Who doesn’t want to have the power of spending freely in a shopping mall and never worry about falling short of cash while shopping for something that looks appealing to the eyes? Yes, credit cards give you that power.
Having credit cards is a convenient way to purchase and pay for a person’s stuff. However, this convenience comes with a price. It’s no secret that people often enjoy the benefits of these cards from time to time. These cards can provide decent financial perks if used wisely and managed properly.
However, credit cards can be problems for people with less than responsible financial habits.
Below are a few tips a person can use to avoid costly fees and interest:
Keeping trail of expenses and paying the credit card on time
Maximize credit card repayments
Credit card calculator
Setting a sane credit limit
Smart tip
Reducing your credit limit
Invitations to increase the credit limit
Avoid the use of credit cards to make ends meet
Use store cards wisely
Keeping trail of expenses
People often end up racking a lot more debt on their credit cards than they can afford to repay. Therefore, it is imperative to remain in control. The best way to stay in control is by keeping track of their spending by checking their card statements regularly to avoid going into debt.
Paying credit card on time
Check the statement, check their due date, and make sure to pay on time. Paying before/ on time will help a person evade additional interest charges, also known as late payment fees. To make this process even more accessible, consider setting up a direct deduction to pay a fixed sum off the balance due every payday.
Maximize credit card repayments
Suppose a person only pays to make minimum repayments on their card each month. In that case, they will be spending a lot of interest, leading to years of paying credit card debt.
Credit card calculator
Suppose a person is struggling because they must pay more than the minimum monthly settlement. In that case, it is better to consider changing to a credit card that offers even lower interest rates with the ability to pay more when possible.
Setting a sane credit limit
A person’s credit card limit should always set a sum they know they can repay, and that won’t force a person to spend what they can’t repay on time.
Smart tip
So, if someone can’t afford to pay off their balance every month, it is better to avoid increasing their credit limit, as it is easier to fall into debt with a higher credit limit.
Reducing credit limit
Suppose a person wants to neglect the desire to overspend on their credit card. In that case, they should ask their credit contributor to decrease their overall credit card limit. They can do it either by phone or by visiting a branch. Typically, it will take one to two days for the branch to update that account.
Invitations to increase the credit limit
Card issuers cannot increase someone’s credit limit without first getting an agreement. The rule applies to both old and new credit card users. A person can ask their card issuers to enhance their limits whenever they choose. Suppose a person wants to increase their card limits to purchase smoothing special. In that case, they should try to pay their debt as soon as possible to help lower their limit back to a more manageable sum.
Avoid the use of credit cards to make ends meet
If an unexpected emergency occurs or a person is just running low on cash, taking money from the credit card will not be beneficial in the long term. It may get a person through the temporary crises, but it will further shove them down in debt with time.
Use store cards wisely
If a person uses the same store, it might earn them various discounts and other exclusive offers. However, a specific fee is attached to these store cards, so be careful before signing off form one.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
In today’s world, if you want to be a successful businessperson or entrepreneur, you need thoughtful planning, excellent organizational skills, and flexibility. People think that making money from the business is easy, but it’s not as easy as they believe. The global economy depends on the growth of companies. There are thousands of books and articles written about successful business facts; as we all know, this is a broad subject. All these books have one thing in common: work hard with consistency and achieve all you want to.
It most likely wouldn’t shock you if I tell you these ‘realities’ picked me instead of me picking them. By this, I mean in the entirety of my long stretches of business possession, these seven realities were the ones that cost me the most cash — either not advancing a chance or not giving enough consideration to a specific truth that wound up whittling down my wallet.
The business includes all such activities that will directly or indirectly assist in exchanging goods and services. Over the decades, the size of the company has expanded. New creative ideas and ways occurred for the growth of the business.
Here are some valuable facts. By following them, you can achieve what you want to.
Keep your vision big
If you have a broad idea, it will take you far. The concept is fundamental to starting any business. If things go wrong in your success, then your vision will give you motivation and make you able to steer your way towards success. Your vision is the foundation of your business, which navigates you the way forward. Don’t think about the fear of surroundings or failure and feel discomfort in taking the next steps. Commit yourself so that you will keep yourself moving towards success. Self-motivation is an essential key to success. You eventually succeed when you fuel your broad ideas with perseverance and the spirit of moving forward.
Be flexible while making your plan
A business plan makes things easy for you by dividing your journey into essential metrics. You can track your progress through these steps. A project that goes along with a marketing outline is a crucial layout for success. Make your plan flexible because a highly detailed plan is difficult to fulfill. Start slowly when you gather all the sources, then gear up yourself. It is an effective way to achieve things that last for longer. Because you cannot own the success, you must work hard each day.
Enhance your expertise
If you have the skillset and are already innately good in any skill, enhance it or polish it more. Don’t burden yourself, do that task which you are good at, sign contracts with the agency or hire for the job you can’t do, and focus on other aspects of your business. Hiring professionals has one more advantage: they are aware of all the industry tactics.
Good sense of humor
Laughter is a good cure for anxiety or stress. Learn to laugh at yourself. Don’t take things too seriously; even if you can fight the most brutal battle with patience and sense, anxiety makes you depressed and anxious, which is not suitable for any entrepreneur or businessperson.
