Hi all,

At Debtconsolidationcare, we always try to help you win over your financial challenges. As such, we have come up with a financial tool in the “My Debts” section. The purpose of this tool is to help you manage your debts better. It would also help you to find out the best debt relief plan, so that you can save more and get out of debt faster.

How do you use the tool?

You need to be a registered member if you’d like to use this tool. Once you click on the “My debts” tab, you will be taken to the login page, where you need to login with your email id and password. If you are not yet a registered user, you can sign up for free and use the service.

Once you login, you will be directed to the welcome page where you will get a tab – “Click here to start”. When you click on the tab, you’ll be taken to a section which offers 3 steps to update your personal details, outstanding debts and your personal income. On entering these details, the system will automatically help you to find out the debt relief plan which is most suitable for you.

For further details on how to use the tool, you may check out a live demonstration given on the My Debts section.

Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.

Latest Question

Question 9: Experian has stopped providing FICO scores to customers. How do you think it will affect us?

Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, has recently announced that it will discontinue offering FICO scores to customers because the current master agreement with Fair Isaac prohibits them from doing so. We invite you to share your views with us. If your answer is voted as the best, you will win $50.

Winner Post

Answer Posted by |meircats

The other answers worth mentioning are:

Answer 2:     This will have a grave impact on consumers who are interested in knowing their credit worthiness and keeping abreast on any significant changes. If all three bureaus provided the same scoring system it would not affect the consumer at all. It would seem to be it would only be fair to share information that is collectively shared with other sources, i.e. possibly creditors. To ensure that you remain in good standing and I would definitely suggest to anyone to request all three credit bureaus to get a complete picture.

Answer Posted by |V Stubbs

Answer 3:     I dont think that it will have that big of an impact on the customers. You can still get your FICO score from the other two agencies. On annualcreditreport.com you can receive a free credit report from each agency once every twelve months and you can buy your score for under $10. I do that throughout the year to make sure that everything is being reported correctly and keep track of my score. You can estimate what your score from experian is by having the other two, they are usually close to each other. I believe it is important for each person to be aware of their score and what is on their credit report.

Answer Posted by |jojois29

Answer 4:     Its about time, the economy is so bad,People struggle day by day to make ends meet,and we get penalized for everything.At the end you are on you re own, nobody cares.We should not be judged by credit score.We should be judged by criminal history.People live in fear,now its the time to help the hard workers of America, and to preserve the future of our kids.

Answer Posted by |Simona B

Answer 5:     Our FICO scores define us — more than our hair color or height. They show responsibility, or the lack thereof, and credibility. I think the FICO scores provide us with an accurate snapshot of our credit standing. Without them, one may not have the ability to decipher where they rank. In addition, it is taking away the metaphorical scoreboard we use to log the points we accrue during credit repair.

Answer Posted by |elledavis08

Answer 6:     How it will affect us is we the people cant get good interest rates because the score they give out to the banks can be wrong or miss lead to cause the rates to be higher than they should have been. This is how the economy got as bad as it did from the high interest rate causing people not to be able to pay there bills. And high insurance premiums

Answer Posted by |bailey0484

Answer 7:     eXPERIAN HAS STOPED GIVING CONSUMERS CREDIT SCORE:
WELL IT HAS A BIG EFFECT ON US. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN A CONSUMER APPLYING FOR A MORTGAGE LOAN WITH THE LENDER AND LENDER DECIDES THE INTEREST RATE. THE LENDER CAN CHARGE MORE INTEREST RATE BASED ON THE SCORES FROM EXPERIAN SINCE WE HAVE NO ACCESS TO IT.

Answer Posted by |karnail sindher

Answer 8:     I honestly believe this is another way for corporations to screw us Americans over, as we can all tell from our economy, the corporations dont mind sticking it to us "little people" as they refer to us as. Experian is not the best credit agency source for us, and this so called Fair Issac is s crock of bull and they know it.

Answer Posted by |Zelma Robinette

Reaching a Financial Independence at the age of 30 is a great achievement for Jacob Holmes of Earlyretirementextreme. He is a man who is right now focusing on his “retirement” and for that reason he has come up with his blog on the same theme. A very different person, unlike others, he does all unusual things. Let us find out what are his unusual views on Personal Finances from the interview below.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging ?

Jacob: I started “blogging” on myspace several years ago. At that time I did not even know what a (we)b-log was, so I simply used the profile blog to write opinion pieces on this and that. A couple of years ago, I realized that there were “real” blogs on the internet that were accessible by search engines and not just limited to my small circle of friends on myspace, so I started a real blog to reach more people. And it seems to have worked!

Jason: In your entire blog you have given importance to retirement. Why is that so?

Jacob: Even though I write about many different things, successful blogs seem to have at least one focus area. Also, obviously, you need to have some material, something you did, something you’re doing, or something you thought or know a lot about. I, therefore, decided to focus on early retirement, where by early I mean extremely early: People, who retire in their 30s or before. If you want to retire in your 40s you can easily find examples in the money and finance magazines, but retiring in your 20s or 30s is rare. This also meant very little competition, which always helps.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

Jacob: I set my own schedule and do whatever interests me. Some things, I get paid to do, most things I do for free, there are few things I pay to do, like sports. Most of the things I do thus started as hobbies or projects that developed into something bigger. For instance, I have had an interest in geopolitics and strategic resource depletion for a long time—I even wrote a chapter for a book—and at some point an opportunity presented itself to couple this with my interest in sustainability, extreme early retirement is really about sustainability in many ways when you think about it, and so we started a non-profit to bring some of these things together.

I also work for a scientific publisher for half an hour a day on average editing papers; I guess this started when I was editing papers for my friends in high school. It’s like doing crosswords except I get paid. I don’t think I could do it full time though, my head would explode.

I usually have 4-5 big projects going on at the same time; I’m also writing a book, working on a facebook app, and joining a blogging network. Then there are projects currently on the back burner, like financial analysis, watch making, and bicycle repair. It seems that if you stick with something for 1000 hours or more it serendipitously turns into an opportunity eventually as long as you keep your eyes open

Jason: Whom do you think is responsible for the bankruptcy of General Motors? Do you really think it is a death of an American Icon?

Jacob: Think of it this way: Suppose someone dies of diabetes. Who is responsible? Did the deceased mismanage his insulin? Did the doctor not explain the disease well enough? Was it a lack of treatment? Insufficient insurance? Did he eat too much sugar? Was it a culture that emphasized sweet foods made from corn syrup and starch? Did he exercise too little? Was it genetic?
In a complex collapse, you can never pin down one cause since the collapse has multiple interdependent causes. Sometimes, you can see the problem coming from a mile away.

