Tag Archives: 2020

A year in review

Goodbye 2020 Funny Illustration - Vector Download
Photo credit Vexels

As this year comes to a close let’s look back at the past year. Look at the world around us and the current circumstances. Look at your situation. Look at the road ahead. We live in an uncertain time with a plethora of things that can happen. Life comes hard and fast, but we cannot let things that are important to slip by in the rapidly accelerating stream of time. Things such as family and friends, your goals and dreams, your finances and future.

This year I made several posts on personal finance, taking a departure from personal development topics, in an attempt to raise awareness and education on financial topics that are often not taught and/or oftentimes neglected. Personal finance is an important topic that is not meant to be taken lightly. It is something that has been in our past, working in our present and shaping our future. This year I have shared my expertise and knowledge of finance from my education and expertise working in the finance sector for the past few years now.

I encourage you, dear reader, to read my past posts on personal finance if you have not already. These are very insightful topics that will help with gaining more understanding on this topic. It has been a delight to bring such material to a wider audience and gain more readers. I will be uploading more regular content in the upcoming year for personal finance as well as bringing back more personal development content for your reading pleasure.

Before this year draws to a close, I will share one last lesson for the year. And that is the importance of the emergency fund. In a previous post of mine, I mentioned the importance of establishing emergency savings. This year is the prime example of why everyone can benefit from an emergency fund. If one would not believe me look at the current state that we are in as a country and as a civilization worldwide. We live in an uncertain time and we must make decisions and investments and goals to help us out when we need it the most. From your insurance to your warranty, to your very own shoebox under the mattress if need be. Everyone needs their ace in hand at the ready because you will never know when it is time to use it. Stay healthy and safe dear reader. Happy holidays and I wish you a happy new year. Here is to a better year and a better road ahead through taking control of one’s financial future. Excelsior!

Collect call

What Happens If You Don't Pay a Debt Collection

Dealing with credit can be tricky, there are different types of factors that build your credit and factors that hurt it. One such factor that hurts your score is having collections out against you. Collections are oftentimes neglected and can come back around in the future.Did you know that 71 million Americans have collection debt of some sort or another? (courtesy of urban.org)

Collections come from when a loan or bill has gone unpaid or was charged off/ listed as a loss on a company’s profit and loss statement and is given over to a collection agency. The collection agency then goes to contact you to collect the debt to be paid off. Once the collection is paid then it is cleared from the book of the collection agency and is reflected on your credit report if it is paid off. The same applies if a bill is listed as a collection on your credit report.

In my field of expertise, I have come to know that letting collections sit is not conducive to a healthy credit rating and can serve as an annoying anchor weight stopping your credit from reaching new heights. It is imperative to get rid of collections as soon as they are discovered or If something is going towards collections. Even if a bill disappears somehow and it was not paid there could be a chance it was sent to a collection agency to pester you to get their payment. These are not to be taken lightly. Even if a collection is paid it remains on a credit report for seven years but despite this, it could show that it was paid and prevent a collection agency from bothering you about the same debt. This is because a collection agency has seven years to collect this debt before they lose their chance to get paid. If it is coming down to the wire the collection agency can sell this debt to another agency and the “doctor’s bill from 10 years ago” could be lurking around for the next 20 years! Like dirt under a rug, it is waiting to be disturbed and make a mess again.

Collections can hurt your FICO credit score, contrary to a commonly held belief I have come across in my time in the field and research. The claim is that when updated from “unpaid” to “paid,” the collection can appear to the scoring formula as having originated more recently than it did, which, if true, could lower the score. However, the “assigned” date on the credit report does not change when the collection status is updated, nor do the credit scoring formulas give fewer points for a paid than an unpaid collection. Due to the length of time since the debt was assigned to a collection agency weighs so heavily on a credit score, the removal of the most recent collections can often be expected to raise a score. On the other hand, if there are multiple collections and it’s the older ones that you’re able to get removed, such as via a “pay for delete,” you may not see any improvement in your score following the removal of these older collections. So there is no evidence to support the myth that paying a collection can lower a score.

Collections can happen to anyone, whether you are already managing your credit responsibly or have hit hard times financially. Separating the facts from the fallacies about collections and credit scores can help you make more of the right moves and avoid some of the bad ones that can have an undesirable result. One way to check on the impact a collection might be having on your credit is to obtain your credit report from your bank, credit union, or from even the bureaus themselves. You can also go to sites like annualcreditreport.com to get your report for free as well. Do not let collections sneak up on you, something that might seem insignificant can still have an impact in the long run. Until the next time friends, excelsior!  

You are what you drink

This month marks the beginning of the year and of a new decade. Lots of us are making goals and resolutions being crafted. One such goal I have often heard is drinking more water. As someone who drinks half their body weight in ounces of water at a minimum, I want to share with you some really great things about drinking water on a steady basis.

Drinking water helps maintain the balance of body fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. What is neat is when you need water your brain activates a thirst mechanism to tell you that you need water. Secondly, water can help you get some control over your calories. Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.  Additionally, drinking water with your food will help in trimming your calorie intake.

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Water can energize your muscles before a workout by helping maintain the fluid level in your body. During a workout when you sweat, there are electrolytes lost and there is fatigue. If you drink water before a workout your physical performance will be better than without drinking water beforehand. Your skin contains plenty of water and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don’t expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines. Proper hydration will help keep your skin look better and not as dry. You can also use a moisturizer to help lock in moisture on your skin.

Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that can pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine. Our kidneys can filter a lot of toxins from the body but keeping your body hydrated, the kidneys can continue their job in flushing out all the toxins in your body.  When you’re getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions. Drinking less water will increase your risk of kidney stones and other disorders connected to the kidneys being unable to flush out toxins it takes in. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration and the result is constipation.

Image result for waterboy meme

Some of the best ways to keep yourself on track with drinking water would be eating foods that are water-rich, like fruits and vegetables. Keep some water for during and between meals as well. There are even water bottles designed to help motivate you to keep on chugging the H2O. Let’s keep the goal of drinking water flowing this year. Until the next time. Excelsior!

 

Happy New Year!

Image result for happy new year 2020"

As this year draws to a close, we also draw close to the end of the decade. A common trend around this time of year is a plethora of “new year, new me”  posts as well as new years resolutions (that a decent percentage of us will fail within a few weeks or so statistically speaking) This time I do not wish to talk about the clichés of the new years goals, this time I would like to discuss commitments for life.

When I started this blog, I had the idea to talk about investments of the financial sort (IRA, CDs, retirement, etc.), but there is more to the investments that you can make with your time and resources. Going forward I will also be discussing more topics in not just finance but also health and wellness (because your health is a serious investment), style, and professional etiquette. I will also throw a few more surprises your way, dear reader.

As you prepare for this new year keep in mind that we are embarking on a new chapter in time, let this new chapter in your book start with making more of an investment in yourself and your wellbeing for yourself and those around you. I look forward to sharing more topics and hope that you have a successful start to the new year. Stay tuned!