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To find out just what kind of financial shape you’re in, answer the questions in the following Financial Fitness Checklist.1 If you’re married, print this out and take it home so that you and your spouse can work together to answer the questions. Make a note of how many questions you answer yes to.

1. Are you using more and more of your income to pay your debts?
2. Do you make only the minimum payments due on your loans and credit cards each month?
3. Are you near, at, or over the credit limit on your credit cards?
4. Are you paying your bills with money intended for other things?
5. Are you borrowing money or using credit cards to pay for things you used to buy with cash?
6. Do you often pay your bills late?
7. Are you dipping into your savings to pay current bills?
8. Do you put off visits to the doctor or dentist because you can’t afford them?
9. Has a collection agency called recently about overdue bills?
10. Are you working overtime or holding a second job to make ends meet?
11. If you or your spouse lost your job, would you be in financial trouble right away?
12. Do you worry about money a lot?

If you answered “no” to all questions on the Financial Fitness Checklist, you’re the picture of financial health.

One or two “yes” answers, while not necessarily a sign of impending doom, can be a warning sign of potential problems. Before things get any worse, take time now to draw up a realistic budget (including a savings plan) or to revise your spending plan. Cut back on your use of credit cards, and watch closely for other signs of financial trouble.

Three to five “yes” answers could mean that you’re heading for financial trouble. It’s imperative that you get your spending under control right away. If you don’t have a monthly budget, draw one up and follow it. Put away your credit cards and cut out all unnecessary spending until you can answer “no” to all the questions on the Financial Fitness Checklist.

If you answered “yes” to more than five of the questions on the Financial Fitness Checklist, you may already be in serious financial trouble. But don’t despair. Financial counseling can start you on the road to financial recovery.

The most efficient way to produce anything is to bring together under one management as many as possible of the activities needed to turn out the product.

We often indulge in uncontrolled expenses and spending beyond our means i.e.; spending more than you earn results in mounting debts. At times of severe financial crisis, Debt Management helps you to manage your funds and also protects you from the humiliation of debt struck conditions. The process involving the use of several techniques to curb the amount of debts is known as debt management

Some of the techniques of debt management are listed below:

1.Create an accurate assessment of your debt situation.
Make a list of all your debts. Be sure and include the amounts, interest rates, and expirations dates. So that you have a clear picture of what you owe and what you own.

2.Make a budget:
Making a budget helps keep from increasing your debt, while you’re trying to pay it down. Be specific and detailed in your budgeting. Stick to your budget, and you won’t get further in debt if you only spend what you have.

3.Pay off the debts one by one.
Maintain minimum payments to the rest of the debts, but pick the debt with the highest interest rate, and send extra payments to pay it off. That would help to ease the pressure

4.Consider debt consolidation: it is a personal loan that is employed to settle the debts. For the purpose of ease in settlement, all debts taken from several lenders are consolidated. You may also consider debt restructuring and refinancing.

5.If necessary, get help. You may choose a credit counseling service, or debt counseling and debt help service to help with each step of your debt solution.

Debt management is open to all. Good credit people, bad credit people or people with bankruptcy. Debt management by managing debts of a debtor can help in improving his credit score.

debt management will essentially involve keeping ones finances under control, taking the right debt from the right lender, never missing any installments, avoiding any late fees and if needed, consolidating the debt in the most efficient way. Debt management, as is clearly visible has a very wide scope. Borrowers need to keep their eyes open, particularly on the debt elimination techniques like debt consolidation loans. Debt counseling too need not be taken lightly, since they also can backfire at times when incorrect tips are implemented.

There is no magic wand as far as recovering from debt is concerned. It takes time, it can be a struggle but it will be worth it in the end

With today’s rising prices it’s all most people can do to stay afloat financially. So how does a young couple save enough money to break into the housing market? Sometimes you have to think outside of the box and come up with creative financing options. One such example is Lease-to-Own, or Rent-to-Own house purchases.

Basically, in this scenario, the landlord and the tenant come up with an agreement to purchase the house within a designated period of time (usually 3 years or less), for a specific price. An option fee of 1 to 5% of the price is credited to the purchase price and a premium is added to the rent payment to accumulate a deposit. If the buyer backs out of the purchase agreement they lose both the option fee and the rent premium.

Typical Rent-to-Own Contract Features

The rent and home price are usually established and documented based on market value plus any negotiation between the buyer and seller.

A rent-to-own contract will have an option period where the borrower can build equity while living in the home. Once the option period expires, the borrower is counting on successfully qualifying for a mortgage to purchase the home. It is imperative that the borrower has a good idea of their ability to assume a mortgage; speak to a lender before entering on a rent-to-own agreement to have your financial situation examined. You may only have to improve your credit rating, and this can be accomplished by making timely minimum payments any loans or credit cards each month.

Often a lender will want to see that an amount above the market rent price has been set aside. This ensures that the seller is not providing the borrower with a kickback by artificially inflating the selling price. Usually the bank will also request an appraisal for this reason.

If at the end of the option period, the buyer discovers problems with the home, it may be cheaper to walk away from the deal than purchase a house which may develop into a money pit.

The selling price of the home is agreed upon at the beginning of the option period. This means that after a 3 year option period if houses prices drop the borrower may request a down payment based on the new value. For instance, a 5% down payment on a $225,000 home would be $11,250. If the home drops 3% in value, or to $218,250, the 5% down payment from this would be $10,912 bringing the maximum loan amount to 207,338. You need $225,000, now you have to make up the difference.

However, the price may indeed go up 3% in price and the seller is out the amount of the increase. It is for this reason that some contracts are drawn up with no final price quoted, just specifying the house will be sold at fair market value at the end of the option period.

There are shady sellers out there who will create a contract with an easy escape clause, such as the right to evict a tenant with only 3 days notice. It is in the buyer’s best interests to have their contract reviewed by a lawyer before entering into a binding agreement. Also, pay your rent on time and do not give the seller any opportunity to renege on the agreement.