The problem is that when it’s a mile away it gets ignored because you think it will change course and mostly it does. Smaller problems get solved with band-aids and duck tape. In GM’s case, it failed to adjust to the new reality of higher oil prices quickly enough; this could have been misfortune. A more secular problem was the lack of quality and later lack of perceived quality when car buyers wanted quality. Also add the cost of past promises, like pension benefits, unionization, which could no longer be afforded. Always be careful about making promises 30 years into the future. GM died a death by a thousand nibbling ducks!

Jason: How do you feel by attaining financial independence at the age of just 30?

Jacob: For one, I’m free to do whatever I want, naturally this does not mean the same as being free to buy whatever I want. There is a difference although for those who are used to solving all their problems with a credit card and a couple of phone calls, this may not be obvious. So yes, there’s this feeling of freedom, like every day is a Friday … or a Saturday, so I sleep a lot better and I’m generally a happier person.

Financial independence is, however, just a necessary but not a sufficient requirement for full independence. I spent a long time battling expectations and pressures from traditions that say that you need to work (and shop) until you drop to be a valuable citizen … I think they really mean profitable consumer, and so I kept working for longer than I otherwise would have, merely to meet other people’s expectations.
In that regard, financial independence is easy. True independence is somewhat harder.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

Jacob: 1) Investing in AIG, I should have seen that one coming from a mile away. 2) Buying a car when I had successfully lived without one for many years. I don’t want to think about how much money that car has already wasted in terms of depreciation, insurance, repairs, and gas.
3) Not learning about investing until I was 28-29, if I had known what I know now when I was 18, I could have been a lot further today.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

Jacob: This is a difficult question to answer correctly, because if you had asked 10 years ago, I would have gotten it very wrong. One way to see it is to say that if you could really tell, it would mean that you are not developing as a person. A lot can happen in 10 years. You can get a PhD. You can move to another country. You can get married. You can change your career. I did all that. If I may venture a guess, in 10 years, maybe I’m an associate at Wall Street, maybe I’m a diesel mechanic on a yacht in the Caribbean, maybe I work for a watch company, maybe I run a dojo, or maybe I got run over by a bus. You never know.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

Jacob: I don’t know if it has specifically impacted my life but it has changed the way I see traditional careers and employment as a way of “making a difference”. For instance, blogging might just be the most meaningful I have ever done in terms of benefiting other people. A few people have told me that they have sold their toys, cars, dusty jet skis, and electric fly swatters, and moved into places with fewer bathrooms to be more free to do what they want. Others make fewer changes and that is good too. Conversely, in my career, I would write papers that would be read by maybe about 50 total, and I would get an inquiry every other month or so, and I think this is normal.

Yet for the blog I get about 10 comments on average for each post and I have more than 40000 page views from more than 18000 visitors a month coming from many different places to read what I have to say: Exxon, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Raytheon, Center of Disease Control and other agencies, (I have yet to see whitehouse.gov on the list of inbounds yet though ), different countries, and so on. Sometimes when I write a post, somebody will tell me that the person I just talked about is his neighbor’s grandfather, say, it’s a small world. I think blogs tend to form their own little (or big) communities; I probably have more in common with my readers than with my colleagues and neighbors for obvious reasons, and the readers I have met in real life seem to confirm that.

Jason: Please advice our readers how to pay off the debt?

Jacob: Aside from catastrophes like medical events, debt happens much like gaining weight. It creeps up on you as you eat too much and move too little over a long span of time. There is only one thing to get back to normal. You must move more than you eat to “pay off” the excess fat. Similarly, with debt, you must spend significantly less, that is, not even just what you earn now, but what you spent but did not earn before plus the interest. You can try to earn more, that is good. However, a much stronger effect comes from decreasing the interest either by renegotiating the rate or much more effectively, by making payments that are as large as possible and make them as fast as possible.

Depending on how large the debts are, consider living in something smaller, getting around on foot, bicycle, or public transportation, cooking your own dinner, entertaining yourself with other means than a cable TV subscription, and not “shopping for fun”, in short, live like you did when you were a student. All things being equal you probably aren’t much happier now than you were then and yet if you’re in debt, you probably spend and spent way more than then.

Jason: Lastly, How you do feel about becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

Jacob: Well, I hope that after paying off the debt some will consider saving enough money to retire early. You could do it in say 10 years—5 years for the retirement part—if you really wanted to.

Jacob has given us an excellent advice on how to pay off debts. If you have anything else to add on his advices then please leave a comment.

In his twenty’s, working in one of the largest banks of the United States. He doesn’t need to promote his company’s name because as per him we are all aware of it. He was in love with finance at an academic level and then migrated his way into personal finances. A blogger from weakonomics, Philip, is a person to talk about. Let us know more about him from the interview below.

Jason: Are you sure you are 20? Because a person at the age of 20 working in a bank without a name sounds strange to us.

Philip: No I’m not sure I’m 20, because I’m not. My website says I’m in my 20s, which means I’m somewhere between the ages of 20 and 29. On Twitter and mentioned randomly around my blog I often point out I’m a few years out of college. While that doesn’t necessarily give away my age, it does validate my working at a bank.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance and economics?

Philip: You blog what you know. I majored in finance and money has always been important to me. I started the blog to keep myself informed about the goings on in the finance and economics community. Cars and electronics are also of interest to me, but both of those are more hands on activities and so I don’t believe I could write a decent blog on those subjects.

Jason: You consider yourself to be very smart and talented, smarter than any other financial adviser. What great things you have achieved in your life that can signify this statements of yours?

Philip: I don’t think I’ve ever claimed to be smarter than any other financial advisor. Though I don’t say it in the words you’ve phrased in the question, I do think highly of myself. My grades in college and the positive feedback I’ve received for advice provided have lead to a high self-esteem when it comes to finance. I don’t know everything about. Taxes are my weakest point, I know little about estate planning, and considering I’ve never purchased a home I don’t know squat about mortgages.

What I have claimed is that most financial advisors don’t have your best interests in mind. This isn’t their fault because in their hearts they might have an interest in helping you. However the companies they represent often incent these advisors in a method that may encourage them to not provide you with the best product for you, but what will pad their pockets. I know enough about money and this industry to know who to trust and who not to trust. When it comes to investments and budgeting, I don’t need help but can certainly help just about anyone find their proper portfolio balances. So I don’t claim to know more, I do claim to be smart and that many folks in financial services may not be your best friend.

Jason: You said you started working at the age of 15. Where did you work and how did you manage to come out of debt so soon? Please share your experience in brief with our readers.

