about the fact that living a frugal life could be a lot healthier for you.

Some of the ways that living frugally makes you healthier include:

• Frugal people tend to eat healthier. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Some frugal people are living off of Ramen noodles and microwave burritos. However, most frugal people are eating fresh produce and other healthy inexpensive foods. This type of frugal diet keeps you healthier.
• Frugal people walk and bicycle more. A lot of people are giving up their cars and even public transit since these modes of transportation are expensive. They walk and bike more. This keeps them fit which makes them healthier.
• Frugal people are creating a healthier environment. A lot of frugal choices are also green choices. People are wasting less water and electricity in order to save money. They’re making their own household cleaners instead of using expensive chemicals. A greener environment results in healthier humans who live in it.
• Frugal people may experience less stress. Debt creates a lot of stress. Frugal lifestyles reduce or eliminate debt. This often reduces stress. Since stress can cause a variety of different health problems, people who live frugally may end up healthier.
• Frugal people make an effort to stay healthy. A lot of frugal people are simply more conscious about trying to avoid getting sick. They don’t want to spend the money on healthcare so they’re taking better care of themselves and keeping their immune systems strong.
• Frugal people make conscious choices. Ultimately, the reason that frugal people are often healthier than their non-frugal counterparts is because the frugal lifestyle is one that is based on making conscious choices. Instead of being on automatic pilot, frugal people think through every decision. Sometimes this is all it takes for people to start making healthier choices in their lives.

Being frugal isn’t going to keep you healthy all of the time. However, it could be one key factor in living a healthy life. You may want to think about that even as the economy improves and your options for spending more money open up again.

Guest post by Kathryn Vercillo. Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free discount code (like this La Senza discount code) and also publishes money saving tips.

The following is an interview with Karen McCall, founder of the Financial Recovery Institute. Since 1988, McCall has counseled individuals, couples, and businesses through a holistic, transformational approach that results in a stable and secure financial foundation.

Barbara Bryn Klare, a communications consultant and award-winning finance writer, is the interviewer. Co-founder of an international business writing firm, she believes women write their own financial destinies. Visit her Personal Finance and Women and Money columns at SF Examiner.com or her blog, The UpSide of Money, which takes dry financial concepts – like saving and investing – and infuses them with a fresh, UpBeat approach.

Barbara Bryn Klare: Tell me about your background and why you started the Financial Recovery Institute.

Karen McCall: Quite honestly, I was a mess with money. 25 years ago, I had a horrible secret: I had a teak bowl on top of my fridge filled with unpaid bills I had never opened, some even from the IRS. I was overextended, naïve and in a fog about money. Even though I had a Pacific Heights address, and all the right clothes, I was in trouble. People often think, “How can a financial expert know how I feel?” So many people have shame and embarrassment in their relationship with money. I’ve been there.

BBK: How did you recover financially?

KM: First I went to a budget counselor. They gave me a monthly payment plan based on a budget THEY thought up. I couldn’t stick to it. My beliefs and attitudes about money hadn’t changed.

BBK: What was lacking in their method?

KM: I believe there is a gap that therapists, budget counselors, and even financial planners don’t fill and that Financial Recovery counselors can. CPAs give tax advice, financial planners teach how to grow and invest. Even therapists didn’t take my financial problems seriously – or didn’t know how to handle them.

To tackle your money problems effectively, you have to have strong practical skills AND the ability to go inward. At the Institute, we teach our counselors that the client’s process is 1 – first getting conscious and connecting with your money, 2 – assessing, evaluating and prioritizing, then 3 – making strong choices about earning, spending and saving. We teach about needs vs. wants, and learning to go from wanting to fulfillment. All our counselors-in-training go through the process themselves, so they develop awareness and empathy.

[Writer’s note: Financial Recovery counselors are certified by the Financial Recovery Institute only, which is not an accredited program. They cannot give financial advice.]

BBK: How many people has the Financial Recovery Institute helped, do you think?

KM: With the Ripple Effect, probably thousands. I have helped hundreds in my twenty-year career [Karen retired last year from counseling].

BBK: What has been the most rewarding part of Financial Recovery counseling for you?

KM: Having long-term relationships with my clients over the years. Many come back saying, “I can’t believe I am paying you and I have more money than before!”

Ultimately, it’s watching someone go from making do and doing without, in other words, living a life of deprivation, to going to a fuller, creative quality of life – a life of fulfillment and a vision for that life.

You can achieve clarity, understanding and peace with your relationship to money instead of anxiety, stress and chaos.

BBK: What’s on the horizon for you professionally?

KM: Well, I still get responses to my first book, “It’s Your Money.” It’s just a small book that I wrote! Now I am writing the book I always wanted to write about financial recovery. It will be out soon.

The following is a guest post by Rhonda Sherwood of itsHERmoney.com. Rhonda is a Certified Financial Planner and a Financial Management Advisor.

As women, we are likely to outlive our spouses or partners by an average of 5 years. Although this may seem financially insignificant when planning for a 20 to 25 year retirement, it could potentially be our most expensive years.

Things Women Need To Know

• 80% of men die married, while 80% of women die single. 75% of women living in poverty today were not poor before they were widowed.
• In 2005, women earned 84 cents for each dollar earned by men.
• The average income of a married woman is less than that of single women because the former take on more family responsibilities.
• Many women either stop working or work less hours when they have young children. This means they are not contributing to a company pension plan or an RRSP.
• Women tend to either be self-employed, have part-time jobs or work for a flat rate, all of which influence the savings.

So How Has This Really Impacted Us?

