Everyone has a phone in today’s age.  Whether you have an old fashion land line, or a cell phone, there are plenty of ways to get your phone bill lowered, no matter what kind of service you have.  In fact, there are ways out there, where you can even chat for free!

Try free services - Websites like Skype, and Google Voice allow you to chat with others at no cost at all.  The only catch with Skype is that the other party will need a user name.  This is great for those that keep their computer running all the time, and they want to just receive calls at home.  Google Voice allows you to make calls directly from their platform, as well as receive them.

Use discount services - There are plenty of services out there that advertise extremely cheap rates for the year.  Services like MagicJack.com are great if you’re looking for a low, flat rate.  Simply hook it up to your computer, and you can make unlimited calls for $20 or so per year!  You can’t beat that value at all.

Evaluate your bill - A cool service out there called BillShrink will evaluate your bill instantly for a small fee.  You’ll upload your statement, and they will tell you what you should cut back on.  You’ll be amazed at how much you can save by having another company look at your bill from the outside.

If you don’t want a service to evaluate your bill, you can always look over it yourself.  See if you’re using all of your minutes.  Are you using all of your features?  There are some things that you may be downloading that cost you extra dollars as well.  In today’s technological age, you’ll want to make sure that you check out the Internet options, because you’ll soon find out that you can call for free.

Sometimes it seems like we need a bad economy to hit us so that we realize how important saving money is.  Most likely a majority of us were not prepared to loose our jobs, didn’t have enough money saved in the bank, and were looking for ways to make money quick.  Saving money is something that lets us feel financially secure, helps us plan for retirement, and will save us if an emergency situation strikes.

Saving money is extremely important, and is something you should always be thinking about.  If you’re looking to put saving money first, here are a few ways you can do so.

1. First figure out how much you bring home from work on a monthly basis.
2. Once you’ve found out this key number, you should know that you’re supposed to save at least 10% of each paycheck.
3. So, lets say you make $3,000 a month, you should be saving $300 a month minimum.
4. Now, treat your savings account like a bill.  You should automatically have that money deposited into your savings, CD, or money market.
5. Now, figure out how much you have left to pay the bills.  You should have $2,700 left (according to this scenario.)
6. How much do your monthly bills cost?
7. Subtract that number from $2,700.
8. Now the left over money you have is what the difference is after bills.  This money is what you can spend each month or save if you want to save more.

You should always put saving and your bills first before anything else.  This will make sure you have a back up fund, and will make sure you can help pay all your bills on time.  It is also said that you should have an emergency fund up to at least 6 months.  So, let that be your goal that you’re working on.  So lets say you make $3,000 a month, you should have $18,000 for your emergency fund.  This will support you if you go into foreclosure, can’t pay your bills, need money to eat, etc.

Putting what really matters first is more important than what you “want”.  What good is it to have a nice TV, half million dollar house, and a Lexus, if you’re struggling secretly with no money in your savings?  What are you going to do?  Always make a budget, and keep saving first!

Late payments are probably one of the worst things that you can have on your credit report.  When you make a late payment, your credit score is going to most likely be impacted.  What happens if you have a late payment on your credit report?  Is there anything you can do about it?  Yes, there are ways to get rid of these late payments, and let me show you how.

#1 – Get copies of your credit report

The first thing that you want to do is get a copy of your credit report.  A great place to start is AnnualCreditReport.  This is 100% free, and you can get a report for free each, and every year.  When you get your report, you will want to look it over to see what late payments you have, and you will want to write these down.

#2 – Talk with the creditor directly

Let’s say that you have 5 late payments, all coming from 5 different creditors.  What you want to do is call them up directly, and explain your situation.  If it’s only happened once, there’s a good chance that they will take this off your report.  If it’s happened constantly over the past year or so, your chances of having it taken off is fairly slim.  This step is generally the best step to take in order to remove it 100%.

TIP: Consider automatic payments.  With the technology like it is today, there’s no reason to miss a payment!  Set up automatic bill pay, and make sure that your creditors get the money that they need.

#3 – Dispute it

Most of the times, late payments are justified, but if you don’t think it should be there, you will want to contact the creditor, and credit bureaus.  Let them know your situation, and if they creditor doesn’t respond within 30 days, it will legally be removed.

