money matters

I registered for Oprah's Best Life Webcast series and have been receiving the links to the webinars daily. I never actually make it on time for the live broadcast but today I was blessed! I clicked the link to the webcast and I was right on time! Oprah and Suze Orman just went on air and they were going to discuss money.

I watched and listened to several people ask their questions. I didn't really know how bad the situation is in the US until now. Unemployment is set to rise as well as credit card interest rates. Credit card companies will be raising interest rates to 32% on those who only pay the minimum amount required on their balances. That's a lot! Imagine, each time you make a payment, 1/3 of that will only pay for the interest.

About three years ago, I also had credit card debt which I wasn't paying off completely. I didn't or chose not to notice that my balance was growing. I was fortunate that B was there to help me get out of debt. I credit him (no pun intended) for helping me set my priorities straight. I was able to wipe out all of my credit card debt just before I left for Singapore in February 2007. I'm really, really thankful I was able to do that.

Fast forward to now. We still have credit card debt, but we pay them off completely every month. My husband just won't let those banks earn interest on our debt! No way! Haha.

Other than that, we owe money to the hospital where I had my mammotome done last July but we're about to make our final payment in two months. That procedure was just too expensive and even if we could afford to pay it in full that time, we didn't want to get the money from our wedding savings so we opted for the zero-percent interest installment plan to pay for it. (See what happens when you don't have an emergency fund?!)

Just last week, I was planning to purchase a digital SLR camera and have been scouring the web for reviews on the models I've been considering. But today I changed my mind. I'll delay my purchase until I've reached my goal of having enough (read: good for 6 months) emergency fund in my bank account. That's my pledge. In times like this, liquid is the way to go. We'll never know how long we'll have our jobs so we need to save, save, save. As much as I'd love to stimulate the economy by going shopping, I couldn't afford it at this time. Those of you who can, though, go and spend! The economy needs you!

Anyway, here are three things from Suze that can guide us in these tough times:

When it comes to money, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.--> If you're considering investing your money in anything, make sure you completely understand what it is you're putting your money into. Here in Singapore, a lot of retirees lost all their life savings due to misinformation. They didn't completely understand how the money market worked so now they're left with nothing.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it.--> Being able to afford something means not putting yourself or your family at risk. Right now, I can't afford to buy my first DSLR because if I lost my job or B lost his job (knock on wood many many times) we barely have enough to cover our living expenses for six months. So, no to instant gratification until our bank accounts are full.

Always choose to do what's RIGHT instead of what is easy.--> It's easier to buy that DSLR on installment than doing what's right, which is waiting until the market is more stable,  waiting until B's job or mine is 100% secured, waiting until we have enough emergency fund in the bank. Now, I'm choosing to do the right thing.

I'm really thankful though that despite Singapore being in a technical recession, B and I are still living a comfortable life. We have what we need and at times like this, that's what's important.

I hope y'all are financial healthy as you read this.

TGIF!