You can easily save thousands of dollars a year with very little effort by following even a few of the cost-saving measures in your “Household save” campaign. The more money-saving measures you adopt, the more money you'll save. Potential savings will vary, depending on your personal situation.

Save Money on Personal Mortgage

• Consider refinancing your mortgage.
• For even more dramatic long-term savings, consider a 15-year mortgage rather than a 30-year mortgage.
• You can achieve similar results by paying an extra principal payment on your 30-year loan each month.
• Still another way to achieve these results is to pay one half of your monthly mortgage every two weeks.

Save Money on Utilities - Electricity

• Install the new type of fluorescent bulbs in lights you leave on for long periods.
• Lower the temperature on your hot water heater to between 110 and 120 degrees.
• Find out if your utility company offers free energy audits, where they inspect your home for energy effectiveness and recommend inexpensive ways to cut energy costs, such as insulating hot water heaters, weather-stripping, etc.
• Set thermostats no higher than 68 degrees in winter and no lower than 78 degrees in summer.
• Cut back on the use of your clothes dryer.
• Use your microwave instead of your oven whenever possible and save up to 50% in energy costs for cooking.
• Cut Costs on Miscellaneous Home-Related Expenses
  

Save Money on Utilities - Water

• Always do full loads of laundry. A typical full load uses about 21 gallons of water.
• Run your dishwasher only when you have a full load.
• Fix running toilets or leaking faucets promptly.
• Install flow restricting shower heads.
• Add fabric softener to your laundry at the appropriate point in the cycle instead of adding it at the end and running another rinse cycle, which can use up to 10 extra gallons of water.
• Use warm or cold water for washing clothes, and always rinse in cold water.
  

Save Money on Utilities - Other

• Stick to basic phone service.
• If you can live without cable television, if you can't live without it, get basic service only.
• Plant perennial flowers instead of annuals.
• If you live in a cold region of the country, heating costs are a major expense.
  

There are different ways in which you can free yourself in the quicksand of debt. There are many debit management agencies and debt consolidation agencies which would help you in reducing your debt burden. Sometimes, doing things on your own can be really a learning experience. The agencies would definitely charge you something if they are to provide you their services. If you are to do things for yourself, you also get to learn something and can also advice people in the future. But always consider that doing the way at your palms might have a high risk setting it in, and can lead into a painful scenario.

Plan and navigate your ship:

The first and foremost thing is to recognize the place of your debt origin. You need to know where and how to start the entire process of debt reduction. Make a list of your debtors, with their considering interest rates they are charging you, outstanding loans like mortgage loans and student loans etc. Once you have done the list, it becomes easier to make a route plan on how you are going to escape it.

If for some reason, you feel that you are totally out of control as regards your debt, then professional needs to be contacted. There are professional and well qualified debt counselors who would know how to go about settling your debt. They know what to do and can give you free advices. Total debt services offer free consultation and it’s just a phone call away. Then conduct free consultation whose suffering just like you.

Student loans have become an indispensable tool for families trying to pay the soaring cost of higher education, which at some private colleges and universities now tops $50,000 a year.

While included in our country’s way in "financial aid", higher education loans differ from scholarships and grants in that they must be paid back. The student loan can be available into three general categories: (a) the federally guaranteed loans made by banks and other lenders; (b) a federal direct loans made directly by the government; and (c) a private loans, which are essentially the same as any other consumer loan, from banks and other companies.

The interest rate paid by students on both guaranteed and direct loans is fixed and has been set by congress. And in the case of guaranteed loans, the our government pays a subsidy to lenders that make the loans and also guarantees the amounts loaned, almost completely protecting lenders from losses. Private loans usually have worse terms than either type of federal loan and the interest rates on private loans can change over time. To learn more about loan terms, you can seek a sample of Student Loan program courtesy of Total Debt Services.

“When a country owes more to others than it can repay or pay interest on” – debt crisis definition
Presently, third world debt has long been recognized as a major obstacle to human development. Many other problems have arisen because of the enormous debt built by the third world countries to rich countries. Debt sometimes result some negative effects in one’s human development, security, political and economic stability in any given county.

Personal Debt Arena: Battling the Crisis

When personal debt becomes severely going to the red zone, filing a bankruptcy is not foremost the final load of gun barrel. While in The Moment, here are some advisable options you can use to push:

1. Make no decisions;
2. Sign no papers; and
3. Don't try to make sense of anything.

To do any of these you must be as clear and as rational as you can manage. During your time you are not going to be that. The panic is fed, of course, by the thoughts of the whole world crashing on your head, of fingers pointing at you in the street and of being cast from your home to wander the streets begging crusts from strangers.

For decades now, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have required borrowing countries to adopt an “export more, spend less” model of development. And the countries that have gone furthest to shift to export-oriented production and lift restrictions on investment are now the most vulnerable.

IMF acts as an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments. It is an organization formed to stabilize international exchange rates and facilitate development.

“Debt relief is a proven, effective, and fast way to reduce poverty”. And if the IMF used its existing resources to pay for it, this approach would put a minimal burden on U.S. taxpayers. Unfortunately, however, debt cancellation is not even mentioned in the draft official communiqué that has been prepared for the G20 leaders.

In hard times like these, it’s understandable to want to focus on problems in your own backyard. But ignoring the problems of the poorest countries will come back to haunt the United States and other richer nations in the long run.

