I am drowning in debt. I am attempting to figure out a budget that is livable….

Biweekly mortgages have been touted by many companies as being an excellent way to save money and pay off your mortgage earlier. Some companies even claim that “it won’t cost you any more than you’re paying now.” What a crock! What do you think a true biweekly mortgage saves you?

When was the last time you took a look at your credit card APR (Annual Percentage Rate)? What do you do if you discover that you are paying too much for your loans? Well, quite simply, make the bank lower your rate. Sound impossible? More than half of the time I’ve been able to make my banks lower their interest rates. The trick is to have the right deal-breaker.

My father asked me to help him pick out a new car. After visiting several new car dealers in the area, we finally found one with a car that had the price and features we were looking for. Once the negotiations were complete, and the price was agreed upon, it was time for the dealership to add in those extras such as; tags, processing fees and anything else they could.

This article is for those families that have sat down at a desk or the kitchen table time after time trying to develop a family budget that they can live with. Why don’t they work?

Which category do you fall in? (1) Family 1 has all the money they need for necessities and more and manage it very well, (2) Family 2 has all the money they need for necessities and more but live payday to payday with ever increasing debt, or (3) Family 3 doesn’t have enough money even for necessities.

When I was younger and having all kinds of money problems, I asked myself this question a thousand times. It seemed like one day we were doing fine financially and the next, we owed everybody. How can it happen so quickly?

With all of the different items that the average individual or family spends money on, it can be difficult to keep it separated. You have to have money for groceries, car gas, school lunches, dining out and entertainment just to name a few.

It is extremely difficult to setup a budget, especially when you are behind on some of your bills. Even if you can make your regular bills and expenses fit neatly into your budget, what can you do if you don’t have the money to catch up?

If you are like most of us you have areas in your budget that could be trimmed by at least 20%. What about your grocery bill? Unless you are using every cost-cutting method available, then you could even beat that 20% on your food bill. Each area of your expenses has room to be trimmed. Let’s just briefly discuss a few: