The cost of energy has soared over the past ten years and it looks like it’s going to continue in that way. However it is still possible to make savings on your domestic heating bill if you follow these 3 tips.

1. If you have any rooms in your home that you rarely, or never use, make sure the heating vents in those rooms are shut down. What is the point in wasting money heating rooms that you don’t use on a regular basis.
2. Take advantage of the sun. This is free energy you can use to heat up your home. Make sure all your drapes and shades are open during the day. Close them all up again in the evening to keep the heat in.
3. If you have fireplaces you are not using make sure the dampers are closed. When the damper is shut check it to make sure cold air is not still seeping in. When you are using the fireplace make sure any other heat in your home is reduced or turned off.

Your credit score is a very important bit of information that tells a lot about you. A credit score tells lenders about the likelihood that you will pay them back on time. But it is also used by employers, insurance companies, government, and landlords. Here is a summary of how and why each of these entities uses your credit score.

Lenders

Of course the most obvious user of your credit score is the person trying to make a decision as to whether or not to approve your loan application. If you are turned down for a loan, make sure to ask the lender what your credit score was. Credit scores are more readily available to lenders than they are consumers.

Employers

Because of a tighter job market, employers have increasingly used more criteria for selection of candidates to hire. Thus they have been checking candidates’ credit scores. Yes, it may have nothing with your ability to do a job but the employer thinks otherwise. Their assertion is that employees with lower credit scores are under more financial stress and will a lower level of performance.

It seems unfair that in today’s shaky economy with numerous job losses, loan defaults, and foreclosures that employers can put this additional hurdle for re-employment. States like Washington and Hawaii prohibit employers from using your credit score in their hiring decision. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 321) that would require employers to stop using consumer credit scores for adverse hiring decisions but the bill has several steps before it becomes law.

Insurance Companies

Insurance companies have risk departments where they use studies and statistical data to set premiums. These same companies believe that those who have higher credit scores are also those who are responsible in all areas of their lives. Thus, do not be surprised if you are assigned higher rates for auto and homeowner’s insurance due to your credit score. Many take the position that this is unfair and one has nothing to do with the other but, just like the competitive job market, insurance companies are always looking for new ways to set rates so that they can remain affordable for the majority of consumers.

Government

The U.S. Government uses credit scores when applicants are seeking jobs where they have access to sensitive information. These jobs will require a security clearance and background investigation which will include a credit check. The logic behind this is that those with low credit scores and high debt are susceptible to bribery. Historically, there have been several people with access to classified information who took the bribes because they had financial problems.

Landlords

Landlords sometimes use credit scores to determine if a potential tenant is a risk for not paying their rent or being irresponsible with their property. Although with landlords it is a little different because they only use the credit score as one piece of a bigger pie. In other words, an applicant may be young and not have a credit history or the person may have several credit cards with no balance. Landlords oftentimes will check the credit score and if it indicates high risk then they will ask the applicant further questions as to what might have impacted their score (such as high medical bills due to a catastrophe).

As we all know, the price of gas is constantly on the rise and every time we fill the tank it seems to cost us more than the time before. The three tips outlined below surely won’t drop the price of gas but if you put them to use they will certainly help you to make a tank of gas last longer and will reduce your regular trips to the gas station.

1. First and most important, make sure that your car engine is tuned up and that your air filter is clean. Also that your tires are properly inflated (see manufacturers recommendations)
2. When driving your car, try to avoid making quick starts or stops. Doing all this will mean that your car burns less fuel. This is why freeway driving wastes less gas than street driving. Try accelerating slowly from red lights and coasting toward red lights to save fuel.
3. Consider forming a carpool. If you go to school or work ask around if anybody wants to form a carpool. You’ll all save money in the process. Get together with them and share the driving and fuel costs.
4. Find cheaper gas. Use a mobile app on your smartphone to locate the cheapest gas stations in your area. Sites like gasbuddy.com also allow you to do this from home.

Divorce is not easy. The right time for divorce is a difficult thing to decide on. However, there are times in a marriage when both family and financial considerations make that choice easier.

Couples without children who choose to divorce have fewer complications than couples with minor children. Younger children involve more immediate care issues, while older children often cause the divorcing parents to think about their future. Childless couples can choose to divorce when one or both parties in the marriage believe the situation has deteriorated beyond repair. However, the financial ramifications of divorce can negatively impact on both parties of the childless marriage.

Mortgage debt, credit card debt, business debt and other short and long term debts must be addressed regardless of minor children. Renegotiating, consolidating and refinancing are all part of dividing marital assets. Credit card debt can be paid off or consolidated when addressing mortgage equity, thereby reducing each partner’s monthly expenditure upon separation.