Be creative
Make yourself stand out from the competition with creative ideas or views. Don’t be a part of the traffic. Set an example in the industry with your creativity. Recognize you were not aware of everything. Always try to learn new approaches and strategies for succeeding in your business.
Providing great services
Various successful companies forget that providing customer service is essential for business. By providing good customer service, you can grab the potential audience. Sometimes low-quality business gains a good number of customers with excellent customer service. It is the most effective trick to make your business successful.
There are a variety of compelling facts from which you can get your business on another level. But these are the basic things you must do to grow your business.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
If you intend to claim and work a business, you may begin pondering things like leasing business land, driving to an office, or overseeing representatives. Be that as it may, with the ascent of home organizations, an ever-increasing number of individuals are finding approaches to utilize remote work to seek after enterprise, with their business settled at home.
In the current business world, innovation manages us greater adaptability in how and where we work. Locally established organizations arrive in various structures. Some expect you to change an extra room into a small-scale distribution center for items, while it can run others on the web. Be that as it may, by and large, you can begin these kinds of organizations utilizing your current space and means.
A locally established business is an endeavor—full-time or runs as a side hustle—that you can begin and work on utilizing your own home as your headquarters. A couple of locally established organizations that sell on the web and don’t accept and hold heaps of stock can even be run in a hurry without being boundto your home.
In the most recent decade, the fast web, an expansion of gadgets and applications, and changing mentalities about the idea of work have made working at home a reality for many individuals around the globe. One investigation presumed that almost 50% of all American representatives work at home.
The transfer time from one place to another, the costs involved in establishing a physical space, and, in the case of Mexico, insecurity and road mobility are problems it can solve thanks to the home office.
Working from home increases the productivity of organizations located in Mexico City by 28%, according to a study prepared by the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex). Among the main benefits are the reduction of pollution and road congestion. It also promotes saving money on transportation, allows a more flexible schedule, and more friendly times to reduce work stress. All this translates into a better quality of life for employees and, therefore, for the organization.
In the same way as working from home, for an entrepreneur to start his own business from home, he offers opportunities to accelerate its growth by reducing costs and times to the ease of handling different areas without being tied to one place. It is not simple, but when done well, you can succeed in the process.
In an era in which technology offers hundreds of tools, you only need a well-developed entrepreneurial culture to be able to create a business from home:
Decide what kind of business it will be
In principle, it is essential that you evaluate your talents and ambitions, know your initial finances perfectly, explore your competition, land the idea of the business you want to start, and understand the market’s needs to which it will direct you.
Now that having a clear business idea is pertinent ensure you explore your options. The benefits and the cons should measure everything tactfully. The truth is you can’t hop on the bandwagon without diving into the nitty-gritty. Instead, ensure you decipher even the tidbits of information and that there aren’t any inconveniences attached. The results might keep you devouring every moment, and it may only achieve your goals in a relatively shorter span.
Respect the rules
It is not only about having a computer to achieve it; you must consider the investment, legal requirements, and other factors related to the formation of a business. Even if it is a venture from home, it must always respect business rules.
Most people don’t take their home-based businesses seriously, even with all the sweat-earned investments they do. While the truth is, their negligence only put them through inconveniences, the repercussions are far more severe than they thought they would be.
Be professional
Remember to have everything you need in your home’s workspace to develop the business idea, from office supplies, telephone lines, internet, and other essential services.
Monitor everything you do
Despite being at home, your business needs the same attention as any other, and the facilities of time and space will allow you to monitor it closely and make necessary strategic adjustments.
Give it the seriousness it deserves
Starting a business is not an easy task. Although starting from home seems less complicated, you also need dedication and commitment to meet the established objectives.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Who has never dreamed of starting a business? Many want to forget about long office days working on projects that are not creative or inspiring. However, becoming a boss is not so simple. There are always obstacles on the road to creating your own business, such as lack of time, money, ideas, or simply fear of failure.
While our fears keep us reluctant, and we only get to waste all our opportunities, our adequate budget keeps us from taking the big plunge. The truth is our budget is the sole determinator when starting a business.
Let’s face it; you can’t start your venture just like that without investing any money into it. Or can you? Well, our world has transformed to quite an extent. We are evolving into new domains, and who knows, you might even start your business without investing any larger-than-life amount into it.
So, while you are at it, you must ensure you are confident in your approaches and strategies. Chances are that the results may only keep you satisfied and fulfilled.
Here we guide you on this path with five steps to follow to start a business. You will be worth one or the other according to your business idea and expectations.
Ideas to start a business
Sell your knowledge online
You do not have to be the best worker on the planet to start teaching others. Each person has different knowledge and experience, which can be helpful and enriching for others. It is not necessary to have specific professional skills. Still, you can even share skills such as cooking or growing flowers with other people, for example, through simple videos on YouTube. The Internet gives us a lot of opportunities to share our knowledge and make money without having an initial budget. Mastering other ideas to start a business may be writing an online course or writing a blog about a topic or activity. Of course, the competition here is enormous, but if you find the right niche and win the audience, it will guarantee success.
