Budgeting your expenditures

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Knowing and Understanding Your Credit is a 28 page financial guide to help consumers better understand their monthly finances and effective credit management. It provides credit report review advice and a mini financial addendum to help assess and create a household budget.

A little story for explanation

My old house was right by Rite Aid & I shopped there frequently for things I needed & ran out of. One day, I go into the store & I'm behind a lady with like 2 carts full of stuff. I didn't think much of it. She was charging everything on a credit card & she kept ringing up seperate orders. So, I just started chatting with her [because it took forever]. She was telling me about how all of the stuff would end up being pretty much free; just the cost of tax & interest.

I'm curious as to how you all handle your holiday expenses. All the gifts? Do you NOT celebrate the holidays? Do you allocate a certain amount per person? Do you shop clearance sales/yardsales/thrift stores?? Do you make your own gifts? Give food gifts? Layaway? Cash or credit cards?

I hope this is okay to post these, but they really are great resources.

freecycle.org is a great resource for recycling/receiving free items that would otherwise go to the trash. You can get virtually anything from there; depending on how generous people in your community are. I have received clothes, a couch, a working refridgerator, and alot more really awesome things that I needed & would have otherwise had to spend money on.

I have been accepted at a private university and I received a pell grant and a stafford loan. Unfortunately I am still left with tuition costs, room and board and housing. My mom applied for a Plus loan but was not approved because her credit went downhill after not making payments on unsecured personal loans.
I have tried applying for several other private loans but majority of them require a co-signer that is credit-worthy. Is there something that is being overlooked? Do I have any alternatives? Someone please help!

I was surprised to see this, but it was nice. I thought I will hsare this with the rest here

There are lot of credit unions who are offering interest rate up tpo 5% on a checkign account even in this market when the interest rates are really low

They have some catch - you need to have soem direct depost and this is offered if you keep atleast $25,000/-.
But you cna open accoutn with as low as $25/-

You will need to use the check card 10 times in a month etc

Feel free to share yoru experiance

What company's do you think have the best rates on their plans? Worst rates?
Basically what I'm looking for is the best provider to go with. My plan is up next month and I'm finally free. I'm with AT&T right now and I think I pay too much. I need about 1,000 anytime minutes monthly and 1,000 text messages.

I have been working with CAG for about 18 months now. Not one of my accounts have been paid on, and now I was just served papers for a lawsuit against me for an account that was enrolled with CAG. Has anyone else been in this situation?

I have a retirement check deposited directly to my bank.. I currently have a job.. I bought a car and it was reposed..my current job wages are now being garnished by the ford company. I am about to be laided off from my job and will only have retirement check to survive on. Can the ford company garnish my retirement check which is deposited directly in my bank account?

Here is a good news for the credit lenders. Obama government has passed 'Credit reform bill' which slaps the credit companies for their abusive practices, mentioning that banks should also behave responsibly when they expect lenders to behave responsibly.
It has mentioned that there are many responsible credit lenders that are stil paying even more than 20% interest rates! This is keeping them engaged in repaying the loans thus are the victims.