Philip: I did what many teenagers do where I come from, I was a lifeguard. I worked for a few years as one in the summers. The work was good and the experience was great. Not so much the time sitting in a chair next to the pool, but the time I spent with the patrons of the pool. I didn’t work at a country club, this was a public pool in a rough part of town. As for getting out of debt. I’ve only ever had a car loan. I paid it off in 11 months by simply putting every spare buck I had into paying it off.

Jason: We just noticed the tagline on your blog is, “30% Personal, 60% Finance, 20% Stupid.” What does this signifies?

Philip: There are a two messages in this tagline. The most obvious is my blog is more about money than it is about you. It’s about economics, finance, government spending, and investing. It’s not teaching you about the proper asset allocation for your circumstances, it’s not advice on budgeting, and Weakonomics does not exist to help you save money. The other message of the tagline is that a lot of what you see out there is ridiculous. Economists are almost useless yet we live and die on their words. Financial advisors rip you off. Guys rob banks using their own ATM receipts for their demands. Conservatives spend freely.

Liberals blame conservatives but do nothing to fix the spending. Insurance companies invest in home loans and at the same time offer insurance on the default of those loans, doubling their losses in a down market. It’s my goal to highlight these people and businesses for my readers so that they too can avoid them at all costs. The sum of the percentages is 110%, which points out there you might find a little humor behind an otherwise serious set of subjects.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

Philip: Thanks to supportive parents in college, hundreds of hours listening to Dave Ramsey callers, and smart use of my own money I’ve never really had the chance to make many mistakes. I bought a penny stock and lost a few hundred bucks once, that’s about it. I am still young and may make many mistakes, but I’m doing my best not to. I rely on stories of others mistakes for motivation, and I always enjoy hearing of the successes.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

Philip: I’m getting married this fall. I expect in 10 years I’ll be gearing up for a 10-year anniversary. It wouldn’t be out of the question to have an MBA at that point. The future wife and I will probably have a couple of kids running around a house that I would hope to be paying down on a somewhat aggressive scale. Overall, I would like to have a net worth of $1 million by then (including the house), but that goal is somewhat lofty.

Jason: Are you afraid of disclosing any identities of your as in your workplace name or your college name?

Philip: I’m not afraid of anything. I don’t disclose this information because I don’t want to be bogged down with talking about my employer on my blog all the time. It’s not important, but I did feel the need to disclose I am an insider to the industry I discuss. I don’t share where I went to college because it would provide additional clues into who I am and where I’m from. In previous interviews and on Weakonomics I’ve said I have spent most of my life in the same state, this includes college and where I work now. I’ve also said I went to public school because I believe there is little to be gained from going to a private school. In state tuition is just too good.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

Philip: I spend more time on my blog now than I do reading Digg, or watching TV. My Nintendo Wii gets lonely sometimes, and I annoy my fiance when I check on something while we’re out together. No significant change has occurred, but I feel like I’m accomplishing something and have something to show for what I’ve done in my free time.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

Philip: That’s a difficult question. There are two “theories” out there right now. The first is that we did bottom out sometime in the winter of 2009 and we’re on the road to recovery. This could mean the “end” of the recession in the fall of this year. However that doesn’t mean it’s all roses and candy, unemployment will probably still rise and things won’t be easy.

But we’ll at least be on track to a longer term recovery. The other idea is that we’re scratching the surface of a depression. This could happen of government debt gets out of hand or if the commercial loans on the books of banks start to go bad. Remember much of the problems we’ve seen have been with residential credit and debt, not business debt. If that becomes a problem we’ll likely dip down again and go deeper in the hole. I can’t place odds on which is more likely, however most economists seem to feel more and more optimistic every day.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decision?

Philip: Getting married. By hitching up with The Sheconomist we will be able to leverage our skills and become more productive. I am seriously deficient in the common-sense department and my future wife will fill that void for me. This frees up my cognitive baggage to focus more on finance and my career. Most of my day to day expenses over the last few years have been associated with spending time with a girlfriend instead of a wife. Once married many of these expenses will come down. There’s more to my marriage than a business relationship, but I have to say it’s the smartest thing I’ve ever done and will ever do for my personal finances.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

Philip: I wasn’t really aware I was joining a debt consolidation community. At the moment I’m kind of hungry and somewhat chilly, but I don’t think those are feelings associated with Debt Consolidation Care. I suppose if I ever needed to consolidate my debts, I’d feel pretty good right now. I guess I need to get some debt.

I really enjoyed interviewing Philip on his views on personal finance. If you have really enjoyed the interview too then please leave your valuable comments.

Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.

Latest Question

Question 8: How can you use internet to earn or save money?

We are finding it tough to maintain our livelihood during this ongoing financial crisis. Can internet be used to earn or save some extra bucks so that it can sail us through these troubled times? How? Share your experiences and knowledge with us to win $50.

Winner Post

Answer Posted by |frogpatch

The other answers worth mentioning are:

Answer 2:     Yes. The Internet can definitely be used to earn and save us some extra bucks. You have those affiliate programmes, eBay, get-paid-to sites or simply set up your own website and sell your stuffs. Theres too many methods out there thats yet to be explored. Creativity added with a good marketing strategy will definitely earn you some extra bucks off the Internet.

Ive known of some people who dont just sail through. They are even making a living off the Internet.

Get-paid-to sites are probably the most popular way to earn some extra cash off the Internet. Why not? Most, if not all, are free to join and they even pay you for doing things you normally do. Examples includes Paid-to-click, Paid-to-read and Paid-to-post sites, just to name a few of the popular ones. Of course, this get-paid-to sites mostly earn you paltry sums but thats where the power of referrals comes in. The sites pay you to refer people to their website. But even with enough referrals, I dont think youll be able to sail through. At most, youll just be able to start the ship(have enough to pay the bills etc..).

The second method Ive mentioned is affiliate marketing. This method is free for the affiliates but costly for the consumers. The job of an affiliate is to help companies to sell their products. The companies will, in turn pay the affiliates a certain agreed-upon amount of commision. In other words, affiliates are what I would call "online salespeople". This is a better method than get paid to as it earns you more for each sale transaction youve made. One of the most popular affiliate website has to be Clickbank. Theres so many products for the salespeople to choose from. And as with real-life sales people, successful affiliates are really smooth-talkers who knows how to play around with words.

The 3rd method Ill cover is setting up your own website and selling your own products. This is almost similar to affiliate marketing. The only difference is you are the salesperson. You decide what you sell and how you sell it. Basically, you are the boss. This is the best method to sail through economic times and maybe even earn a living off the Internet. But, of course, your product must be beyond superb and your marketing tactics have to be excellent. This method has mostly been successful for people that already have a real physical shop and a strong customer base. They set up the websites so that its easier for customers to simply order products online and saves the hassle of going to their shops.