Open an online store
This type of business has a significant advantage; you do not have to pay the rent of a physical location or pay a salary to employees. You do not even need to have your website. You will find many projects on the Internet, thanks to which it is enough to upload a photo with the product’s description and start selling.
The most important question, in this case, is what you will sell. You can start with items made with your own hands or buy at a better price than the sale price. The most important thing to remember is that your product should have a competitive advantage.
Rate the possibility of being freelance
Many large companies have started in this way. Now you can find many sites for freelancers who help you both in administrative management and attracting customers. However, you must consider that there is a lot of competition and that the self-employed today do not have it very easy with taxes. That is why it is necessary to do accounts to see if you will pay more in taxes than your income at the end of the month. The payment of VAT and income tax is the most feared by these workers.
On the other hand, the great advantage of working independently is that you can organize an office at home, which means significant savings.
Search potential customers for other companies
Customers are the engine of any company, and no one can afford to refuse additional customers. Searching for clients can already be a business. For example, you can help find customers for companies or advertising agencies and receive a percentage of the profits (commission) or a fixed fee. If you are good at communicating with other people and you can quickly earn the trust of someone, you have a good chance of making money.
Sell services, not products
Many services do not require special skills but can demand any of the services provided by anything from a private car instructor to a dog walker or giving private classes on some online subject. Starting a business is enough to invest a little money in advertising (either on the Internet or with pamphlets), and if you need your services, the profit will not take long to arrive.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
All insurances are essential, but one incredibly delicate and should not be missing in any folder is health insurance. It depends on this that you can have the best medical benefits. This is the opinion of 20% of households that have contracted a policy with these characteristics, according to data extracted from the White Insurance Book published by UNESPA. Of course, personal and family well-being is one of our biggest concerns.
Let’s face it; our health has quite a significance.
You can have everything and yet have nothing if your health is disturbed. The truth is, whether it is your work or studies, everything revolves around your health one way or the other. You can’t have your dreams fulfilled, your goals achieved. If your health is not intact, you may study the nitty-gritty involving health insurance. Chances are, it will sort most of your concerns and your efforts in attaining all your goals reciprocated at best.
What benefits does hiring health insurance bring?
There are many benefits of hiring these insurances, from the possibility of saving money in health care itself to leading a better quality of life for the beneficiaries. Comparing different insurances will help us find the most appropriate for us according to our needs. For this, some tools and comparators can help you; what is clear is that having the best health insurance is essential. Some of the reasons why you hire this insurance model?
What is the best Health Insurance for me?
With many different health insurance programs available, you can’t consider just any health insurance for yourself. You must be vigilant, and all your measures should be measured tactfully to avoid inconveniences.
Finding the perfect Health Insurance, among so many offers, is not easy, so we want to make it easy for you. With our insurance comparator, you can discover different options and prices to choose the best one.
Second medical opinion
One novelty this kind of policy provides is allowing you to have a second professional and qualified medical opinion. This is important since the more information you have about what happens to you, the greater the chances of solving the problem.
Access to other medical coverage
You cannot forget that collection of some medical benefits are not by the public health system, such as dental ones, that allow you to save a good part of your treatments’ high prices. This is true not only for the insurance holder but also for all his direct relatives. Besides, it is one of the best strategies you can take to maintain perfect oral health at any age.
Shorter waiting lists
The agility and speed in consultations and treatments are among the main advantages of the services provided through health insurance, without delays at times that are very delicate for your family. On the other hand, this critical service is linked to more flexible schedules to assist you in your requests.
With the help of insurance, you can get treatment right away in case of emergencies. So, if you’re contemplating getting insurance, then don’t hesitate!
Doctor’s free choice
All insurances of these characteristics provide an extensive list of qualified professionals who can assist you at any time and situation. Trust is essential to preserve your health, and what better way to select the doctor to treat you. You will also have a much more comfortable level of hospitalization, among other reasons, because you will have a personalized service and even individual rooms to be with your family.
Complementary coverage
One of these insurances’ advantages is that you can confirm the benefits you want, on-demand and individually. From this perspective, you will not only be more protected, but you will also contain the expenses derived from these services to the point that you will amortize the policy quickly.
High-value services
Finally, note that the above particularities join because you will have very qualified services but lower prices, with access to the most modern techniques to maintain and treat organic diseases and incidents. We highlight the closest treatment by different doctors and professionals.
Overall, health insurance has been one of the most profound prospects that helped individuals in the contemporary era, especially in an age where accidents and diseases encapsulate us. Moreover, it stands out that citizens don’t have to worry about acquiring quick cash since the insurance companies are handling it. So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have health insurance, then get it right now!
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
We are evolving every day, and our world has transformed quite an extent. What past years required us to go the extra mile now has us relieved and satisfied through and through. Now that banking services are in question, digital banking is the plunge in the right. The benefits are relatively more straightforward and less complex. Also, you get access to all the banking services right from the comforts of your home. If that’s not all, you no longer have to travel large distances.
However, the typical banking system follows, to date, age-old techniques. i.e., Taking money from the cashier for free is one of the most valued services by customers but also one of the scariest. The reasons? Diverse and have to do with what it costs to each bank that you can use their ATMs.