As long as you’re not late with your payments, you don’t have to worry about this.  Just make sure that you watch your payments, and as long as your debt is low, and your payments are on time, you have nothing to worry about.

Millions of us own a credit card, whether that is a good thing or a dangerous thing that is up to you.  A lot people think that since they can buy what they want when they want, they will work harder and pay it off later.  Yet, they don’t realize that if they don’t have the money now, they probably won’t when the bill is due.  If you’re looking for tips on how to use a credit card more wisely, consider a few of the tips below.

Ask yourself – First of all, before you even buy anything you should always ask yourself “Do I really need this?”  If you feel the slightest bit guilty, you shouldn’t be using your credit card to buy it.  Otherwise it will be one of those things that you didn’t really need, yet put a damper on your monthly statement.

Spending – If you don’t have the money in the bank don’t use your credit card.  A credit card can be convenient, but if you don’t have the money to buy it with cash, or to pay it off quickly, you most likely won’t in the near future when your bill is due.

Be aware – Always make sure you’re aware of when your credit card bill is due.  Write it on the calendar, put a phone reminder, write notes, do whatever you have to do.  You don’t want to get the fee of paying late on top of what you owe.

Full amount – You should always pay your credit card bill in full.  If you do this, you never have to worry about what the interest rate of the credit card is.  Paying for your credit card in full will avoid all those costly interest rates added onto your bill.  Not to mention, some of these rates are outrageous being 14%, 17% and even more!

Careful – Always be careful as to where you use your credit card.  If you’re on a website that doesn’t look too legit and you want to buy something, you may not want to give your credit card information away.  Always be leary of where you put your credit card number, and always keep it close by.

Using a credit card can either hurt you or benefit you.  It is thought of as a convenience to some people, yet others hate them.  Although, you make it what you want.  Only you get yourself into these situations so make sure they’re situations that are good and aren’t dangerous to your credit!

Your credit score is important, and you should obviously know that by now.  Without this simple little number, you’re going to find that’s its going to be awfully hard to get a car loan, a home mortgage, and even a personal loan.  Where would we be if no one could borrow money?  Well, I suppose some of us would be better off, but not the majority of us.

What happens if you have a bad credit score today, or you’re looking to improve the credit score you already have?  There are a few simple steps that you can take in order to improve your rating in the next couple months.

Get a copy of your credit report – This is essential, and without a report, you’re not going to be able to know what’s on it, as well as your score.  Try out websites like SpendonLife.com, as well as a few others out there that will give you your report, as well as a score.  Once you receive it, print it out, and look it over.

Does everything look right?  Take a few minutes, sit down, and glance over your report.  If you spot any errors on your report, you’ll want to instantly highlight them, so that you can come back to them.  If you don’t see any errors, that’s great, because that’s going to save you a world of calling, etc.

What if there are errors? If you do spot an error by chance, you’ll want to call up the lender, or issuer that has the error.  For example, if you had a credit card through Chase Bank, and they had stated that you were late on a couple payments, and you never were, you will want to call them up, and explain.  If you can prove your point, you will most likely be able to get it resolved.

If you know you’re not at fault, and the company won’t budge, you will want to contact one of the major three credit bureaus, and let them know what’s going on.  Once again, if you can prove that you’re not at fault, they can help you remove it.  Remember that when you remove these errors, you’re going to be able to higher your score based on what the issue was.

How can I improve my credit rating?

Improving your credit score takes some time, and as long as you have patience, you can see your score rise.  Here are a few tips that you can use, and follow in order to raise that credit score of yours.

• Pay your bills on time, even if you have to pay the minimum. The key here is to pay your bills all the time.
• Clear any debt you have. If you have a $5,000 credit card bill, get that paid down to $0, so that your debt to income ratio isn’t that high.
• Try and avoid opening up new accounts. You don’t want to constantly open up new finance accounts.  This is going to open you up to more debt, and lenders will be more hesitant to lend to you.
• Try not to rack up a balance on your credit cards. A great habit to get into is to simply use your credit card, and pay it off in full.  Not only will you not have to pay interest rates, your debt will be down.
• Keep your old balances opened. The older your accounts are, the better it is for you.  Even if you don’t use these accounts, try, and keep them open for a period of time.

The main goal here is to basically pay down your debts.  As long as you’re debt free, and you’re not careless with your credit card, you will soon see your credit score rise month, after month.