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Are your debts mounting each month? Are you finding it harder to juggle the bills? Do you find yourself relying on cash advances on your credit cards to get you through your pay day? Anne Starke shares 10 tips on how to navigate through credit crunch as painlessly as possible.
Fretting over unpaid bills is a terrible energy-sapper. Money worries hang over your head, undermining your self-confidence and your sense of security.
But things usually aren't as bad as they seem and the worst thing you can do is accept the situation and continue living hand-to-mouth, day-to-day.
Regardless of age or income, everyone has the potential to be financially secure, and to enjoy the self confidence and feelings of personal power that come with it. It is not a matter of earning higher wages, but of working smarter with what you've got. Work out your budget woes with these tips:
1. Stay calm
If it looks like there is no way out of the maze of bills, stay calm. After all, it is only money. Lots of people and many businesses face a credit squeeze at some stage and most work their way out of it. The important thing is to have a plan – and follow it through.
2. Is the crisis short-term or critical?
Work out if your difficulties are only temporary or if it is a long-term problem, such as illness, loss of your job or possible bankruptcy. If it is a major crisis, you may need professional help immediately. Contact your lawyer, accountant or your friendly bank officer.
3. Will your credit rating be affected?
Do your best to protect your credit rating. If you are downgraded, it could jeopardise your chances of obtaining a loan in the future.
4. Work out which bills to pay first
When cash is tight, you need to set priorities as to which bills to pay first. Check which unpaid bills are likely to affect your credit rating. For example, a friendly landlord might allow you to pay the rent a week or two late, but a default on the electricity account will not only put you in darkness – it could mean a black mark on your record.
5. Money-stretchers
When money is short, you need to work with the money you have got to make it spin out as far as possible.
• List all the bills you owe.
• Note the due dates and grace periods.
• Pay your bills only at the end of their grace periods. A computer won't care that you paid on the last possible day.
• Pay only the minimum due but pay something on all of your bills. Do not pay all of one bill and only some of the other.
• Don't charge anything on a due-in-30-days basis. Try to arrange credit over a longer period of time.
• If it looks as if your money problems will last for a while send a note to the people you owe when you send part-payment. Make it brief and to the point: "I am experiencing problems that should be resolved soon. Here is part of the payment. I will pay the full amount as soon as I can."
6. Watch the cents
Until you work your way out of debt, you will need to take special care with your spending. Try to put off buying clothes or items for the house until you are on a firmer financial footing. Work out how much you can afford to put aside each week towards paying off your debts – and then work out how long it will take until you are debt-free. Now you have a personal goal to work for - that marvellous day when you won't owe anybody anything!
7. Don't be too hard on yourself
Financial fitness takes discipline but it does no good to impose too strict a budget. Chances are you won't be able to stick to it. Then, on top of everything else, you will have to deal with that depressing feeling of failing to meet your own expectations.
8. Take control
Successfully settling your debts after a spending blow-out is a big achievement. The important thing once you are debt-free is to make sure you do hot slip back into the red again. More importantly, now is the time to get your money working for you to build up financial security for the future.
9. Make money work for you
Sometimes as little as S$50 a week is enough to get you started towards building up a fat nest egg for the future. You also need to work on accumulating an emergency cash reserve. The best way to begin a plan is by learning how investments work. An understanding of the system gives you the knowledge and confidence to win. Most of the major financial planning companies run seminars that provide a useful starting point.
10. Seek professional help
Nowadays there are many different Investment products available. No one can be expected to choose from these and come up with the right answer every time. You will need help from qualified adviser. Choosing an adviser is an important decision because you should expect to be working with this person over a long period of time. She can show you the way to achieve your goals, prepare a plan – even be your motivator – but in the end your future is up to you. Your security and the lifestyle you will enjoy in the future are dependent on the financial decisions you make today.
Thinking Big Is The Best Plan
Years ago, when I was just starting my real estate investing career, I came across a property with a for-sale sign on it. I called the broker and asked, "What can you tell me about the property, and how much does it cost?"
The broker politely and patiently said, "It's a commercial building with six tenants. There's a chiropractor, a dentist, a hairstylist, an accountant, and a bail bondsman. The price is two million dollars."
