Articles Posted in financial wellness

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A personal budget is a sign of adult responsibility. It indicates that an individual recognizes the value of financial wellness and wants to structure his or her income and expenses to meet personal goals and pay bills. It can be a challenge for a young employee because that person has no experience with setting up a fiscal framework. A lack of understanding can result in several problems.

  1. There Is No Planning for Emergencies

Emergencies are unexpected and need to be handled quickly. There must be allocation of money in a budget for unanticipated expenses such as a medical bill.

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No one should think that buying a house is out of the question. Real estate prices can fluctuate, and mortgages are not always hard to get. A problem that many people face is a lack of information.

What a person needs to know before purchasing a house includes financial data and an understanding of how the world of real estate functions. A first-time homebuyer is not familiar with mortgages or the roles of various people play in a real estate transaction. Additionally, ignorance about the process of financing the purchase is going to cause a person to pause and reconsider buying property.

It can help a person if he or she has access to a certified counselor in the financial world. That professional can give the kind of advice a homebuyer can use. Being able to learn about real estate makes it easier to arrive at fundamentally sound decisions about acquiring a house. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has a Financial Wellness program that can fill in the blanks in a person’s knowledge about housing.

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People can stunned be by their credit card debt. They are not always sure how things got out of control, but they face a financial obligation of thousands of dollars. Anxiety goes through the roof as financial wellness appears in danger. Panic does not do any good, because it results in poor decisions. Anyone with a lot of credit card debt must stay calm and plan a way out of the financial mess. It is not difficult to create a credit card debt strategy. The plan relies on common sense and some careful, serious thought. There are some easy steps to follow.

  1. Know What You Owe

You can start at the end of the month by collecting all your credit card bills and then adding up all you owe. It is not easy to confront the size of the debt, but you should have an idea of how much it is before you can begin to look at means of eliminating this financial burden. Continue reading

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Many first-time home-buyers are frightened about buying a house. The cost is enormous, and the obligation will last for years. People are going to make some mistakes when it comes to financing and these errors can be expensive in money and time. Several common slip-ups include the following.

  1. Being Unprepared for Post Purchase Expenses

These bills happen after a person has taken possession of the house. That new home may need repair work on the roof, new electrical wiring might be required, and ordinary appliances such as a new refrigerator or dishwasher are necessary. New owners don’t ordinarily plan for such expenses and are faced with bills they did not initially expect. Continue reading

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Personal finances can be a significant source of stress and worry. It is not always easy to balance the books and people are often required to live from paycheck to paycheck. Any sudden emergency can upset matters and lead to private chaos. Too many bills and money concerns can disrupt financial wellness.

Some Sense of Order

People will try to bring order to their financial house, but they are not always successful. Inexperience can create problems. Recent college graduates may have no experience with budgeting. Someone who is recently promoted or gets a pay raise may not understand how to allocate the extra cash efficiently. The resulting confusion can range from minor headaches to a real crisis. No one wants either. Receiving good financial advice helps a person chart a sensible course.

Countrywide Uses Financial Professionals

Financial wellness consists of paying bills properly, managing emergencies effectively, and planning for future costs or investments. No employer should expect all employees to be money experts. Professional guidance is an appreciated benefit. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has a Financial Wellness Plan that gives the best cash counseling. Continue reading

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The academic year is now in full swing. Students are filling up the classrooms in colleges and universities and they are acquiring the knowledge they need for their future careers. They’re also acquiring debt which will affect career decisions.

 

College Debt Harms Financial Wellness

 

Tuition and living expenses are burdens to a college student, and graduates must bear the brunt of the weight. The final cost of a four-year college degree can be close to six figures and a graduate degree adds to the bill. A person might be committed to paying the loan balances for decades.

 

The application can influence career decisions. Employers will notice highly talented staff leaving for other jobs after only a few months. College debt payments can force a person to change jobs, not for career enrichment, but to make more money to pay the loan balances. It is in the best interest of organizations to help an employee manage those education bills. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has a Financial Wellness Plan that provides needed assistance. Continue reading

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Enormous debt balances may come on gradually. People get used to paying for everything, including groceries, with credit cards. It doesn’t take long for the purchases and the double-digit interest charged to create a sizable balance of credit card debt. An emergency medical bill could do the same damage. Financial wellness is placed in danger as the total amount owed goes to five or even six figures.

Anxiety Leads to Panic

Owing large amounts of money creates anxiety and then panic as the figures grow. The person wants to be fiscally responsible but gets overwhelmed by the monthly payments. Mistakes such as forgetting a payment or not paying anything destroys credit and leads to wage garnishments. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services wants to help folks get out of financial quicksand. Our Financial Wellness Plan will assist a person in ending a terrible nightmare.

Handling a Financial Wellness Crisis

Anyone in financial distress needs special attention. Countrywide provides services that address the issue of staggering debt. Continue reading

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People will make bad decisions and financial wellness suffers. They decide to use forbearance to manage a college loan or pay a medical bill before the health insurer has paid its share. It is unfair to say those with debt are frivolous spenders. However, it is safe to assume they don’t know what to do. Access to the right information is important.

So Many Options

Unreliable sources of information and online “experts” will give ideas that may not be good. Trouble arises when an individual is financially illiterate. His or her choices can be the result of believing the wrong money guru or a poorly written financial blog. No relationship develops. The online advisor addresses a general audience and rarely works with an individual. It is easy to make financial mistakes when there is a lot of information and no one to help sort the good from the bad. Continue reading

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The start of the new school year reminds many recent college graduates of an obligation they must meet. They financed their education through a series of loans that met the cost of tuition and other expenses, but that left them in a mess. The financial wellness of many is under a burden of payments which can last for decades.

An Educational Experience That Is Stressful

College is the first time many young people are away from home. Regrettably, it is also the first time these people confront a major, life-changing, debt. The FAFSA forms were tough enough to complete. Loan papers that were signed and perhaps cosigned by parents committed the students to a payment plan that would start in a few years.

You can’t blame a person for taking out a student loan. It is the only way to pay for the required college education for many. Not all the students understood what was required of them in the loan applications. As graduates, with the six-month grace time now over, they need to find ways to stretch their budget. Continue reading

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Consumers enjoy using credit cards. It is certainly convenient to buy with plastic and it is much safer than carrying a lot of cash. Nevertheless, credit cards can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. Even though credit cards make shopping easier, they pose a serious threat to anyone’s financial wellness. Here is how it happens.

  1. Retailers Want You to Use Your Credit Card

The reason is very simple: you are going to spend more with a credit card at the store than if you use cash. People are nowhere near as thrifty if there’s a special sale which encourages you to use your credit cards. While this ordinarily happens at Christmas time, consumers can run up a hefty balance on their cards with just a few shopping trips. The balances must be paid and the minimum monthly payment can become substantial.

  1. Forgetting to Pay the Monthly Bill Has Consequences

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 has reduced some of the negative impact of not paying your credit card bill on time. However, the credit card company can still charge a penalty for a late payment and impose a penalty APR (Annual Percentage Rate) that can be as much as 29.99% for an indefinite period. Continue reading