You go out in the street searching for a cashier that does not charge you commissions, but you realize that the nearest one, where your bank allows you to get free money, is on the other side. This situation is more common than it seems and is one of the biggest headaches clients of many financial institutions face.
Taking money without paying a euro is something very few banks offer, at least outside their ATM network. And it has a rationale: each entity assumes a series of costs by offering this service, which is essential for most customers.
Do you know how much your bank charges?
A change in the law in 2016 forced banks to modify the system and imposed the collection of a single commission when withdrawing money from ATMs. Before, customers came to pay up to two fees: the entity owned by the cashier and that charged by the card issuer.
Now each cashier owner sets a maximum rate to apply when withdrawing money, and, from there, two options open. The first is that your bank has an agreement with the owner of the machine or that it owns the network to offer you the withdrawals for free (your bank absorbs the cost) or a smaller commission. The second is that there is no agreement and, therefore, they directly charge you a commission for cash withdrawal.
Free means not paying a single dollar, not even at ATMs
Imagine the high cost for those banks that decide to offer this free service universally and, therefore, absorb that value.
This advantage is undoubtedly one of the options customers value most when changing banks, along with reasonable remuneration for their money. Now that you know why a financial institution charges you commissions when you get cash make sure you look for one that allows you to do it without paying a single dollar.
Why do you need a cashier’s check?
Even though internet banking and digital transactions have become a norm in the contemporary era, cashier check is still in the game. For transactions such as substantial payments, it’s one of the safest ways to acquire an amount.
Moreover, it provides an additional guarantee that the checks will clear. In other words, union banks put the money on the side, giving it to the receiver instantly. Thus, providing security in the transactions.
The quick transfer of the funds makes them available for recipients immediately. In retrospect, the banks are allowed to hold money up to $5,000. However, a more significant amount would be suspicious; but a cashier’s check usually resolves.
Just remember to pay a modest fee when clearing out cashier’s checks. Usually, banks and credit unions charge around $10 per check. So, you need extra money to clear those checks out.
Conclusion
All in all, acquiring cash directly from the bank is a neat feature that helps the recipients extensively. Albeit the bank charges the recipients with some amount, acquiring money directly from a check is quite convenient.
However, you must remember that a cashier’s check is also a great way to ensure that you get guaranteed funds at the very moment. Transactions like down payments or wire transfers can deal with a cashier’s check. Moreover, brokerage funds also require certain transactions, which are possible with a cashier’s check. So, it would be best if you did bank the old-fashioned way.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
The central government has made getting cash simpler for homebuyers with less conventional lodging circumstances and lower salaries, making it harder for purchasers with difficult understudy credit and other obligations to get contracts. The progressions plan to mirror the truths the present new borrowers face.
In December, Fannie Mae, the semi government contract goliath, dispatched HomeReady, another home loan intended for low-to direct pay borrowers with nontraditional wellsprings of pay. For instance, HomeReady lets candidates report lease from a flatmate or inhabitant as pay.
Borrowers would now be able to tally cash given by guardians as pay in applying for contracts. Upfront installment cash that doesn’t originate from a blessing should reflect the borrower’s two latest record articulations.
Among the prerequisites: The property must be in a lower-salary neighborhood or certain areas; the borrower’s pay must be no higher than the territory middle pay (AMI). The borrower’s salary can’t surpass 80% of AMI in different regions. Fannie Mae says its expenses for the advance will probably be equivalent to or potentially lower than market rates. However, a bank may charge a premium marginally higher than market rates to represent the loaning hazard.
Yes, mortgages 100% financing for the acquisition of a home existed before the crisis, this type of loan represented up to 18% of the total loans for real estate purchases. However, the situation has made banks suspicious enough when granting total financing, among other things, because in 2015, loans reached a delinquency rate of 29%, compared with 3.4% of mortgage loans below 80%.
In the interim, the Federal Housing Administration, a significant guarantor of home loans to bring down salary purchasers, has fixed advance principles for its famous FHA-protected home loan. Among the new regulations: Two percent of a borrower’s conceded understudy obligation—advances that are right now not in reimbursement—must be remembered for her obligation to-pay proportion (DTI), a significant figure used to pass judgment on contract candidates.
Currently, the best way to get a 100% mortgage is to enjoy such obvious liquidity conditions that we do not assume any risk of default for the entity.
On the other hand, the entities still have a park of flats attached enough importance to improving the mortgages (for example, increasing the limit of financing). If we decide to buy a bank apartment, our chances of getting a 100% mortgage will be higher.
Mortgage securitization
Beyond the recommendation of the Bank of Spain to the entities not to grant mortgages above 80%, one of the main reasons why the consumer has difficulties in accessing these loans is the fact that these cannot securitize to Subsequent.
Banks can sell this debt to a third party when a consumer contracts a mortgage. However, under Royal Decree 716/2009 of April 24, which develops certain aspects of Law 2/1981, when it exceeds 80%, it cannot market this type of asset.
It means that the bank cannot do anything else with our 100% mortgage to wait until we finish paying it.
What unique characteristics do these mortgages have?
Although they may seem like another type of loan, these mortgages work precisely like those that only reach up to 80%. It means that to get one; we will have to comply (even more so if possible) with the usual conditions to access a mortgage:
Have a fixed job that can ensure recurring income for the life of the loan.