Losing Big
I almost choked. "Two million dollars?! That's way too expensive!"
Thirty years ago, $2 million was a lot of money. And instead of looking at the property, I let the price frighten me off. I never looked at the deal, and just assumed that the seller was crazy, greedy, and out of touch with the market.
Today, there's a luxury hotel on the same site. It's spectacular. I estimate the property to be worth at least $150 million, and maybe more.
Cheap Lessons
Not seeing the potential of that deal taught me many lessons. Here are two important ones:
• Sometimes you learn more by being stupid and making mistakes.
• The person with the better plan wins.
In the above example, my plan was just too small. In fact, the only plan I had at the time was to collect the rent money from the tenants, cover my mortgage and expenses, and put a little in my pocket. And 30 years ago, I knew that the rent from six small tenants couldn't possibly pay for a $2 million property.
I later learned that the property's eventual owner bought it for full price – with terms. He put $50,000 down as an option and asked for 180 days to put the rest of his plan together. During those 180 days, he gathered his investors, a builder, and his tenant, a major hotel chain.
If he hadn't been able to put his plan together, he would've lost his option money. Instead, before the 180 days were up, his investors paid the $2 million in cash, and he spent the next three years getting the project through the city planning commission and finally began construction. He won because he had a better plan.
Mind Expansion
Donald Trump often says to "think big." He definitely does so, but by nature, I don't. My excuse is that I come from a small town in Hawaii. My family wasn't rich, so when it comes to money, I tend to think err on the side of caution. Over time, my thinking has become medium-sized when it comes to spotting opportunities, but I'd still like to think bigger.
One of the reasons I enjoy doing business in New York and having Trump as a partner on different projects is that he makes me do just that – because if you don't think big in New York, you get kicked out. If I thought small, I wouldn't be on television, cutting book deals with major publishers, or talking in front of tens of thousands of people in arenas like Madison Square Garden.
Currently, I'm working on a real estate project to present to Donald. Consequently, I find myself pushing my thinking, expanding my context, and thinking of luxury, not just price. Even if Donald doesn't like the project and we don't partner on it, just preparing to present the project to him has required me to think bigger and come up with a better plan.
A Blast from the Past
About a year ago, someone called to say that there was a spectacular condominium that had just come up for sale. She wanted to know if I was interested in looking at it. Of course I said, "Yes." I wanted to see what her definition of spectacular was, and trust me – it was spectacular. She then said, "And the price is only twenty-eight million dollars. But I believe you can pick it up for twenty-four million. At that price, this condo is a steal."
Once again, I heard myself saying what I said so long ago: "That's too expensive." But, as I said, that lesson from 30 years back proved to be priceless: After hearing the think-small person in me comment on the condo price, I took a deep breath and asked myself, "What's my plan?" Then I asked myself, "What's wrong with my plan?"
I didn't buy the condo, but I did come up with a better plan. Over the next few days, I realized that the reason I couldn't afford the condo was because my business was too small. If I wanted to afford such a luxury residence, I needed to come up with a better plan for my business. Today, I'm working harder than ever to improve it – not because I want the condo, but to be able afford such a condo if I someday decide I want one.
Plan Ahead
In many of my Yahoo! Finance columns, I've written about my concern over the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. As the dollar drops in purchasing power, it often pushes up the prices of real assets – quality real estate and equities. My fear is that many people may not be able to afford tangible assets and become poorer as the dollar declines. This drop in purchasing power also widens the gap between the rich and everyone else.
One method of staying ahead of rising asset prices and the declining dollar is to think bigger and come up with better plans. As important as financial and business planning is a plan for personal development and self-improvement. I'm often asked to invest in people's business plans, and one of the reasons I turn many of them down is because a big plan requires a big person who's spent time on personal development. In a lot of cases, a business plan is far bigger than the person with the plan – that is, the dream is bigger than the dreamer.
Today, I'm glad I missed out on that $2 million property all those years ago. The best lesson I learned from it is that I can have a better life if I have a better plan – and a plan to become better person. So what's your plan?
