Salvaging My Credit - Tips on Budgeting

Salvaging My Credit
The Dollar Stretcher Blog
Written by: Gary Foreman

I quit paying ALL of my CREDIT CARDS ACCOUNTS because I may have to file bankruptcy???!!! BUT I have several charge offs on my credit now!! What should I do? Pay the collection agency which I heard, was NOT the way to go!! Does a collection agency report to the credit report paid in full if you try and pay off the balance owed?? Or should I just file bankruptcy? PLEASE HELP!!!! Thank you!!!
B.




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What’s It Costing You?
The Dollar Stretcher Blog
by Gary Foreman
gary @stretcher.com

One of my favorite quotes comes from Henry Ford. “Thinking is the hardest work there is. That’s why so few engage in it.” Old Mr. Ford was an interesting man. He made some very good decisions (produce an affordable car for the average man, use an assembly line with interchangeable parts) and some very bad ones (sticking to old designs too long). That makes him a perfect person to help us understand an economic concept called “opportunity cost.”

What is opportunity cost? It’s a theory that states something that we already know. Sometimes you have two or more alternatives, but you can only choose one. To put it in a more scholarly way its choosing between mutually exclusive choices.

For example, suppose you were shopping for a new car. You’ve narrowed it down to a minivan and SUV. Both about the same price. You have to choose between the two. You cannot have both.

After test rides you decide to choose the minivan. That’s your opportunity. The ability to choose the van. The cost is the loss of the SUV.

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The Dollar Stretcher Blog
by Gary Foreman

gary @stretcher.com

Dear Dollar Stretcher,

Is there ever a good or creative way to save or budget for a new car?
My husband’s car is shot and I’ve been entering sweeps to help him
win a new hybrid car with no luck. Any ideas?

Brenda

Brenda asks a good question. According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation the average lifespan of a vehicle is about 125,000 miles or 12 years. Recent estimates put the average car at a little over 10 years old with 100,000+ miles. Put those facts together and that means that many of the cars we drive are rolling into their sunset years.

So while we wish Brenda the best with her sweeps entries, it’s probably a good idea if she comes up with a backup plan. That Read the rest of this entry