So, those Ive mentioned are just 3 of the common methods people use to earn that extra money.

In terms of saving through the Internet, theres eBay whose array of products sold are normally cheaper than outside market. Then, theres those get cash back websites where you get your cash back on items that youve bought. Not the whole amount but a certain percentage. These are the methods to save online. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention blogshops are also on the rise nowadays and if youre great at searching the net, youll find items with huge discounts at blogshops.

Thus, these are the methods of earning and saving online. Of course, theres many other methods such as freebies trading and becoming a realtor.

All in all, Ill wrap up by saying "A creative mind and excellent marketing tactics are the keys to online success".

Answer Posted by |Zaf

Answer 3:     Considering the economic times, many people are going to the net for answers and how to supliment thier incomes. Frankly it is harder than most people think to make a living online but it can be done. Not only can you make money, there are great ways to save money outside the normal ways. Just in the last few months this is how i saved and made money on the internet to supplement us through these tough times.

1. I have a ebay store were i am decluttering myself plus making a little extra money. killing 2 birds with one stone and the fact that im crafty helps!!

2. I spend alot of time helping people with thier debt and show them ways that i save (thanks to the internet) even though this does not make me money, its rewarding in its own way.

3. I have found so many new ways to save me money thanks to the internet that i normally would never have thought of such as making my own cleaning supplies, online coupons and discounts, purchasing items through mypoints which pays me to do the shopping that i normally would have anyhow.

4. I am finding ways to grow my own erbs, gardens, and fruit and veggies, and learned how to can thanks to the internet. I would have had to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of books for the information that i got for free, saving me both the money in how to books, and saving me money on my groceries and saving on our belts too.

5. Found out how to make certain craft items that i did not know how to do to sell for income.

These are just the tip of the iceburg as to how i have earned and saved money the last few months. After going through my debt settlement program i thought i had gotten myself to were i could do no more, when in fact i was wrong i am finding new things all the time that help me save a dollar or two or earn a few dollars here and there. Most people would not think that this makes much of a difference but by the end of the month i have saved myself hundreds of dollars just by saving a dollar here and there.

Every little bit adds up, and if you are careful you will find ways were you will make the ends meet to get through these tough times. Its not always how much you make, but how much you save or spend.

Answer Posted by |love_my_things

Answer 4:     I am a mother of 7 and I use the internet to make $$ and save money for diapers, gas and Chuck E Cheese for my kids. I complete surveys online (1 company has paid me since 5/20/2008 -$121.90 less than 1 yr. NICE! - 2nd highest TOTAL REWARD PAYMENTS TO DATE $44.00 since 4/13/2008), I complete PAID product evaluations for companies, also I belong to MyPoints which earns you points for various activities (i.e. reading emails, shopping online, printing & redeeming coupons, playing games online, etc.) to date in less than 5 yrs. I have cashed in points for gift cards totalling $675.00- over $125 yr. NICE! Also I complete secret shops for various companies online which has been very lucrative for me (BEWARE-dont pay to become a secret shopper!!!). Get my username and PM/email me if interested & I will share all (permission granted for those who ask Vikas, HA,HA). Also there are Several freebie links that you sign up for samples for things you use everyday (i.e. shampoos, toothpastes, pledge wipes, dog food, OTC medicines, etc). I also sign up for email newsletters to places I shop frequently (Kohls sent me $5 gift card for signing up for e-newsltr., Joanns sends 40-60% off coupons, Chilis, TGI Fridays, Wendys all send coupons for free food, Wal-Mart has free sample link on site, etc.) So if you ask me if you can make & save money from internet -YES!!! -Dont expect to make millions but you can have a nice stash cash amount from it. This forum has been such a great asset of knowledge to me I thought I would try the QOM & be an asset in an area that I have knowledge in. God Bless all and remember knowledge is power and strength. The strong can assist the weak which gives them more power in turn knowledge.

Answer Posted by |cjohnson67

Answer 5:     I believe the internet can make and save you tons of money!! You can go through your stuff and what you dont need or want anymore you can put up for sale on sites like e-bay and craigs list. But you can always get great deals from these sites also. There is also a site for places in my area called rtownshopper and you can go there and get certificates for dinner or almost anything for up to 50% off regular price just by using that site. Then there is this site Where you can find out if your overpaying on your payday loans!!

I made over $400 selling stuff on craigslist in Feb. But I have also saved a TON of money buying hubby a new wedding ring off of e-bay. I paid $110 and it appraised for $1200 and the jewler was VERY suprised that I got it off of e-bay. I have also saved tons of money buying my kids clothes from e-bay. It also saved me gas, because I could look at it on the computer instead of driving around to garage sales and not finding things they liked or their size. I have saved hunders of dollars in interest fees to the illegal payday lenders thanks to this site.

So in my mind the internet is a good tool to use for earning AND saving money. But you do have to weed through the scams that are advertised on some sites, where you have to pay something like $40 for a booklet for work at home jobs. If you have to pay for information then you know its a scam.

Answer Posted by |puddlejmpr

Answer 6:     THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS THE INTERNET CN SAVE YOU MONEY OR MAKE YOU MONEY, THERE CRAIGS LIST YOU CAN POST THINGS THAT YOU MANY WANT TO SELL, AND YOU CAN FIND REALLY GOODS DEALS TO I MYSELF NEEDED A NEW GAS DRYER, BUT A FREIND OF MY GAVE ME AN ELECTRIC ONE, SO I WENT ON GRAIGS LIST AND FOUND A LADY THAT HAD A GAS DYRER BUT SHE NEEDED AN ELECTRIC SO WE SWITCHED DRYERS, I ALSO HAVE SOLDED STUFF ON GRAIGS LIST I SOLD A WASHER FOR A 100.00 DOLLARS U JUST HAVE TO POST THINGS AND PEOPLE WILL ANSWER

Answer Posted by |MSPACK31

Answer 7:     Yes it can, you can find several websites that will tell you how to save money and to cut costs. Thriftyfun.com will give you all kinds of advice to save money of all things from cooking to cleaning products. I also use websites such as allrecipes.com to cook my own food rather then spend the extra money on premade stuff. If you shop on overstock, ebay and craiglist you can also find things for a lot less then in stores as well as ads for yard sales and people selling used items and things for trade also.

Answer Posted by |KellyP

Answer 8:     Use the internet to research information regarding banks offering the highest savings rates-checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, health savings accounts, & IRA accounts. Research online business ventures, buying items like prescription drugs, and take virtual tours of places without traveling. Enjoy your home by staying home & going online & discovering a wealth of information to challenge your mind-Focus on the Family, Max Lucados website, CNN, MSNBC, if further education needed-Take an online class!

