FinanceSpectrum.com Challenges Notion that Saving Money and Cutting Debt Aren’t Up to Snuff
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) July 05, 2013 -- FinanceSpectrum.com financial advice online magazine today issued their criticism of a concept recently proposed in Time that saving money and cutting down on debt is an insufficient way to set oneself up for financial success in these economic times. FinanceSpectrum.com encouraged its readers to continue to save, and chip away at debt, and offered them advice for some tools to help them do so.
In a July 3rd Time article, author Martha C. White stated that setting aside savings and reducing debt doesn’t “cut it anymore,” because the economic current running in the other direction is more powerful than consumers realize. White reported that Americans’ efforts of cutting out debt and paying credit card bills on time and contributing to emergency funds “still aren’t enough.” White stated, “The economic current is running against us, so even those who are swimming like they were taught are probably just treading water.”
Finance Spectrum agrees with life insurance company, Globe Life Insurance, when they suggest that, “Instead of charging a bunch of expensive items you can't really afford, consider saving for the item instead and paying in cash. If you can't afford to do that and the item is not an essential, then maybe you don't need to buy it after all.” FinanceSpectrum.com reassured its readers that saving and reducing debt will keep them on the right track as long as one saves instead of charging things that they can’t afford to a credit card. FinanceSpectrum.com is quoted as saying, “White’s article made it sound like we’re all going to be squashed—or drowned—by the economy regardless of what we do. However, I don’t know of any other tried-and-true way of getting one’s financial house in better order than to prepare for the tough times with a cushy emergency fund, and to reduce the amount of debt in one’s life to your greatest ability. It certainly helps to have more coming in than going out, and a budget can assist you greatly in your saving and budgeting-chipping-away efforts. But the formula is simple: save money, reduce debt. That’s FinanceSpectrum.com’s recipe, and we’re sticking to it.”
In the above-mentioned Times article, White stated that an Equifax report showed that collective consumer debt in the U.S. was cut by $100 billion in 2013’s Quarter 1, and that TransUnion’s reports revealed that credit card delinquency rates dipped 19% from the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2013. In addition, White reported that new FICO data shows that young adults are foregoing credit cards; the number of Americans under 30-years-old who have no credit card literally doubled in the past five years. The article also mentioned that a survey from Bankrate revealed that approximately 45% of Americans have three or more months worth of expenses saved in an emergency fund.
FinanceSpectrum.com looks to all these numbers and applauds U.S. consumers for taking financial responsibility over the past couple of years, and wonders what White’s solution is to their efforts not being enough. FinanceSpectrum.com is quoted as saying, “What we’d like to see is White’s recommendations are for what would be ‘enough,’ or which efforts would ‘cut it’ if saving money and eating away at debt are not up to snuff. But there isn’t any solution offered in her article. We stand by our tried-and-true method of keeping more money than you’re spending, and chipping away as feverishly as one can at debt.”
About FinanceSpectrum.com:
FinanceSpectrum.com is an online finance and economic advice column, reporting on a broad range of topics. FinanceSpectrum.com enjoys writing for middle-aged individuals and consumers who are in need of financial information, guidance, and advice. Their articles include personal finance, debt, credit, and investing tips.
http://financespectrum.com, Finance Spectrum, 3479030160, [email protected]
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