Monthly income of at least 2,000 euros among all the holders of the loan.
Do not appear in files of defaulters (ASNEF, RAI …).
Suppose we had to name some more particular characteristics to define these loans. Suppose we could mention that since it is a product that facilitates access to credit for the consumer since he can access home with minimum savings, only paying the expenses (or directly without any protection, as in mortgages 100 plus costs). In that case, these may have higher interest rates than usual.
One hundred mortgages are harder to achieve, as 680 credit scores yield an average mortgage rate. If you want 100% mortgages, you must have more than a 740 score on the mortgage—also, a regular check on credit report helps to improve your mortgage rate. On-time bill payments and low balances of credit cards increase your credit score for better eligibility for 100% mortgages.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Showing kids how to spare is a significant initial move toward figuring out how to oversee cash. However, it shouldn’t stop there. While bank accounts are a sure thing and a simple idea to get a handle on, the genuine winning force originates from putting away their well-deserved money.
That is because children have an incredibly wonderful blessing: time. The previous your youngster begins putting away their cash, the more prominent the prizes are later. That is because of the enchantment of exacerbating, wherein the increases keep on developing. Every year, producing money uses the earlier year’s benefits.
If $100 is put into resources and the S&P 500 increases 10% in a year, holding will be worth $110 by the end of the year. After one more year and another 10% addition, it’s worth $121. Following a third year, it’s $133.
It is challenging to instruct youngsters to set aside cash or to be insightful about money-related issues. It can be particularly valid for low-pay youth, whose families regularly have little investment funds and usually don’t profit much from such advantages as expense-supported retirement records and home loan derivations.
A developing development attempts to address this test through projects that energize low-salary youth and their families to set aside cash and assemble riches. The youngsters in these projects typically prepare fundamental monetary proficiency, and differing budgetary degrees help set aside money for long-haul objectives.
Maybe the most unmistakable of these endeavors is the Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Down payment Initiative, which is in progress at charitable associations the nation over. SEED youth get coordinated investment accounts; withdrawals are coordinated when the cash utilizes school costs or another acceptable reason. Likewise, members are required or urged to attend classes on such subjects as adjusting checkbooks and overseeing charge card accounts.
Other than the families’ conspicuous advantages, the 10-year activity intends to show that destitute individuals can spare and put forth the defense for offering kids’ investment accounts and monetary instruction for an expansive scope. Forthcoming government enactment would offer coordinated investment accounts for each infant child.
Kids develop at various rates to require some investment before preparing to handle ideas like portfolio creation and resource designation. Notwithstanding, the essentials of contributing can be shown as very youthful. Before your children begin cruising the Internet to check organization profiles, you should clarify the dangers and rewards.
An essential part of successful personal finance is savings, as it forms the first phase of the investment exercise.
Why is it essential to invest from a young age?
Consider that people between 18 and 30 years are the ones who should pay more attention to savings and investment, as it is the average time in which they start to receive income but also in which more expenses arise.
Also, the more activity repeats, the more it adheres to everyday behavior. Therefore, it creates a habit that, ideally, lasts a lifetime and gives rise to creating an optimal financial culture.
How to start saving to invest?
Make a list of income and expenditures. It is essential to know the inflows and outflows of money regularly experienced to understand the personal economic flow’s basic functioning.
Hierarchy of economic needs
After regular expenses must be prioritized, as well as consider unforeseen events that may affect capital. Typical fulfillment of financial requirements creates a real sense of responsibility, especially from our youth end. This aspect encourages them to build their financial foundation to live a peaceful life after retirement.
Brand objectives
It is also vital to delineate the objectives desired to meet during and after savings and investment in the short or long term. This way, directing the efforts and the commitment will be more significant.
Design a budget
With the above information, you can shape a budget with which economic resources’ movement is more precise and their possibilities in the future.
Look for a suitable professional plan
Finally, financial institutions are authorities in the field, safeguard resources better, facilitate their management, and offer financial plans that help people achieve their goals and increase capital.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Unlocking Financial Freedom: Using Bankruptcy as a Tool
Bankruptcy as a financial tool is a court-supervised legal process designed to help individuals and businesses eliminate or reorganize overwhelming debt, creating a structured pathway to financial recovery rather than a punitive measure. When used strategically, bankruptcy isn’t an admission of failure—it’s a deliberate financial reset that stops creditor harassment, eliminates crushing debt, and rebuilds your credit score over time.
Over the past two decades at Complete Controller, I’ve watched hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners face impossible financial situations. Many came to us thinking their financial lives were over. But here’s what I discovered: bankruptcy, when properly understood and executed, often becomes the turning point that transforms their finances entirely. In fact, with 517,308 bankruptcy cases filed in 2024 (a 14.2% increase from 2023), millions are discovering that bankruptcy offers genuine relief from medical debt, job loss, and economic pressures. This article cuts through the stigma and shows you exactly how bankruptcy works as a tool for building the financial freedom you deserve, including the concrete skills you’ll gain in asset protection, credit rebuilding, and strategic financial planning.
What is bankruptcy as a financial tool, and why does it actually work?