Answer Posted by |Sherry1238883980

Answer 9:     hELLO THE INTERNET CAN HELP YOU ACESS ALL FORMS OF PEOPLE TO HELP, YOU CAN ALSO CHECK TO SEE IF THEY ARE REALY TRUE TO WHAT THEY SAY, I AHVE BEEN ON MANY DIFFERENT SITES TO FIND THE BEST SOLUTION FOR ME, I AHVE JUST LOGGED ON TO AND FILLED OUT THE FORM TO THE COMPANY I FEEL WILL HELP THE MOST, THUS PUTTING MORE MONEY INTO MY POCKET AND KEEPING THE CREDITORS OFF MY BACK, I WOULD ENCOURGE ANY ONE TO SERACH THE INTERNENT FOR VERY HELPHFUL INFORMATION.

Answer Posted by |k.conrad

Answer 10:     This site was reviewed, among several others, on www.infowars.com. So, it is number one of the few legitimate sites going out there. The infowars staff actually bought the different pkgs, and tried them out. It is Shelly Ryans instant profit machine.

www.instantprofitmachine.com

It is a click bank return, and it is very, very simple to do!

Quote from the site:
I have found a foolproof method how anyone can easily make a big additional income every week with 15 minutes of their time and create a substantial monthly income. This method has never been released to the public before. Very few, if anyone has implemented this. I have decided to share my idea with you. The only thing I ask is you do not share this information with anyone.

Now you can pump out HUGE profits in just 5 minutes everyday using an embarrassingly simple, proven, plug-in-and-profit software that will zap quick, easy cash into your accounts at will…

These are just a few of the benefits:
NO Advertising required
NO Affiliate Marketing
NO Selling required
NO Additional Costs involved

There is a one time fee, and it comes with a 60 day guarantee. I do not remember if it was $50 or $67?

Answer Posted by |alan rush

Answer 11:     Yes, you can use the internet to earn extra money in a number of ways. One of those ways is to start a website (cheap these days) and earn money off of page loads and ad clicks with google adsense. The key is this: Topic of the website. If you start a website based on a topic that has high-paying kewords (mesothelioma, car insurance, insurance quotes), you will make alot of money per click, possibly $50 or more. A lot of money when considering the fact that you can actually find VERY cheap keywords to DRIVE traffic to your website. Keywords can be found that are as low as $.02 per click. Here is the strategy in steps:

1) Choose and register a domain name. Should preferably be based on the website topic and can be done for $9.99 at a website like goDaddy.com.

2) Pay for hosting. This can be done at the very same website (godaddy)

3) Develop the page with your text and give as much information as you can about your topic of choice (high paying keyword preferable). Godaddy and other hosting sites offer easy website editors (dreamweaver, etc) just in case you are new to web development and dont know html.

4) Get a google adwords account and pay for advertising to your site with as cheap adwords as you can find.

5) Get high paying adsense google ads placed on your page based on your topic. This usually is done automatically when you set up an adsense account and google detects those keywords in your page text.

You should be able to earn $1500 or more per month if all of the above steps go according to plan (and based on re-investment).

total cost to start: 9.99 for domain + 4.99 a month for hosting +(research about your topic, haha). good luck

p.s. to find high paying keywords to base your site on you can find some at:
http://www.rumler.com/google/adsense/top-payingkeywords.php

Answer Posted by |RM

Answer 12:     No way to earn from internet. But you can spend for less. Share your experiences and knowledge with us to win $50? Wow how funny it is. It that maintain our livelihood during this ongoing financial crisis? Wow, genius.
Better say How can you spend on internet to earn to save some money. That will be more realistic.

Answer Posted by |maestro

Answer 13:     Well the internet is like a library, full of information but at a much faster speed. And the questions you might have are only a few buttons away. And all the marketing and retail companies know that there are millions of people searching the web every day, and they have their advertising companies put up web posts and designs to attract our attention. And the competion between all these companies is ruthless. So what better than to have these millions of people compete with them. And they can get the results faster through the internet. And who would not like to work from home, save money on these high gas prices. You do not have to worry about spending money on clothes for work. And the rate of speed the companies get their progress is cheaper because they are not spending money on mailings, and stuff like that. You save money right there with gas and clothes.

Answer Posted by |niceguywwjd

Answer 14:     This is a question that I have been asking for a long time, and to be honest, I do not have the answer. I have tride starting a blog to no avail, etc. Who ever wins this contest with the chosen answer, Please tell me how to make money on the internet…it has been one of my dreams for a long, long time.

Answer Posted by |Lukeskywalker

Answer 15:     COUPONS~COUPONS~COUPONS, I LOVE those coupons. You can find coupons online for pretty much anything. I am a member of a few of the FREE websites out there that offer coupons. Also when I want a specific coupon, I look the manufacturer up online as well, many offer so many deals and coupons. I also am a member of a few other sites that offer freebies, along with coupons to keep and or share, just for trying them out and giving my feedback.
I have been very fortunate to beable to find an online job. I now work with and for a couple of different companies online and it is very flexable to my families busy schedules. I do not pay for daycare, anyone with kids knows that is a HUGE savings in itself.
Pay Bills online, if nothing else it saves the stamp, but also saves a late fee when you forget last minute and if you send it the mail last minute, you have late fees. I also have a couple of our payments coming out automatically so I dont forget.
I also love selling and buying on Ebay. I go through my sons clothes as well as mine and my husbands and we get extra cash. Also it is spring cleaning time, so I have been able to find items we no longer use or need and have sold that as well. There are also such great buys. I buy clothes for our family many you can find in "lots" which is a large amount of clothes, and some are even new. We bought all of our boys brand new shoes online for school, one pair was only $1.99 another was $7.99 and they were brand name, brand new shoes.
So many many deals to find online.

Answer Posted by |wendylynn93

Answer 16:     I use the internet to save money by searching for grocery coupons, watching my bank accounts carefully to avoid any excess fees, and looking for good sales at local stores. I use it to earn money by filling out surveys, posting here at Debtcc, and selling on Ebay. Im also beginning a small stock-purchasing account to teach my son how the stock market works, in the hopes that it will better prepare him to deal with the ups and downs of the world financial markets later in life.

Answer Posted by |SUEBEEHONEY70

Answer 17:     Yes found this out it can be use to read the news paper which I think is good. Secondly the internet can be use to pay bills. The internet can aso be use to do important emails, that saves time and traveling. third it can be use as a tool to be inform persons on legit imformation on the daily news, and current events.

