Financial Education
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Credit Education Tutorial
Over the past few years, bankruptcy filings have increased to record levels. More and more people are feeling "pinched" for money, and are living from paycheck to paycheck. Often times people don't know where all their money goes. In order to build a more secure financial life, it is important to educate yourself about money and credit. We have dedicated this page to inform our visitors of some of the basics regarding money and credit. If you feel that you would benefit from additional training or information, please contact our office so that we may inform you of the many credit education programs we have to offer.Part 1. Organizing your financial life.
You must become organized with your finances so that you can make good decisions about what to do with your money. How you accomplish this, is by setting goals, creating a budget and organizing your records.Setting Goals
- Setting goals takes planning. You should begin by setting both short and long term goals. Short term goals include vacations, gifts, paying off a credit card. Long term goals include saving to buy a house, paying off all your debt, or saving for your child's education. Once you have set your goals, you need to create a budget and figure out how you can achieve those goals. Be sure to check your progress each month.Creating a Budget
- To create a budget you must write down your total monthly take-home pay, and then list your monthly expenses. Subtract you expenses from your take-home pay. If your expenses are more than your monthly take-home pay, then look closely at your budget and see where you can cut-back. Keep track of what you spend each month so that you can see where you are over spending.Part 2. Credit Card Basics
There are different types of credit cards. The following is a summary of each one.- Revolving, unsecured credit card - Revolving means these are cards that the full balance does not have to be repaid within 30 days. Unsecured means that you do not have anything held as collateral against any purchases you make on this card. An example of a revolving, unsecured credit card is Visa, Mastercard and department store credit cards.
- Not revolving, unsecured credit card - Not revolving generally means the balance is due every 30 days. Examples include Gas cards, American Express, Diners Club. These cards usually offer a grace period with no interest.
- Debit Cards - These cards are issued to your bank. They allow you to obtain cash from your account 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. As you purchase things using your debit card, the money comes directly from your bank account.
- Secured credit cards - These cards require you to deposit an amount of money into a savings account at the bank as collateral. If you don’t make the agreed payments, the bank has the right to take the funds you have deposited as collateral.
