wealthJUMP.com

It is very important to have a budget for your income. I used to be of the mind that people that had a lot of money would have an accountant spend their money and pay their bills. And they simply, got an allowance of the money that they can spend. I always thought it was impossible to save money without having a very large surplus to stick in a savings account.

What I didn’t figure out until recently is that people need to establish a budget, and a savings plan long before they can afford a slimy accountant to handle their money. You should be budgeting to save money. Now I know the question in your mind is: how in the world can I save money if I’m barely squeezing out my electricity bill every month?

You’re not alone. Research says that no one is saving any money. In fact, research says that people are saving less now than they ever have. Research also says that people have 10% of their income that goes towards nothing tangible. Chances are you have 10% of your income that could be going straight to savings.

So let’s put this into perspective

If you drink a $3 coffee every weekday morning in year, you’ve spent over $780 on that coffee every year. If you reduce your coffee intake to 3 times a week, you’d save $312 a year. Take that Starbucks!

If you buy lunch at McDonalds every weekday, assuming you spend about $5 every day, you’re spending $1300 a year on your lunch. How about packing your lunch?

Let’s say you are a DVDaholic and buy a DVD a week. You spend about $1000 a year on DVDs averaging $19. How many of those movies do you rewatch everyday? Could you limit it to 2 DVDs month? And save $500?

Keep track of everything you spend in a month, find your 10% and put it in a savings account. Are you spending more than 10% of your money on fast food, coffee, and DVDs? If you put it in an interest bearing savings account, that money will work for you, instead of you working for it.

Have you noticed the signs at some gas stations warning you of credit card limit fees? I assumed that they were set by the merchant. Merchants sign up with banks who have relationships with the various major credit card companies just to be able to run your credit card. They are charged an interest rate on what you purchase and then usually a merchant has to pay a monthly maintenance fee. These accounts are costly to a small business owner, but a gas station can afford it.

The AP is running a piece about how credit card companies prevent you from spending your credit card on “excessive” amounts of fuel.

You can check out the AP piece on Yahoo

But only up to a certain amount.

For MasterCard customers, it’s $75. Visa and Discover users have a $50 pay-at-the-pump limit. Transaction limits vary for corporate card holders and American Express users.

Not all gas stations have to abide by the cap. And there are no limits if a customer goes inside and pays with their credit card at the counter.

The caps went unnoticed when gasoline prices were low.

So if you drive a big SUV or truck and use a credit card to make your purchases - you are out of luck. The AP article mentions that people are using 2 different cards in order to make a purchase. I disagree with that suggestion. I do like the idea of paying for a single budget item with a credit card and paying it off within the same month. If you do that you don’t pay interest on the payments and you build a relationship with the card company. That can help increase your spending limits, lower your interest rate, or increase your credit profile. With that said, do not use 2 credit cards. The more cards that you are using for that fuel budget, the more you’re going to be at risk of forgetting to make a payment, not be able to pay it off immediately, etc.

If you can’t fill up with your credit card, try other gas stations and stick with the ones who don’t have the cap on them. I’ve seen posted signs, so if you don’t know, ask an gas station employee. If you are desperate for gas, use your ATM bank card and subtract it from your overall fuel line in your budget. That way you aren’t risking interest or messing up your budget.

If you are driving an expensive, Earth killing vehicle and you don’t need it - consider buying a used commuter car to drive around. Buy it outright with your savings and everyone wins. You, the Earth, and your bank account.

Willamette Week online is running an article about a debt collection agency that went after the wrong guy for $102.

The 51-year-old father of five got his first phone message from DRS at the beginning of 2005. The 22-second message said in part: “Hi, this is Nancy Miller. I’ve tried to reach you for a while, but I keep on missing you. Do me a favor. Give me a call at 1-800-807-4106.”

They pick Debt Recovery Solutions LLC as their “Rogue of the Week” - check out the article here on Wweek.com.

The long and short of it is that the victim in question didn’t owe the debt and because it is in violation of the FDCPA for a collector to collect on debt they can’t validate, they are getting sued. And the victim will end up winning if he’s got the proof to back up his claims. They left approximately 200 messages left on his answering machine. Each each communication/attempt of collection is a violation, which could carry up to a maximum of $1000 per incident. Sure seems like a lot of money to get Sprint their $102 that he didn’t owe. I’ll keep an eye on this one and see what transpires.
Be sure to validate your debt before paying someone - just how many people in the world have your name?