Parents should be mindful of school schedules, vacation plans and summer activities when planning when to tell the children. Kids usually deal best with divorce when their normal activities have as little interruption as possible. Most parents do not plan their divorce months in advance. However, the parents that can remain civil, decent and thoughtful of their children will have the greatest success in raising their children as a team.

Planning to divorce should include taking a hard serious look at not only how it will affect the children emotionally but also how it will affect them financially. Children need to be reassured their current lifestyle will change as little as possible. It is the parents responsibility to plan for expenses relating not only to the children but also to each new household. Vehicles, insurance and extracurricular activities should all be taken into consideration.

Whenever possible, parents should plan for the primary custodial parent to remain in the family home. Any disruption to school life should be at a minimum. Providing a sense of normal life and stability for minor children will ease the tension naturally created by the impending divorce.

Planning for expenses such as private schooling, music lessons, sporting activities and camps should be on the top of the financial planning list for separating parents. Whenever possible these activities should go on for the children, uninterrupted.

Parents should also consider scheduling and co-parenting options. Parents of younger children may now need to consider childcare and school transportation issues where there was little to be concerned about before.

Parents of older children will need to address curfews, allowances and dating rules. More often than not, divorced parents become more lax in their previous household rules when going through a separation or divorce. Maintaining the same rules and standards in both households is just as vital as providing safe housing and food. A child regardless of age who has two sets of rules to live by will become stressed and often fail to live up to their potential.

By establishing a set of rules based on current foundations of the family and by both parents enforcing those rules equally the child understands on a sub-conscious level the divorce is not about them. Maintaining normal activities reinforces those beliefs.

Take the time to do some financial planning. Consolidating debit and credit cards will enable parents to remain financially stable and emotionally secure to support their children, so review the options for financial choices and consolidation. For credit card consolidation and options you can click here.

For most consumers, debt isn’t good or bad; it’s just the way of things. And while it’s true that change is part of many areas of life, how debt is handled isn’t one of them. What is required for a college student to manage their finances is the same for a retiree.

But what does change, are the life situations that will need your attention. Levels of income typically rise over time, while important milestones require a larger percentage of those funds – family, mortgage, retirement investments, etc. So for each life stage, specific financial goals need to be set with the primary objective of meeting or exceeding them.

Student Life

As it has become more difficult for parents to fund their children’s undergraduate degrees, the responsibility has fallen on students to pay their own way. While there are grants available that may cover about a third of the cost, most students end up borrowing from the government or by taking out a personal loan to help fund their education, which can often be a staggering amount of debt.

This is the time in life that the foundations of moderate living need to be put in place. By avoiding additional debt, like credit cards, moving into the next stage of life will be smoother and repaying student loans will be accomplished quicker.

Young Single Adult

Whether this is the time to focus on repaying student loans or to establishing independence, finances are at the top of the list of concerns for young, single adults. Making it more difficult is the entry-level wages that most people earn at this stage of life, often inadequate. And for those without a degree, the economic realities are even harsher.

The danger of amassing large amounts of debt by using credit cards as a safety net will only make life down the road more difficult. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is by recognizing the nonessentials and superficial desires that waste money that could be better used to pay down debt or cover essential living expenses.

Family Life

Before beginning a family it’s important to have paid off all college associated debt to begin with a clean slate. Having established a career with an adequate salary to cover essential family expenses with a little left over, this is the time when finances are fluid; balance is necessary while juggling a mortgage, car loan, children’s needs, living expenses, entertainment, etc. This is the stage of life to become knowledgeable in finances, live by a strict budget and begin to invest to ensure the best outcome for your future. If you put off saving for retirement until the kids are out of the house and out of school, you may not have enough time to accumulate adequate funds.

Empty Nesters

As your children move away for lives of their own and you’ve paid off your mortgage, life and debt stabilize to a more consistent hum and there’s a certain level of security. Cost of living is more predictable and the opportunity to save is greater than ever before. This is the stage when your insurance and investments should be reviewed to ensure the maximum benefit and when the discipline you’ve displayed over the years will begin to be beneficial. Diversify their investment portfolio and focus on more secure investments; draw up a will.

Retirees

This is the time we all hope to reach with more than adequate savings and investments to be able to travel or do all the things we left until retirement. Arrange for tax effective income streams and make sure you understand your pension benefits and the best age to begin tapping into it. If you’ve handled your finances and debt well you’ll be able to enjoy your golden years, and not be filled with regret as you complete your income tax software each year.

No matter what stage you’re at in life, achieving your financial and personal goals takes commitment and discipline. Wise money management and good communication with the people in your life are the most important tools for avoiding financial worries.