Bankruptcy is a federal legal process that eliminates or restructures unmanageable debt while protecting essential assets from creditors
It provides immediate legal protection through an automatic stay, preventing creditor harassment, wage garnishment, and foreclosure the moment you file
The discharge mechanism eliminates qualified debts entirely, freeing up income for rebuilding and creating genuine financial breathing room
Federal exemption laws protect your home, car, retirement accounts, and household items—contrary to the myth that bankruptcy means losing everything
Bankruptcy operates through two primary chapters: Chapter 7 (liquidation and discharge) and Chapter 13 (structured repayment plans), each suited to different financial situations
The Immediate Shield: How the Automatic Stay Stops Creditor Harassment
The moment you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect—a powerful federal protection that creditors cannot penetrate. This invisible shield immediately halts collection calls, lawsuit filings, wage garnishments, foreclosure proceedings, and all aggressive collection tactics.
For many people drowning in debt, creditor harassment becomes a daily nightmare. Phone calls during dinner, threatening letters, anxiety about legal action—this emotional toll is often worse than the debt itself. Research shows that individuals with medical or consumer debt experience anxiety, depression, and stress at rates three times higher than those without comparable debt. The automatic stay doesn’t just reduce this harassment; it eliminates it entirely by law. Creditors who violate the automatic stay face federal penalties, meaning you have genuine legal protection the moment your case begins.
Protection from foreclosure, repossession, and utility shutoffs
If you’re facing immediate threats to your housing or transportation, the automatic stay provides critical breathing room. Mortgage foreclosures pause. Auto repossessions freeze. This temporary protection gives you time to either catch up on payments through a Chapter 13 plan or prepare for an orderly transition. For homeowners, this can mean the difference between keeping your family’s primary residence and losing everything.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Complete Debt Discharge as a Fresh Start
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also called liquidation bankruptcy, offers one of the most powerful financial tools available: the complete elimination of unsecured debt. Unlike Chapter 13, which requires a multi-year repayment commitment, Chapter 7 discharges eligible debts entirely, freeing your future income completely.
How debt discharge works, and what actually gets eliminated
In Chapter 7, the bankruptcy court discharges unsecured debts including credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, and other non-secured obligations. Once discharged, you have no legal obligation to pay these debts—period. The creditors receive whatever assets the trustee liquidates from non-exempt property, and then the remaining balance simply disappears.
Debts that commonly qualify for elimination:
Medical debt (the leading cause affecting 62% of bankruptcy filers)
Credit card balances
Personal loans
Utility arrears
Payday loans
Deficiency balances on repossessed vehicles
Debts that typically do NOT discharge:
Student loans (with rare exceptions)
Recent taxes
Child support and alimony
Criminal fines
Asset protection—You keep more than you think
One of the biggest myths about bankruptcy is that you lose everything. Federal and state exemption laws actually protect substantial assets, allowing you to maintain property essential to your fresh start. Chapter 7 filers typically keep their homes, vehicles, retirement accounts, and household items.
Common asset protections include:
Primary residence equity (up to $35,000; $60,000+ if age 65+)
One vehicle (typically up to $3,500-$5,000 in equity)
Retirement accounts (401k, IRA, pension plans)
Household goods and furniture
Wildcard exemptions for additional property
Wages earned in the prior 60 days
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Restructuring Debt Through a Strategic Repayment Plan
Chapter 13 bankruptcy operates differently than Chapter 7—instead of liquidating assets, it creates a court-approved repayment plan lasting three to five years, allowing you to reorganize debt while retaining all your property.
Chapter 13 is ideal for individuals with steady income who want to avoid losing assets while addressing debt. This chapter is particularly powerful for homeowners facing mortgage arrears or car owners with upside-down auto loans. You can fold mortgage payments, car payments, and other secured debt into your plan, giving you the time and structure to catch up.
The strategic advantage: Addressing secured debt and avoiding foreclosure
One critical advantage Chapter 13 offers is the ability to cure mortgage arrears—bringing current on back payments without triggering foreclosure. Similarly, you can address car loans, property taxes, and other secured obligations within your repayment plan. Approximately 49% of Chapter 13 debtors successfully complete their repayment plans and receive a discharge, with experienced bankruptcy counsel achieving even higher success rates—up to 69%. Upon successful completion of your plan, any remaining eligible unsecured debt is discharged, providing both asset protection and eventual debt elimination.
The Hidden Financial Benefits Beyond Debt Elimination
While debt discharge is the headline benefit, bankruptcy delivers profound financial advantages that extend far beyond eliminating what you owe.
Rebuilding credit score and creditworthiness over time
Contrary to bankruptcy mythology, your credit score often improves significantly within months to years after discharge. Why? Because bankruptcy eliminates the crushing debt-to-income ratio that was destroying your credit in the first place. Someone with $100,000 in debt and a $50,000 income shows as extremely high-risk to lenders. After bankruptcy discharge, that same person with zero debt and $50,000 income becomes a better credit prospect.