Answer Posted by |A-O

My Friends,

I have heard many complaints, both in this Community and elsewhere on the Net, about outsourcing to India, among other places. There is even a lot of talk about it in the political arena. I have something to offer to the debate. I hope it serves as food for thought, and I hope that it inspires people to take up the banner of freedom and fight to protect and ensure Justice for all people, regardless of nationality, race, or economic standing.

In birth and in death, we are all equal. It is only in life that we allow our apparent individuality to highlight our differences to the point of exclusion of others.

I understand that many people are frustrated with abusive and harassing debt collectors and ignorant customer service agents, but unfortunately there is not a simple solution. America has become ridiculously (and needlessly) expensive and the financial behemoths that hold her people in a stranglehold are spreading out throughout the globe to divide and conquer to add even more blood to their bloated profits.

The expense of running a business in the US has gotten so out of hand that many companies are forced to move large portions of their operations overseas. We have gotten into such a frenetic “cost cutting” mode and “mega-merger” mania [the creation of Monopolies] that even when some companies move some of their operations overseas, they are sometimes too cheap to hire an American to be in charge of training and customer service oversight. It is the fault of poor management and a need to report higher and higher profits to their “investors” (such as stock market gamblers) or face even more pressure to cut back. Others follow along out of greed, just because it’s cheaper, and they feel they are out of the grip of US Law and so can ignore it with impunity.

I have even dialed information (411) for Reno, Nevada and talked to someone in the Philippines! What would they know about Reno?

Medical care has gotten so expensive in this country that many are forced to travel to other countries for medical care. What about those who can’t even afford to travel? They must suffer with incompetent and substandard medical care or are faced with the indignity of denial of service. The medical industry lobbied mightily for the passage of the ill-begotten 2005 adjustments to the Bankruptcy code which now require people to lose nearly everything of value - the majority of Bankruptcies are filed because of crushing medical debt - just because they got sick and either didn’t have adequate insurance, or were insured by HMOs more interested in profit by Denial than serving the ill. How many of us really want to go to the hospital? So just because one gets sick means that they have to lose everything they struggled so hard to gain for themselves and for their families? Is making us slaves to never-ending debt in our best interest and to our benefit? [see * note below]

These issues are not so simple and one cannot just jump to conclusions that put people down based on where they were born, their melanin content, or any other flimsy excuse for dividing us.

On the other hand, it is not psychologically healthy to find offense where none was meant to one’s person. For instance, I do not get offended when called a “cracker” or a “white devil” or any number of the many degrading names I have been called - I am quite an unusual person - even when it is intended to be personally hurtful. It is far too easy to discover the faults of others, it is the discovery of our own that is so myopic.

The only ones who have a vested interest in our divisiveness are those that would exploit us for their own filthy greed and illicit gain (Divide & Conquer, a very effective tool of War). In order to combat that tendency, we should be looking for ways within ourselves to become closer together because we have so very much in common.

The American people itself have historically fought numerous injustices and won many battles for human rights (even in the midst of inglorious mistakes) and thus shone as a light to the world by her example. In these dark times some of us forget that. And we forget that it requires We the People to stand up and reclaim that legacy of respect.

Let us remember that the battle is not with India or China or Europe, etc. The battle is with our own government that has sold itself to the highest bidder, to the chagrin and needless suffering of her own people. And it is We the People that must take back our Dignity, take back our Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - which is being callously stymied with malice aforethought, by burying us deep in the muck of debt until we are Owned in all but name.

The Credit Reporting Agencies have some of our livelihoods in a stranglehold. They stubbornly violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) which allows only truthful and verifiable information to be included in the credit reports, by accepting the flimsiest of excuses of so-called “evidence” offered by some junk debt buyers who are out to steal from people by attempting to collect outside of the Statute of Limitations - and sometimes not even the debt of the hapless victim (alleged debtor) at all - by daring to accept “yes it’s your debt” as verification! If you can’t PROVE it, STEP AWAY and do NOT try to collect it (innocent until proven guilty).

But instead of attacking and insulting each other, let us take this ire directly to the CRAs who would let this travesty continue after the heartfelt pleas of the wronged! Let us take this ire directly to abusive debt collectors who flagrantly violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)! Let us take this ire directly to those who fight to remove our Constitutional rights from us one by one, nailing them with spikes of fear and greed! Let us take this ire directly to the divisiveness each one of us holds in our hearts!

This is where it belongs - against all those who would enslave us. This is where it belongs - against all those who would exploit us. This is where it belongs - against all those who would deny us our Dignity that was freely given by God - by whatever name you use (or even none at all) to address or think about the Mystery of Life in each of us and is truly Sacred.

I echo the words once eloquently spoken by the incomparable Benjamin Franklin: if we do not hang together, my friends, then we shall surely hang separately! And also the words of the great Abraham Lincoln: United we stand, divided we fall! One more (attributed to both John Philpot Curran and Edmund Burke but cannot be definitely traced to either man): “Evil prospers when good [people] do nothing”. These may be considered to be clichés, but they are very important words that symbolize matters of most importance within a free society governed ostensibly of the People, by the People, and for the People and we would do well to keep these words on the tips of our tongues and on the forefront of our conscience. For if Freedom be lost, what do we have to offer our children? A legacy of betrayal?

No, it must not be.

We should fight for Justice because we want to be treated justly. We should treat others as we expect to be treated - on our own individual merits and situation. And we should never tolerate those who would attempt to thwart those rights - neither king, nor CEO, nor politician, nor employer, nor debt collector. This is the Reward of our Struggle and the Responsibility to our children, - our Legacy, the legacy of our Country, and the entire World.

“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” [James Madison, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 16, 1788]

Let Freedom ring!

Thank you for listening.

-

* “Medical professionalism involves not just the relationship between a physician and a patient[.] … It also involves a relationship with society. This relationship can be characterized as a ‘social contract’ whereby society grants the profession privileges, including exclusive or primary responsibility for the provision of certain services and a high degree of self-regulation, and in return, the profession agrees to use these privileges primarily for the benefit of others and only secondarily for its own benefit.” [page 64-5,“Medical Ethics Manual” by the World Medical Association.]