An unfortunate effect of the recession is that more Americans than ever are facing the possibility of foreclosure as arrears have built up due to cashflow problems. However, while this is a serious state of affairs, there are some steps which can be taken to try and avoid losing your property.

The biggest mistake that most homeowners in financial difficulties make is hiding from their lender. Avoiding telephone calls and not answering mail is not an effective strategy to dealing with mortgage arrears, yet many people think the longer they can get away without talking to their lender, the problem might resolve itself.

In reality, the sooner you speak to your lender, the better. Even if you are finding it difficult to meet the payments but are not yet in arrears, having a chat with your mortgage provider may bring surprising results. Contrary to popular perception, lenders do not like foreclosing on properties; it is time-consuming, expensive and a lot of hassle for them. They are therefore usually very willing to work with a mortgagee having temporary difficulties, especially if they are proactive in contacting the firm rather than waiting until things have gotten out of hand.

If you prefer to get some independent advice before speaking to your lender, there are many non-profit making organizations who will help you with your finances and may even communicate on your behalf. Each state has a different set-up but there will be a number of groups available to help get you through a difficult period, without having to pay for the advice.

But before you speak to either your lender or an advisor, a good idea is to take a look at your finances yourself and work out what you can afford. Knowing that you have made all the cut-backs possible and calculating how much of your mortgage you can pay is the first step to straightening your problems out.

Lenders tend to be more forgiving if there is a change in circumstances which has brought about the financial difficulties, such as job loss or reduction in hours or pay, medical problems or even a divorce so it is worth thinking about what has caused the shortfall.

Lenders have a number of options they can offer delinquent borrowers. Forbearance is one course of action and involves legal action being suspended to give the individual more time to get their finances straight and work out a repayment plan. This is one of the most common courses of action but others include adding on the amount of the missed payments over an extended period, changing the term of the loan or simply even adding the arrears to the outstanding balance, thereby increasing the length of the loan.

There are many firms in the market who will attempt to take advantage of desperate home-owners and will promise foreclosure can be avoided in return for a fee. In most cases, these are scams, or empty promises ad can sometimes even result in the property being signed over without the owner realizing.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if at all possible, trying to anticipate how much the mortgage is likely to cost in advance of taking it out can be a good idea and a mortgage cost calculator can help you do this. By having a play with the figures it is possible to estimate what the repayment could potentially rise to and allow you to put together a budget to cover all eventualities.

Home buyers everywhere have lots of questions about the process they are getting ready to take on. Before they make such a big decision they want to know that they are making the right choice, taking advantage of every beneficial opportunity. When looking at loans or getting pre-qualified, the topic of the down payment comes up. Here are just a few things to consider if you want to buy a home without a down payment.

Without a down payment many banks won’t finance the loans. A down payment is just a portion of the cost of the house. However, it is a way to let the builder or owner of the home know that you are serious about the purchase. In most cases you will need to put down earnest money in order to create and submit an offer on the home. This money then becomes part of the down payment.

If you don’t have cash to put down to begin with banks may not take your loan request seriously. This can be frustrating as a potential homebuyer. There are programs that will allow you to apply for down payment assistance. Some loans will allow you receive the down payment as a gift from someone else or even create a smaller loan for you to pay the down payment back.

A down payment reduces the amount you are financing with loans. In essence the amount that you put down will not be financed and therefore not incur any interest costs. Depending on the size of your down payment, you may be able to reduce the monthly payment.

If you don’t put down any money you are financing the entire cost of the home. In this case you will need to pay mortgage insurance. If your home to value ratio is 80% or more you are required to pay mortgage insurance. If your down payment is 20% of the value of the home you will not have to pay mortgage insurance.

The more of a down payment you put down the closer you are to dropping off the mortgage insurance premium that you pay each and every month as part of your house payment. Home loans typically come in 15 or 30-year options. This means it will take that amount of time for you to pay off the loan. If you have a sizable amount for a down payment you might be able to afford a 15-year loan payment and end up paying less interest.

There are some reasons that an individual would consider not putting down money towards one of their loans. This money is tied up in your home. You can’t get to it if you need it. While it is part of your investment, it isn’t accessible. For some homebuyers the idea of giving up all of the money they have in savings to purchase a home leaves them with no safety net. This can be scary.

For everyone there is a balance that must be achieved. When you speak with a loan officer find out how much money is recommended as a down payment. Also, ask about loans that offer a special benefit like having the down payment made for you. While there are certain qualifications that need to be met, this is worth looking in to. Balance having money in your savings account while still being able to put a down payment on your home loans.