Timeline for credit recovery:
Chapter 7 remains on credit report for 10 years but impact lessens significantly after 2-3 years
Chapter 13 remains on credit report for 7 years but shows active repayment, often improving scores faster
Many filers receive credit card offers within 12 months of discharge
Your score can improve from the 580–600 range (typical at filing) back to 650–700+ within 2-3 years with responsible credit management
Increased disposable income and financial flexibility
Once your unsecured debts are eliminated or restructured, your monthly cash flow transforms dramatically. Money that was flowing to credit card companies, medical debt collectors, and creditors suddenly becomes available for your family’s actual needs. This disposable income enables you to build emergency savings, invest in opportunities, make necessary home or vehicle repairs, and create genuine financial stability.
Freedom to invest and build wealth
With unsecured debt eliminated and credit rebuilding in motion, bankruptcy filers gain the psychological and financial freedom to think about long-term wealth building. Rather than treading water with minimum payments, you can now consider retirement savings, education investments, and business opportunities. Michael and Felicity, for example, filed for bankruptcy and within five years accumulated over $1,000,000 in real estate equity by applying strategic investment principles to their fresh start.
How Bankruptcy Integrates with Long-Term Financial Planning and Credit Rebuilding
Bankruptcy shouldn’t be treated as an isolated event—it’s a launchpad for intentional financial redesign.
The bankruptcy process often serves as a wake-up call that prompts genuine reassessment of spending habits, savings goals, and financial priorities. Many filers use this opportunity to manage their credit responsibly, work with credit counselors, and develop sustainable financial plans that address the root causes of their debt. This structured reflection transforms bankruptcy from a crisis into a catalyst for long-term stability.
Rebuilding credit through strategic credit management
Post-bankruptcy credit rebuilding isn’t complicated—it requires consistency and patience. Secured credit cards, authorized user status on healthy accounts, timely payments, and maintaining low credit utilization all accelerate your score recovery. Many bankruptcy filers see scores rise to 650–700+ within 24 months through disciplined credit management. Understanding how long bankruptcy stays on your credit report helps you plan your recovery timeline effectively.
The role of bankruptcy attorneys and financial advisors
The bankruptcy process is complex, and minor errors can result in case dismissal, loss of discharge, or fraud allegations. Working with experienced bankruptcy counsel ensures your case is structured optimally, all required filings are accurate, and you’re positioned for the strongest possible fresh start. Additionally, pairing your bankruptcy with financial counseling provides ongoing guidance for rebuilding and maintaining stability.
Understanding Bankruptcy as a Strategic Financial Tool—Not a Sign of Failure
The cultural stigma around bankruptcy persists despite evidence that it’s a legitimate, federally-protected financial strategy. Here’s the truth: bankruptcy is written into federal law not as punishment, but as a pathway to financial stability for individuals facing impossible circumstances.
When bankruptcy makes financial sense
Bankruptcy becomes the optimal choice when your debt-to-income ratio is unsustainable (debt exceeds 40%+ of gross income), creditor harassment and collection actions are creating psychological and financial crisis, you’re facing immediate threats like foreclosure or repossession, non-bankruptcy debt relief options have been exhausted, or you have the income to support recovery but are paralyzed by current obligations.
Beyond the quantifiable benefits, bankruptcy offers profound emotional and psychological relief. The constant stress of collection calls, legal threats, and impossible debt burdens affects health, relationships, and quality of life. The moment the automatic stay takes effect, many people experience genuine peace for the first time in years. This psychological reset is often as valuable as the financial one.
Selecting the Right Chapter and Building Your Bankruptcy Strategy
Your bankruptcy outcome depends significantly on choosing the correct chapter and structuring your case strategically. Implementing money management tips to avoid a deficit after bankruptcy ensures long-term success.
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13: Which path fits your situation?
Choose Chapter 7 if you have limited income and cannot afford a multi-year repayment plan, want maximum debt elimination and fastest fresh start, don’t have significant non-exempt assets to protect, or want to preserve all future income for rebuilding.
Choose Chapter 13 if you have steady income and want to preserve assets (especially your home), you’re behind on mortgage or car payments and want to catch up, have significant equity in your primary residence, or prefer a structured, predictable path to debt elimination.
Federal and state exemption laws provide sophisticated protections, but exemption strategies must be planned carefully. Your bankruptcy attorney will evaluate your assets against applicable exemptions, potentially advising you on timing, ownership structure, or other factors to maximize protection. Understanding asset protection strategies helps you make informed decisions about your financial future.
Conclusion
Bankruptcy as a financial tool remains one of the most misunderstood yet powerful mechanisms for achieving genuine financial freedom. When I first began working with entrepreneurs facing crushing debt, I was struck by how many viewed bankruptcy as an end. But after two decades and countless success stories, I’ve learned that bankruptcy is actually a beginning—a federally-protected reset that eliminates debt, stops creditor harassment, protects your assets, and rebuilds your credit far faster than struggling through years of minimum payments.
The automatic stay provides immediate relief. The discharge mechanism eliminates qualifying debts entirely. Federal exemptions protect your home, vehicle, and retirement savings. And within 2-3 years, your credit score recovers while your disposable income transforms your financial capacity.
If you’re drowning in debt and facing impossible choices, bankruptcy deserves serious consideration—not as an admission of defeat, but as a strategic financial decision. The families and business owners I’ve worked with who embraced bankruptcy as a tool universally report the same thing: it was the turning point that made financial freedom possible.
