I was reading an article today about “recession-proofing your income” and when I got to a paragraph, I almost had a heart attack.

Savings accounts are safe, though yields will get stingier as interest rates fall. Rogé says it even makes sense to pull money out of an emergency fund to pay off debt. Psychologically, that’s hard to do in a shaky economy. Chances are you won’t lose your job, however, and if you do, why not run up debt then rather than pay finance charges now? If you want a security blanket, apply for a home-equity line of credit, which will probably have a lower rate than a credit card anyway. But tap it only in an emergency.

What?? Are you kidding me? I can’t believe anyone would say this is a good idea in this economy. There are so many things wrong with this statement.

1. Not everyone can get a home equity loan or home equity line of credit.
2. Why drain your emergency fund to pay for a credit card that, chances are if it’s based on prime rate, has a not-so-bad interest rate?
3. Home equity loans or home equity lines of credit should not be used as an “emergency fund”.
4. After you’ve drained your emergency fund to pay off your credit card and you lose your job and need to pay your mortgage (or rent), where are you going to get the cash from to pay it? Your mortgage company isn’t going to accept a credit card as payment!

I just can’t believe that anyone would make a suggestion like that. An emergency fund is just that: for emergencies. Personally there is no way I would ever empty (or take a huge chunk out of) my emergency fund to pay off credit card debt. I guess it’s all a matter of opinion, but I just would never do it. I feel comfortable knowing I have the cash to pay for my mortgage in case something horrible happened.

What do you think about using a credit card as an emergency fund?

Posted under Credit Cards, Pay Off Debt, Save Your Money

Well… May wasn’t as fruitful as I had hoped. I only made 20.80 online, with ExpoTv contributing 3.70 (and I didn’t do ANY videos!), associated content 2.10, and pinecone research 15.00. I didn’t do Cash Crate, this month because I just didn’t have time.  I did start working from home part time, but that isn’t going to be a ton of extra money, just something to do that gives me a little extra cash.

Here are my financial goals for June:

• I’m going to have a garage sale to sell off some items that I’ve been holding on to that I’m not using and are just taking up space. I hate clutter! Hopefully I’lll make a little extra cash that I can either throw in savings or use to pay off debt.

• Also, I’ve got some things I need to list on ebay and I just need to quit being lazy and list them! I’ve also started something on the side that is really fun and will pay me a little money at the same time too. I’ll write more about that later.

• Get my budget in line with where it needs to be- and stick with it!

What do you do to make extra “snowflake” money?

Posted under Make Money Online, Pay Off Debt

A few months ago, I wrote on how you can be your own credit repair agency. Sometimes that’s just not possible for some people, and they have to turn to others for help. Not all credit repair agencies are bad. In fact, some of them can be a really great asset to your financial future.

Geneva Roth Ventures is a company that helps educate consumers about their finances. Geneva Roth Ventures works closely with the CFEF (Community Financial Education Foundation) and OLA (Online Lenders Alliance) to ensure they are providing the best service to their clients.

The Online Lenders Alliance works hard to make sure that online lending companies are legit. I think this is one of the most critical parts of utilizing online lenders. You need to make sure you are doing business with an ethical company, especially when it comes to repairing your credit and dealing with your finances. If you are looking for a second opinion on your finances, give Geneva Roth Ventures a try!

Posted under Pay Off Debt