How did developing countries get sucked into this valley of debt in the first place? They didn’t have a subprime mortgage problem. Maybe their financial firms weren’t key players in the high-risk derivatives markets? Or they got sucked in because the globalization policies that have been imposed on them made them extremely vulnerable to volatility in global markets? It happens that:

Debt is somewhat a “habit”, a “cycle” which lenders are “pushing” loans on borrowers and turning a blind eye to their misuse, and in response to criticism for their behavior, adding more conditions to new lending. These conditions sometimes seem (mostly are) sensible, but all too often they only serve the interests of the lenders rather than the borrowers. Part of the cycle is that as countries get deeper in debt and grow more impoverished as they try to repay, the lenders impose a whole new range of what they say are anti-poverty and anti-corruption conditions, but which most often have other agendas, such as opening up poor countries to multi-national companies. Even when the conditions are sensible, example is like the health warnings found on cigarette packets — they are there to satisfy the critics, but the cigarette makers hope to counteract them through ever more aggressive advertising.

Debt is a social and ideological construct, not a simple economic fact.

There is no such thing as an unsolvable debt problem (even in other cases). It might not be easy or quick to escape inside the pits of debt, but there's always a route. Yet by its very nature, debts urgent, they compound rapidly over time, and can speedily spiral into trouble (as a benefit of using your future income). An obligation to pay or do something, the earlier you take them on, the easier they are to deal with.

As debt isn't just a finance issue, but one that feeds into all elements of your life, the solutions are wide and varied; whether it's cutting interest costs, budgeting, challenging the legality of your debts, or simply where to find real one-on-one help. If you find yourself inside the pit, you can consult some financial consultants online to help you agonize outside debt.

Today, the majority of credit card companies offer several different rewards credit cards that people can apply for, including gas rebate, travel rewards, cash back credit cards and even a load on your mobile phone. Rewards credit cards system is similar to cash back cards structure. Basically, you accumulate points toward a reward system, based on how much you use the card over a period of time. If you really want to accumulate points, you may want to use your credit card wherever and whenever possible. It doesn't mean spending money without reason. It means that you should use your card whenever you make a purchase.

Rewards credit cards can be a great tool that lets wise spenders earn money for doing absolutely nothing. It's a matter of knowing when and how to use them.

However, rewards cards are not for everyone and if you are going to take advantage of rewards cards it is important to understand whether or not these cards are right for you. Remember that rewards from credit cards usually have a higher interest rate and some of them have an annual fee. Here’s an article for extra details.

picture: flickr.com

Having the idea of acquiring the option of getting paid off for your debt by hard money loan. Knowing basic information about this kind of loan against other typical loan can lead you more in deciding to crash this course of action.

Defining Hard Money Loan:

Generally in the case of hard money loan, a borrower gets their money based on the value of a piece of commercial real estate.

In common cases, it is a loan that comes at a much higher interest rate than the more typical, traditional commercial loans do. In fact, it is often higher than any other loan including personal or residential loans that one can apply for. This makes it more expensive for those taking them on and due consideration should be given to this fact before someone applies for this kind of loan.

History:
In the 1950's, where this loan was first show up. This is when the credit industry first started to undergo significant changes. Hard money loans were a way for property owners who wanted capital and had no other way to get it to do so. Today, high interest rates are the mark of hard money loans as a way to protect the both loans and lenders from the considerable risk that they undertake.

Advantages:
What’s the advantage of going to have a hard loan method compare to the traditional loan? Just a peak of what are these. Here they are (link):fast time approval, can be made from a state of your own property and lastly can act as your financial bridge.

Others find debt consolidation as a new beginning on the road of better financial management. Due it reduces the interest rate and possible extend the term of one credit. With its meaning itself: “consolidating/transforming your credit” into one credit provider. Somewhat in most cases can be effective in solving the trouble of due credit. But there are three bad debt-consolidation moves that can make debt consolidation your foe and this are:

• Debt Consolidators Who Promise to Take Care of Everything

An ideal solution for desperate people, this move settles a debt consolidation company to solemnly swear to handle your financial crisis debt in good hands. The truth is they will charge even more than the bank in terms of their own fee.

• The Hard-Money Loan

Hard Money Loans are loans that are generally secured by a piece of real estate and are usually taken when one cannot get approved or does not want a traditional loan. Hard money loans can make sense in certain scenarios.

• The Balance Transfer Trap

Lastly, never rely on Low interest Balance transfer cards as the truth about them is that their rates will change every few months and you will have to switch your card.
So the bottom line here is to never give your trust on no one but yourself when it comes to debt consolidation.

These practical ways to save money will help to reduce debt and interest payments on any credit borrowings.

• Avoiding Credit Facilities

Get into the habit of saving for items rather than using a credit facility. Both bank overdrafts and credit card debt are very expensive tools for borrowing money. Avoiding these methods will not only reduce the amount of interest paid, it will also help prevent financial difficulties. There are a range of debt solutions available for those who have unmanageable personal debt.

• The Hidden Costs at ATMs
  

Many banks charge customers for making a withdrawal from an ATM that is outside their own network or below a certain amount. A practical way to save money is to read the latest copy of the Terms and Conditions’ to identify the banks’ policy in regards of making cash withdrawal transactions. Any person who wishes to start a lifestyle based around frugality should avoid credit card cash advances from ATM machines.

• 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card

One of the most practical ways to save money is by transferring debt to a new credit card. Whilst there is a fee of approximately 3%, it is possible to reduce debt by performing a series of interest-free balance transfers until the full balance is cleared. A good credit rating is necessary if this money saving idea is to be implemented. Missed payments will show on credit reports for a period of 6 years.