Ready to explore whether bankruptcy is the right tool for your situation? Visit Complete Controller to speak with our financial experts. We’ve guided hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs through financial crisis to genuine stability. Your fresh start is possible.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bankruptcy as a Financial Tool
Can student loans be discharged through bankruptcy?
Student loans are extremely difficult to discharge in bankruptcy but not impossible. You must prove “undue hardship” through a separate legal proceeding called an adversary proceeding. The court uses strict tests to determine if repaying student loans would prevent you from maintaining a minimal standard of living. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, successful discharge requires extraordinary circumstances like permanent disability or extreme financial hardship.
How quickly can I get credit cards after filing bankruptcy?
Many bankruptcy filers receive secured credit card offers within 3-12 months after discharge. Secured cards require a deposit but help rebuild credit when used responsibly. Within 2-3 years, responsible credit management typically allows qualification for traditional unsecured credit cards with reasonable terms.
Will I lose my home if I file for bankruptcy?
Not necessarily. In Chapter 7, federal and state exemptions protect home equity up to certain limits ($35,000-$60,000+ depending on age and location). Chapter 13 specifically helps you keep your home by creating a plan to catch up on mortgage arrears while maintaining regular payments. Most homeowners who file bankruptcy keep their primary residence.
What’s the difference between debt consolidation and bankruptcy?
Debt consolidation combines multiple debts into one loan but doesn’t reduce the total amount owed. Bankruptcy either eliminates debt entirely (Chapter 7) or reduces it through court-supervised repayment (Chapter 13). Consolidation requires good credit and doesn’t stop collection actions, while bankruptcy provides immediate legal protection and can discharge debts completely.
How much does bankruptcy cost and can I afford it?
Bankruptcy filing fees range from $338 (Chapter 7) to $313 (Chapter 13), plus attorney fees typically between $1,500-$3,500. Many attorneys offer payment plans, and the cost is often offset by immediate savings from stopped creditor payments. Most filers find bankruptcy affordable when considering the thousands saved in eliminated debt.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Jennifer BrazerFounder/CEO
Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.
Brittany McMillen is a seasoned Marketing Manager with a sharp eye for strategy and storytelling. With a background in digital marketing, brand development, and customer engagement, she brings a results-driven mindset to every project. Brittany specializes in crafting compelling content and optimizing user experiences that convert. When she’s not reviewing content, she’s exploring the latest marketing trends or championing small business success.
If you are here, reading this article, chances are you are an intelligent individual who often thinks about their future and how they could increase their net income.
Real estate is considered one of the most efficient channels for investment with guaranteed tax returns, wealth building, consistent income, and numerous other financial rewards. Having been a tried and tested investment model for centuries, people now readily jump at the chance of being able to invest in any real estate.
One should always ensure they do their homework before taking the plunge, as real estate investments could also have some drawbacks, just like any other investment channel. Real estate investments are fantastic if you want to enjoy financial freedom in your life.
Why Real Estate?
The question often pops into the minds of people new to real estate investments. The answer to this question is short and simple: they are considerably easy to manage. We say this because you could acquire the ownership of one rental property and then sit back and enjoy it as the rent piles into your bank account every month.
Real estate is a hassle-free non-messy investment that allows you to enjoy your wealth from the comforts of your home. All you have to do is analyze the market and understand the area you wish to invest in according to your affordability power.
Listed below are four advantages that may change your mind regarding real estate investments.
Stable Cash Flow
This one may be easy to guess!
Your property allows you to enjoy a steady income without even working for it. All you have to do is pick up the ownership of a rental property and then see how the money flows in. A steady income is one of the most significant incentives for those who invest in real estate.
Once you understand the working of a real estate investment, you could turn to investing in multiple rental properties to take your net income into a surplus. Owning numerous properties also helps you by diversifying your portfolio.
One tip that could significantly impact your cash flow would be the location where you will purchase a property. Always ensure you go for a better part of the town to see fruitful results.
Taxation Aid
People invest in real estate significantly because of the ease the government has set for rental property owners when the tax season arrives.
Owning a rental property would help you break through the tax season because rental property owners are not subjected to taxes because their income falls under self-employment. The government also provides tax breaks and deductions in case of property depreciation and property taxes.
Sustainable Gains
Investing in real estate promises you a long-term investment that will cater to your financial needs for a long time.
Property prices are constantly rising, which is how they will stay in the future, which sounds like good news for all the property owners. Other than the monthly income, the profit gained from the property over the years could add significantly to your financial health. After a thorough market analysis, you can decide when you are ready to sell your rental property to yield a profitable return.
Inflation – Good News
Once you become a property owner, inflation sounds like music to your ears.
This concept may not sound very clear, but the idea behind this is straightforward. As soon as inflation hits the country’s economy, the prices go up for all the commodities, which means the rents increase.
A rent increase equates to a property owner enjoying a more significant monthly income, increasing their cash flow. This increase in cash flow is why inflation is always suitable for a real estate investor.
You should take the leap and invest in a real estate property, as it would never disappoint your financial expectations.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Below are a few tips a person can use to avoid costly fees and interest:
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
