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The following tips will give you the edge on keeping your cool no matter how chaotic the economy gets.

1. Have a second source of income.

2. Don’t stop investing.

3. Buy store brands.

4. Beef up your emergency fund.

5. Pay cash.

6. Pay down debt.

7. Dust off your resume.

Have a second source of income.

There is probably no other single piece of advice that will give you the sense of security that diversifying your income streams is able to provide. When you are not dependent on a the performance of a single company for your daily bread you can breathe a lot easier with the knowledge that you will at the very least be able to cover your basic expenses. Your second income stream should also ideally be something you enjoy doing as well. For instance if you are an artist, consider selling your art or if you like writing you can freelance for a writing site to bring in some extra cash.

Don’t stop investing.

Continue reading ‘Basic Tips to Recession Proof Your Life’ »

P45 – A P45 slip is a form that contains all of the employee’s wages and tax issued during the duration of their employment that they receive upon termination of said employment. This is then passed to the next employer so that the earnings and tax each year and to verify their previous employment. The term P45 has subsequently picked up meaning as a slang term for being let go as it is synonymous with the termination of employment.

P46 – In cases where the tax payer has no P45, either because it is lost, damaged or invalid or if they are being employed for the first time, they will be asked to fill out a P46 form. This will notify HM revenue and customs of the new employment, and the information will be used for the formation of a new P45 once they leave that job.

Continue reading ‘A Quick Guide to Various Wage Slips and Forms’ »

Your credit report (CR) contains information that many businesses use to make a decision about you. This includes banks, insurance companies, landlords, mortgage lenders, and even employers. It’s very important that you know what’s in your CR and that you correct any inaccuracies to prevent negative effects on your financial health and welfare.

The recommended way to obtain a free copy of your CR is through AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual CR under federal law. AnnualCreditReport.com is very different from FreeCreditReport.com which you have probably seen on television. Be wary of services that offer a trial membership or request your credit card number. There are no hidden fees or trial memberships with AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you do not want to use the AnnualCreditReport.com request form, you can also write directly to the credit bureaus to request a free copy of your CR. With AnnualCreditReport.com or writing directly to the credit bureaus, you can obtain a free copy of your CR from each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) once every 12 months.

Continue reading ‘Five Ways to Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report’ »

Everyone has a difficult time figuring out how to get out of debt and staying out of it. Sometimes we pay off our debts and feel a sense of victory and then go right back into debt again figuring we have conquered the monster so it won’t get us again. What we don’t realize is that that debt monster will sneak up on us again, and the next time may bite us even harder. The first step to getting out of debt is to change your belief system around money and debt. Ninety percent of the problem is behavior. Our behavior is driven by our belief system. If we believe that we will always have a car payment and that we’ll always have a mortgage payment, then we always will. If we believe that credit cards are necessary and required in today’s society, then we will fulfill that prophecy by becoming completely dependent on them. This is probably the most difficult step of all, and it is the one often ignored by financial experts. We have to learn more about money and how it works, as well as how debt really works, so we can see the truth about it. Too often what we believe has been formed by advertising and peer competition. We have been indoctrinated by our society to believe that debt is a tool of “leverage” that we use to make ourselves wealthy. What we don’t realize, is that it makes the lenders wealthy, not the borrowers. Continue reading ‘5 Steps to Living a Debt Free Lifestyle’ »

When insurmountable debt trouble leads people to file for bankruptcy, they often find themselves stressing over the Chapter 7 means test. Specifically, the Chapter 7 means test will start with the seemingly daunting Official Form 22A – Determination of Presumption.

While this eight-page document is meant to ensure that only the most “qualified” of filers use bankruptcy as a way to eliminate their debt, the Chapter 7 means test is clearly not meant to frighten or intimidate filers.

When determining whether an individual qualifies for bankruptcy protection, the bankruptcy courts will first determine whether the person filing meets the median income level determined by the Census Bureau for their specific state. As far as the Chapter 7 means test is concerned, if income is anywhere below the median, then the determination of presumption will be made.

As for median income levels, they are readily available on most websites that discuss bankruptcy and its process. The median levels for single people range anywhere from a low of $32,348 in Mississippi to a high of $57,505 in Connecticut.

Continue reading ‘Exploring the Chapter 7 Means Test’ »