A man who loves to call himself lazy. A man who being the laziest in the family has earned a lot and today he considered himself as a perfect blogger, writer and marketer. Software Engineer by profession, Corey, loves to write on personal finances like on budgeting, career, credit, debt, entrepreneurship, investing, taxes, real estate, insurance, spending, retirement, and estate planning. Let us learn some tips from lazy man and money for saving money and making more money is this economic downfall.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

LMM: In 2006 I wanted to learn more about blogging and why people were starting to get their news via blogs. One day I decided to look for blogs in areas that I was interested in - Gizmodo was the one that came to mind.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

LMM: I read an article in Business Week about how Boston Gal’s Open Wallet writes about her finances. I thought it was very interesting to write about things that people don’t talk about anonymously. I started reading the site and became more interested. Eventually, I decided that I should write - just to improve my own writing. Since I had been investing in mutual funds since the age of 14, it seemed as good as topic as any.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

LMM: I used to consider myself a software engineer, but I’ve stepped away from that career. Being as Lazy as I am, I had no interest in learning all the changes to the industry during my own time at home. I got started in software engineer when my parents got me an IMB PCjr at the age of 8. Today, I consider myself a blogger/writer/marketer. I do some freelance writing, contract marketing, and blogging. I bring home a bigger paycheck from my contract work, but that is usually month-to-month. I prefer the times when I’m not contracting full time. It’s a much better work/life balance.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

LMM: I see it getting a little better each year for the next 4-7 years. Since I see it as a gradual thing, I’m not sure when to say, “That’s it! We have the answer!” I don’t know what the answer is.

Jason: We just noticed the title on your blog is, “Lazy man and money.” How can I be lazy and still earn money?

LMM: You have to look at the saving money part of the equation as well as the earning money. It’s easy to be Lazy and save money. It’s usually just a matter of discipline and saying, “I don’t need that BMW or McMansion. I can work less and buy a cheaper used car and smaller, more economical home. Suddenly, you don’t need to make six figures… perhaps you can get by on a part-time job. It’s also about recognizing how interest works. If you are paying interest to credit cards each month, you need to work harder for nothing. If you have lots of money invested, your money does the work for you.

Jason: What are the three biggest financial achievements you have ever made?

LMM: I’ve had a lot of slow and steady gains. I’d say the biggest achievement was when Lazy Man and Money made enough money to cover all my necessary expenses. If I lost my job, I could eat, pay rent, utilities, etc. just blogging. It’s great from a cash flow perspective, but it doesn’t allow me to save what I would like to. That’s why I either need to work on my businesses to make them more efficient, or continue to take contract jobs and invest wisely.

Jason: Where do you see yourself 10 years down the lane?

LMM: Retired. My wife and I have a fairly extensive plan for how we’re going to reach that goal. I wrote a short 5 part series on our early retirement plan.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

LMM: It certainly has. I once wrote the Top Ten Ways Personal Blogging has Helped Me. That’s still true today.

Jason: Please advice our readers how to pay off their debts?

LMM: I would say that you should take the following three steps:

1) Work with debtors to try to reduce the loan’s interest rate. This may or may not work, but it’s worth a try.

2) Look at your assets. If you have a new Corvette, consider selling it and pick up a used Kea. This is an extreme example, but many people can save hundreds a month with a switch from the cost of a new premium car to a used car that gets you from point A to point B.

3) Look at your monthly commitments. Are you making payments on that car… maybe you the above switch helps you get out of that debt completely. Do you have a Netflix subscription, HBO, an expensive cell phone plan that you can cut back on? This all goes towards making sure your income exceeds your expenses. Don’t forget to add the interest you are paying to those expenses.

4) Be caution of debt consolidation… Heed the advice of Wikipedia on Debt Consolidation. Look out for the pitfalls there - especially if you are putting your house on the line.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

LMM: I am… hmmm… I didn’t know that. To be honest, I’ve never really cared about debt consolidation. I’ve focused my money research around things that are applicable to my life. Since I don’t carry debt, it’s not anything that I’ve ever looked into.

That said, I wouldn’t care about debt consolidation… I’d care about debt elimination. To me consolidation doesn’t improve things unless you can lower your interest rate while keeping your unsecured loans, unsecured, while not paying any fees for the service. If you come out with the same rates, pay fees, or have to put up collateral (like your home), it simply doesn’t make sense.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decision?

LMM: I think it’s starting Lazy Man and Money. It goes back to the aforementioned ways that blogging has helped me. It forces me to focus on my finances more. Not only that, but it also brings in some income each month outside of a normal 9-5 job. There were 8 other reasons listed in there.

Jason: What is a major personal finance issue that is on your mind right now?

LMM: My tenant in Boston called the other day and said she lost her job and can’t pay the rent. The link has the whole story, but that’s a big deal financially for me. However, in general, I think the country has too much debt, too much unemployment, and credit has become too hard to get. Baby boomers are finding their life savings decimated at the worst time - as they look to retire.

Do you really think it is so easy to be lazy and earn money? Do you really think Corey is a lazy person or he is doing this just for publicizing his blog? Do leave a comment on this before logging out from this post. All the comments will be highly appreciated.

At Debtconsolidationcare, we make sure that there’s a sense of belongingness to our community. In an attempt to do so, we have come up with the “Hall of Fame” Badge - a symbol of recognition of our members’ contribution towards the community.

As of now, community members making more than 1000 posts qualify for the Hall of Fame (HOF) Club membership. Once a member qualifies for HOF, the community starts a thread “Vote for your name in the Hall of Fame” in the pub forum. This is where the member receives votes from others (members) participating in the community. Once the member gets 10 votes, he becomes a member of the Hall of Fame Club.

Till date, a HOF member used to receive a check of $100. In addition to this, they’ll now receive the “Hall of Fame” Badge, which they can use in their blogs and websites. Using the HOF badge, members can promote themselves as a member of our community. If you’re a HOF Club member, feel free to get the badge code from the member area.

Aiming to have a healthy six figure bank account balance, Single Guy Money was successful in paying his $ 40,000 debt of his car loans and credit cards. A man with a dream of living a non-mortgage debt life by the end of 2010. Let us read his views about his journey as a finance blogger from the interview below.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

SGM: I happened to be searching for personal finance information and ran across a personal finance blog that had been around for a few years. I spent hours one night reading the entire blog and I was intrigued by the idea of anonymously posting my personal finance information for everyone else to see and maybe gain something that would help them with their own personal finance.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

SGM: Personal finance has always been my passion. I used to sit down with my grandfather and watch him write out the checks to pay the bills. He always told me it was important to pay out less money than you are bringing in.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

SGM: In real life, I work for a large insurance company in the claims department. I’ve been with the company over 8 years and got the job my attending a job fair. I’d actually never heard of the company and just figured it would be something I could do temporarily until I found a job that I really wanted to do. I hated it for the first year or so and then I got the hang of it and stuck around. It has turned out to be a great company and my salary has more than doubled since I started.

Jason: Your bog’s tagline says, “My goal is to be free of non-mortgage debt by May 2010. ” What preparations are you making to achieve this goal and how?

SGM: My plan is to save a large cash cushion to handle any emergencies that may creep up. Once that goal is funded, any extra cash will go towards my student loan. Once my student loan is paid off, the only debt remaining will be the mortgage.