You may feel that overpricing your home will bring you an offer more in line with what you are looking for, but it may actually hurt you in the long run. Overpricing your home is one of the worst real estate mistakes you can ever make. This is because buyers are the ones who actually determine the market value of any home, as they’re the ones having to pay for it.

Asking for an unrealistic price will cause your home to sit on the market and that only works against you. The majority of qualified buyers and real estate agents will only take interest in your home within 30 days of its listing date. This month is crucial to the success of your sale.

If you overprice your home by as little as 5% of the value, interest in your property will drop significantly within that first month. Real estate agents who see it upon listing will automatically consider it “overpriced” and inform any interested clients.

Realtors do this because they want to sell homes, not deal with overpriced real estate. It’s their job to show their clients fairly priced homes, so they have absolutely no motivation to pass along your home’s information.

Even if you happen to find a qualified buyer willing to pay that much money for your home, the property’s appraisal will fall short of the inflated asking price. This means that the financing of your potential buyer will crumble.

Overpricing your home only helps your competition. Those fairly priced, higher value homes suddenly look better to buyers shopping in your inflated price range. Why should they pay the same amount for your home when it falls short compared to better homes in the neighborhood?

An overpriced home will sit on the market for months, even years and this makes buyers wonder what’s wrong with it. The home may be in perfectly good shape, but the length of time on the market will kill its potential.

While you may overprice your home thinking you will get higher offers, the longer your home sits on the market, the more likely you will receive low offers, if any at all. This could mean that you lose money in the deal because you become so desperate to sell.

This doesn’t mean you have to start out listing it at below its value. Determine the fair market value when stacked up against comps in the neighborhood and simply list it fairly.

You can determine the home’s value based on realtors’ market research and by visiting other houses on the market in your area. You also want to remain objective in coming to a price buyers will accept. This means not charging extra for all those years of built-up memories.

A fair listing will maximize the percentage of qualified buyers who will view your home with serious interest. Setting the price too high will only alienate them. Make a splash on the market from day one by listing your home fairly. You’ll get a good response from real estate agents and potential buyers and are less likely to deal with prolonged months of stagnation.

While in the process of selling your home, determine how much home you yourself can afford by using the free calculator at moneysupermarket. Figure out your monthly payments based on the mortgage amount, percentage rate and term.

Staying out of debt in times of good economic health can be difficult for some and staying out of debt during a recession for many can be nearly impossible. Even if you feel financially stable today, you never know when you might get hit by a curve ball, sending you into financial misery.

Your best defense is to be prepared for anything and to always make sure you are using a budget worksheet to help keep your finances in good shape. Here are some great tips to help you stay out of debt during a recession:

Set A Monthly Budget

While this is an easy, critical step many people simply skip it. If you want to avoid debt during a recession you will seriously need to set up a monthly budget. You can get started by using a simple budget worksheet. Determine your income and then subtract from that all of your current expenses. If your expenses are more, then you need to start cutting what you spend.

Eliminate Unnecessary Expenses

Even if you can still fit them in your budget, during times of a recession it is best to be proactive and heed on the side of caution. This means taking a very close look at any expenses you have that just may not be necessary. Can you eat out less, make your own coffee instead of picking it up on the way to work, reduce your cable tv bill, cut your house phone, eliminate the gym membership, etc. Making a list of all of your “unnecessary” expenses may be helpful. You may find that some things on your list are very easy to cut.

Don’t Make Big Purchases

Another proactive approach to avoiding debt during a recession is to not make big purchases. This might include things like purchasing a new vehicle, buying a new big screen television, purchasing a new computer, etc. Do what you can to fix what you own and keep it working.

Pay Down Existing Debt

During a recession and really at any other time you should always be working to pay down any debt you may already have. This can include credit card debt along with other debts like a car payment, home mortgage, etc. The less debt you have, the better off you will be if you were to get hit financially during a recession.

Find Additional Income

During a recession, especially if your hours at work have been cut or your salary has been decreased or you have lost your job altogether, you may need to look for another source of income in order to stay out of debt. Do you have a skill you could turn into a part or full time job? Could you sell big ticket items like a motor home, a jet ski or other items you may not really need? Can you just clean out your house and have a yard sale? Be creative and you never know what you might be able to come up with to bring in some extra funds.

Skip The Expensive Vacation

A final tip is to skip the high priced vacation. Instead, look for a more economical option. Drive instead of flying, take along some of your own food or even consider a “staycation”, staying at home and taking in the local sites.

Debbie Dragon writes content for Vertex42.com – a site offering a large selection of free spreadsheet templates including a household budget worksheet to keep your finances on track.