Top 5 Financial Issues To Address In 2013

There are many financial issues present in our world in the year 2013. Here are the top five financial issues that need to be addressed this year.

Health Care

Health care is a huge financial concern in 2013 as more and more people who are unemployed, underemployed, or self employed aren’t getting the health care they need, often because they can’t afford to obtain it on their own. Due to the rising cost of health insurance many employers cannot afford to offer it to their employees. Government programs designed to make healthcare more accessible to everyone are facing opposition from certain groups of people within society.

Credit Reform

Companies that offer credit are coming under fire for offering to people who either can’t afford it or abuse it. There is also an issue with companies not having standards they are forced to adhere to. Credit reporting companies are being criticized for not meeting certain standards anymore. This is causing a lot of tension when it comes to credit companies and people are calling for reform that, so far, is not happening.

Jobs

While unemployment levels are dropping this year, it is only because people are so discouraged and disgusted with the job market that they have simply stopped trying to find a job in the first place. Some people blame politics for the lack of jobs while others say the lack of jobs could be fixed by each community doing what they can to create more jobs.

Congress

Many people are blaming financial problems on the government because government employees keep getting raises, meaning states have less money for other expenses. Some people blame the general public for voting for government officials that simply don’t care about individual people. It is believed that strong leadership could fix all the current financial problems America is facing. People are very frustrated at the way in which the government has dealt with the country’s financial problems.

Housing

The housing industry has suffered a lot in recent years and is now recovering, but the recovery process is going very slowly. Many people had to foreclose on their houses this year because of the actions from banks throughout the country. Financial experts are saying that the best way to deal with the housing crisis is for the banks to try to help people who have gone through foreclosure to get their houses back.

These five issues are the main issues we are facing as a nation in 2013. Each issue has been tackled separately but it has been a long and hard road to fix these issues. Most Americans are still not satisfied with the financial state of our country and many of them are blaming President Obama for this. Only time will tell how well we manage to clean up all these problems and help people out of their financial troubles. The government will have to play a part in making this happen.

Amanda Spencer is the mastermind behind this article. She recommends http://www.cambist.co.za/ for high returns.

How to Successfully Overcome Financial Issues

As society has evolved to accommodate more and more comfort, security and pleasure seeking, our fears have also evolved accordingly, and at the top of them is our fear of financial insecurity. The fact is that every endeavor we undergo is to some extent connected with our desire to reach a level of financial security where day to day life no longer comes with the burden of needing to find other ways of making ends meet. 

It is also understandable that in today’s financial climate, the anxiety about not having enough to cover basic needs is top concern for the majority of the world’s citizens, no matter which country or continent. And when the biggest fear we’ve faced our entire lives greets us at the door as we are served with an eviction notice, lose our jobs or find ourselves buried under a mountain of debt, it seems we can’t fight the feeling of being overwhelmed. 

Step 1: Access your Income and Beware of Debts

The truth is that it really lies in your control that you get out of debt. While general recommendations like creating plans for reducing the debt or increasing your income are certainly welcome, the idea is to systematically go through a set of steps that will bring you closer and closer to your desired goal.

The most important thing is to realistically assess your steady income and then determine which of that is being spent and on what. This means listing not only fixed expenses like gas, telephone or electricity bills, but also those that vary (such as recreation, clothing, gifts, entertainment). After having made your list, prioritizing and tracking what you have spent will come much easier. 

Step 2: Seek Advice from Professionals

The next step is to consider seeking financial advice from a reputable credit or financial counselor. There are many programs that offer lists of certified advisers. He will need to receive all the information you have gathered thus far, from your expense lists, to bills, debt lists, financial assets and anything you consider relevant to your situation. Then set a goal that you and your credit adviser wish to reach. Usually this is establishing a reasonable budget that can allow you to get your finances under control and reduce your debt all at the same time. If such an adviser is not within your reach, check out debtconsolidation.com.au where you can find countless information and tips on how to create such a plan yourself. 

Step 3: Make a Payment Plan

Contacting your creditors to set up a reasonable payment plan which is manageable is the next step you need to take. The home mortgage is the priority in this case. Many Americans for instance are unable to play their mortgage- but contacting the lender right at once will help you avoid foreclosure.

You will be surprised to see that many of them are open to cooperation when they see the situation is temporary and that you are actively involved in resolving the situation as fast as possible. There is the possibility of reducing the monthly sum by extending repayment periods, suspending payments for a determined period or not needing to pay additional amounts when resuming payments. With car loans, since a creditor is allowed to repossess the car at any time after the payments have stopped, the reasonable measure is to sell the car, pay back the debt and avoid added costs of repossession and negative credit reports. 

Step 4: Successfully Manage Your Debts

Debt consolidation through a second mortgage or other types of equity lines of credit may help you sink the cost of your credit but at the price of your house as collateral. There are positive and negative aspects related to these types of credits, you can obtain great tax advantages that are usually unavailable with other kinds of credits but you can end up paying “points” (a point is 1% of the total amount you borrowed).

Conclusion

As an absolute last resort, filing for personal bankruptcy may be an option if everything else has failed but the consequences will haunt you and are severe. The idea behind it is that it is decided in court that you are no longer mandated to repay certain debts but this information remains in a credit report for 10 years and this might make buying a home, getting another credit, and even getting a job difficult.

It is important that you maintain a positive attitude in this situation that would indeed turn any man’s nights into restless and full of doubt. In most cases the doubt situation is resolved and with a revised payment plan you are well on your way to getting back on your feet.