Let’s see - we need the same monthly income to live on as men but continue to earn less. Our broken work patterns or part time jobs have drastically impacted our ability to save and hence, the future value of our RRSP’s and pension plans are affected. And due to the increasing divorce rates we have found ourselves not only to be the primary caregivers for our families but in many cases the sole or main financial source. What money or time is left
over to put towards planning our retirement?

As compelling as each of our stories is, the fact remains the same; older women who are single or widowed are most at risk for poverty. Although one would think that the likelihood of spending our Golden Years in a state of financial hardship would be more than enough of a motivation to get us into serious planning mode, less than 35% of women today actually do so. So if you take anything away from my words let it be this, it does not matter whether you are single, married, widowed, a business woman or a stay at home mom; take charge of your retirement planning today. Regardless of income, you will be the one who decides your level of financial security in retirement.

This article comes from Steve Sildon, guest contributor and Managing Editor for Credit Card Assist, where he provides tips and advice about a variety of personal finance and credit-related issues including credit cards, rewards programs and debt consolidation.

Credit card fees have garnered a lot of negative attention in recent years and rightfully so. These fees are treacherous for most consumers and have only served to accelerate the financial demise for so many others struggling with financial uncertainty right now. But there are some misconceptions about how these fees are levied by credit card issuers and there’s a wide variety of fees that go unnoticed that many people are totally unaware of. It’s important to get a comprehensive look at all of the different types of credit card fees that exist, but there are also some techniques and practices that you can utilize to minimize or offset these fees completely.

The following are a few tips on some of the unknown facts about credit card fees and, should you encounter them, how to get around paying them entirely:

1. Fees and Rates Are Negotiable: The bottom line is that all of the interest rates and fees that are levied against you as an account holder are negotiable. You can sharply reduce or in some cases even eliminate the various fees that they assess. Consumers first have to understand that the credit card business is extremely competitive by nature. Even today with the faltering economy, card issuers are still scrambling to maintain their portfolios and competing aggressively to keep their most profitable customers. Asking them to lower your ongoing interest rate is the first place to start. While the structure of rates and fees can appear complex to most of us, card issuers know exactly how profitable each and every one of their customer’s is. They earn income from the interest that they charge their customers for carrying an ongoing card balance in addition to the various late fees that they levy as well. Start by asking them to reduce the ongoing interest rate on your account. Then, should they arise, ask for any fees appearing on your account to be taken off. But the key is, you have to ask.
2. Making Lots of Money from Your Transactions: Card issuers earn a substantial portion of their revenue from the transaction fees that they charge merchants for the purchases that you make with your card. Whenever a credit card transaction is made, anywhere from 1-4% of the net purchase price is paid by the merchant to Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express as a “transaction fee” for utilizing the card issuer’s brand specific network. You can use this knowledge to your advantage, especially if you are what the industry refers to as a ‘revolver’. A ‘revolver’ is a customer that typically uses their card frequently and carries a balance that incurs finance charges (which you should try to avoid like the plague). ‘Revolvers’ are extremely profitable customers for any credit card issuer. If you are a long term customer and a ‘revolver’ don’t be afraid to ask them to reduce your ongoing interest rate or ask them to eliminate a late fee, especially if it’s your first one or if it happens very infrequently. If the card issuer charges you an annual fee, ask them to eliminate that prior to the next billing cycle. The card issuers make enough money from your transaction fees that they can still waive some of these fees and still maintain profitability on your account.

3. Fees that You Pay are Tracked and Optimized: Card issuers typically keep a detailed record and a running total of how many fees & finance charges they made from your account. It’s not hard to figure out if you are a profitable customer for your card issuer or bank. Simply add up all of the fees and finance charges that you’ve paid over the entirely of your history with the company. Typically, it will cost a card issuer $100 - $150 to maintain each account. If all of the finance charges and fees that you’ve incurred over the life of the account add up to more than their cost to maintain the account, you are a profitable customer for them. If not, you are considered a “deadbeat” or an unprofitable customer. The reality is that most people do incur fees and finance charges well in excess of the cost to maintain the accounts for the card issuers. Should a fee or charge arise on your account, the next time you speak with a representative at your card issuer, you might say something like this: “If you just take a look at my account history, you’ll see that I am a profitable customer for you, with the interest charges and fees that I’ve paid in the past. That being said, would you be willing to waive this late/over limit fee for me?”

4. Fees You Don’t Know About: Late-payment fees are not the only fees to watch out for. There are a number of these fees that many people are unaware of including:

1. Account Closure Fee – A fee to close my account? Sad, but it’s true; some card issuers will levy a small fee to just to close out the account.
2. Inactivity Fees – Some card issuers will levy a so-called ‘inactivity’ fee for failing to use a card within a six-month or year long period.
3. Balance Inactivity Fee – A fee that is charged for failing to carry a balance on the card. As unbelievable as it sounds, but they do exist.
4. Over-Limit Fees — If you accidentally charge more than your pre-set credit limit, the card issuer will not deny the transaction but will instead levy an ‘over-limit’ fee that’s typically in the $29 - $39 range.
5. Cash Advance Fees – Cash advance fees are typically 3% of the cash advance amount. There are no ‘grace periods’ on cash advances so the interest starts accruing from the day of the advance and the interest rate for cash advances is often several points higher than the normal purchase interest rate.

Before you apply for any card, request a list in writing from the card issuer of all fees the company charges. You can find a list of all related fees within the terms and conditions (in the super small print) of your credit card application.

Just be sure to know the facts about credit card fees, and above all, don’t be afraid to ask.