Jason: We noticed that you have made loads of financial mistakes in your life. What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made out of all?

SGM: My three biggest mistakes by far are: buying a new car every couple of years and continuing to accumulate more debt with each purchase, financing my lifestyle during college with credit cards and taking on a lot more student loan debt than I really needed.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

SGM: I wish I knew the answer to that. I do think it will not end quickly and may around for the next couple of years. I do think if people had taken more responsibility, we would not be in this situation. If the bank tells you can afford $10 a month and you can only afford $5, you only finance $5.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

SGM: Ten years from now, I would like to be completely debt free; including mortgages with a nice, healthy six figure bank account balance.

Jason: How do you feel after paying off almost $40,000 of your car loan and credit cards?

SGM: It feels awesome!!! I can sleep better at night and I am no longer worrying about the bills.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

SGM: Blogging has changed my financial life tremendously. I now feel accountable to my readers. I know that if I mess up and make a stupid purchase, my readers will let me know. I actually think about and plan for purchases now instead of just going out and buying stuff I don’t need.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decision ever made?

SGM: My best personal finance decision was finally paying off my car loan. I not only paid off the current vehicle I was financing but I paid off over 12 years of car loans. I can now use the money I was paying the bank to build my savings account. I now make car payments to myself. When the time comes for my next vehicle, I plan to go in and write a check for the full amount.

Jason: Please advice our readers how to pay off their debts from your past experiences?

SGM: The first and best tip I can give the readers is to be patient and don’t give up. You didn’t get into debt overnight and it won’t be paid off overnight. Every bit of extra money you get, throw it at the debt. Every little bit helps. Adding an additional $10 to your payment will add up eventually and chip away at the debt. Before you know it, you will be done and you can move on to the next debt. Don’t try to do it all at one time. As the saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

SGM: I think it is absolutely awesome and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. Debt reduction kicks butt!!!

After reading the interview of Single Guy Money, Do you think he will be able to achieve his goal of living a non-mortgage debt life by the end of 2010. Do not forget to leave your views about Single Guy Money and his interview with us.

He has got great passion for personal finance, he has done lots of research in getting out of debt, he took it as a mission and finally conquered it. He believes his biggest financial mistake was to get over his head in credit card debt and not saving enough for future. Loves his wife a lot who has always helped him in managing his finances. Come lets meet him, none other than FFB that is Free From Broke

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

FFB: This time two years ago I might have heard about blogging in passing but I thought it was more of an online journal. One day while surfing I came across the site Zen Habits which led me to Get Rich Slowly. I started to read the stuff on GRS and I realized that these were issues that were on my mind that I had been researching in getting rid of my debt and trying to build up savings. Full of hubris, I told myself that I could write a site like that too (of course I didn’t realize how much work it was). In October 2007 I started Free From Broke A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks on Blogger.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

FFB: I guess I could have started out on something else but personal finance had been an interest for me for years as I was working to get out of debt. I felt it was the subject I knew best and it was also something I had been actively looking into as well. Granted, I’m no financial expert but I thought I could contribute to the field with what I’ve read and experienced (I’ve been thousands in credit card debt).

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what 3 best advices you would like to give to the people in this economic recession?

FFB: How long will it last? If I knew I think I’d be so ahead of the curve. This current economy keeps throwing out surprises. Seems there are very few “financial experts” that had a real idea of the scope of the issue. As for advice, do what you can to keep your job! Make yourself an asset to your company. And get references just in case. Build up your emergency funds. Three to six months may not be enough these days. It’s tough saving sometimes but a good emergency cushion can keep a bad situation from getting worse if you are laid off. Lastly, if you have debt do what you can to curb your spending and start paying the debt back. This could be a tough lifestyle change but it will pay off in the long run!

Jason: What is the significance of “Free From Broke”?

FFB: I was trying to come up with with a good site name that would express a bit of how I felt about personal finances and debt. Not sure if I succeeded but I think it’s catchy. What do you think?

Jason: We saw that you have huge number of networking with other finance bloggers. Do you think this networking is necessary to survive in the finance blogging industry?

FFB: If you write really good content then perhaps you don’t need it as much. I think it really helps though! There aren’t any secrets or anything but having the experience of other people to help you and bounce ideas off of is such a great resource. And it doesn’t just apply to blogging. If you’re trying to get out of debt, having a support group of people with similar experiences can be such a help. And you know what? The blogging world is full of such great people who are friendly and are willing to answer questions and help you out! I’ve made some wonderful blogging friends.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

FFB: First, getting myself over my head in credit card debt! That was a mistake that took years to correct. Second, not saving enough. Third, not having a clear cut picture of a career throughout college. Not that I needed to know what I wanted to do as a freshman, I just needed to commit to one area. No regrets though! I probably wouldn’t be doing this interview if it weren’t for those life experiences.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

FFB: Stop trying to age me before my time! Haha. I see living with my family in a nice, warm home. Building up a professional career or my own business venture as well.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decisions?

FFB: Marrying my wife (go ahead say “awww” you know you want to). The two of us fit so well together and we do a great job complementing each other’s financial ideas and goals. She’s so good at organizing and keeping track of our budget as well as motivating me. Second would be making the realization that I had to do something about my financial situation. My debts wouldn’t go away by themselves and I had to take action to start eliminating my debt.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

FFB: Absolutely! I’ve learned so much in my short blogging career. Earlier on you asked about networking. I was never too good at this. Can’t say I’m that great now either. But I’m getting better and I’m realizing how important it is to reach out to others and that it’s ok to ask for help every now and then. No one has all of the answers but when you network you can bounce questions off of each other. I’m also learning to take more chances as well. It’s ok to fail so long as you learn from your mistakes. But at the same time you have to take those chances otherwise you over analyze and nothing gets done.

Jason: What would you tell those people that might be thinking of starting a personal finance blog of their own?

FFB: You first have to ask yourself why you want to do it! If you think you are going to join those few sites that make a living out of it then you may be mistaken. You better love writing about personal finance and have a passion for the subject. But if you love writing about your experiences and you’re interesting in the subject and you really want to blog then jump right in. This is such a new medium. There’s room for us all.

Jason: How do you feel by becoming the part of world’s largest Debt Free Community now?

FFB: Wow, when you say it like that it sounds really awesome! This is one of the great benefits of blogging about personal finance - you get to help some people help themselves get out of debt. If one person reads my articles and it helps them with their personal finances then I’ve done a lot. To be part of a community that does the same is really an honor.

So what do you think about the blog title of freefrombroke? Do you really think it is catchy? Do not forget to post your valuable comments here.