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The following article is a guest post.

Should you give financial help to a family member or friend in need? It can be enormously difficult to say no to loved ones, particularly adult children or one of your siblings when they find themselves in a desperate situation with no savings, investments, credit, or other resources to get themselves out of the bind. Even if you can spare the money, you need to consider how the relationship will be affected should your loved one be unable (or unwilling) to pay you back.

An alternative to directly loaning money

If you want to render financial assistance to your loved one but your budget won’t allow an outright cash loan, a guarantor loan might be just what you need. In such loans, your family member or friend is the primary borrower, but their promise to repay the loan is backed up by your good credit and your contractual agreement to repay the loan should they prove unable or unwilling to do so. There is some risk involved, but the fact that the borrower has primary responsibility to repay the loan, and that their performance will directly affect their credit standing, could motivate them to make good on their agreement. Should the borrower fail to repay as agreed, you would essentially assume their role as borrower, and how well you are able to meet the loan agreement’s terms will affect your credit score, and by extension your ability to get future loans and credit.

One important point: Being a co-signor or co-borrower is different than being a guarantor. If you’re a co-borrower, you are a partner in the enterprise for which the loan is intended, and should therefore get a share of the benefit, such as sharing ownership in a car or house. If that isn’t the case, don’t sign on as a co-borrower. The down side is that you will be legally responsible for the entire debt – not just your share – if the other person doesn’t make repayments on the loan. Should neither of you be able to pay the debt, you will most likely both end up with a default listing on your credit report, which will make future borrowing considerably more difficult for several years. You could end up needing to get a guarantor loan yourself.

Do your research before making a commitment

If you have carefully weighed the risks involved with being a guarantor for somebody’s loan, make sure that both you and the borrower have a thorough understanding of the commitment you are about to make. It starts with choosing a lender. Today there are many lenders who cater to people with less than stellar credit, but not all lenders are alike, and it’s important that you choose the one that can give you the best deal. Even with the limitations inherent in a guarantor loan – such as higher interest rates – some lenders will give you a better deal than others. Transparency regarding rates and fees, so that you are able to make an apples-to-apples comparison of what different lenders have to offer, is paramount, but might not be a strong suit on the lender’s website. Good customer service is also important, but like transparency, you will be better informed if you can find objective information and reviews, which are more likely to appear in places other than content that is published by the lenders themselves.

What to do if you get in trouble

Say you have lent your friend or family member money or agreed to act as guarantor on a loan for him (or her), but it is becoming pretty obvious that he is not going to keep up his of the deal. How can you best convince the person to live up to the agreement without allowing the situation to escalate to the point where the two of you become estranged from each other? There are several things you can do; here are a couple of examples.

Give the person a gentle nudge – It is possible that the person has been preoccupied with other matters, and has simply overlooked their commitment. In such cases, a friendly, even humorous reminder might be all it takes to get the situation resolved.

Offer to set up an alternative repayment plan – If the person is experiencing a short-term cash shortage, you might offer to cover the payments for a brief period, with repayment at a later date, or by some sort of barter arrangement, whereby you hire them to handle some projects you’ve either been unable to do or that you simply don’t want to do. You might even get the person to pick up the tab for lunches until the amount in question has been repaid. In any case, you need to be clear as to what is expected.

There are any number of other ways that the loan can be brought up to current, but it is essential that you are both clear about the details, and that you can resolve the situation with your relationship intact. A worst-case scenario would have you seeking a judgment against the non-paying person, but you would do best to avoid such an alternative. If it just doesn’t look like you are going to get your money back, it might be better for your peace of mind, if not your finances, to simply write off the debt and consider it a gift, if you can afford to do so without compromising your own .well being or harboring resentment over having lost the money.

Some people insist love and money don’t mix. They can sometimes mix successfully if handled with great care and with full recognition that they are a potentially volatile combination. Whether it’s a direct loan, a co-signed loan or a guarantor loan, think carefully before committing yourself to helping someone out financially, no matter how much you may love the person in need.

The following article is brought to you by Travis Holmes.

Credit cards are open lines of revolving credit, often charging high interest rates and tempting the consumer to run up a high amount of debt without really thinking about it. By the credit card companies own admission, this form of credit is not meant to be used often or extensively, and no one should carry a debt.

When facing a situation where you are carrying credit card debt, it is vital to find ways to pay as little interest as possible, without doing anything to damage your credit score. One of the better ways of handling this is to transition the debt to a personal loan, and close all but the oldest credit card account you have. Here are a few reasons why you should do this.

Lower Interest Rate
Credit card companies can often charge over twenty percent in interest. This can result in the average consumer spending a great deal of money in maintaining a debt, rather than paying it off. Over the long haul, having to spend money on interest decreases the fiscal strength of the borrower and actually increase the amount of debt carried.

A personal loan has a fixed interest rate, and since it is not a revolving line of credit it is impossible to add new principal to it. In short, it is a one-shot deal, with limited interest and a payment plan that is predictable.

Take note not all loans will have a lower interest rate. Some quick loans might be good for your situation but may carry a higher rate. It’s best to verify the rate and do the math yourself.

One Line of Revolving Credit
By closing out all but the oldest credit card account, the consumer is doing two things. The first is limiting the potential for future debt, by decreasing the amount of available credit at any given time. Since you will have less free credit to utilize, it would be harder to make impulse purchases that land people in debt to begin with. This article helps you weigh the pros and cons of both.

The second reason for keeping the oldest account open is to take advantage of long term credit on the consumer’s credit report. A credit report is only as strong as the oldest item on it, so it makes more sense to keep a credit card in play if the consumer has had that account for several years. Doing so can reduce the amount of interest paid on other forms of credit, including the personal loan.

Additionally, having an open line of credit is a good thing in an emergency. It can provide an emergency cushion if you encounter an expense that you cannot fit in your monthly budget, but can pay over the course of two or three months. This becomes less needed as the consumer starts saving money, but starting out this flexibility is crucial.

Transitioning debt from a higher interest rate, revolving account to a lower interest rate, closed account, can serve as a way of lowering the amount of hard earned money wasted on interest.

Doing so can set the stage for a better, more stable financial future as long as certain steps are taken at the same time. Eliminate most of your open credit, in order to limit potential exposure to negative forms of debt. Start putting back the extra cash each month, to provide a means of paying for emergency expenses without having to turn to credit.

A personal loan can be invaluable when trying to improve one’s fiscal health. By taking the time to formulate a plan, it is possible to create a system that will lead the consumer to a better and more stable financial future. All it takes is the ability to take advantage of the lower interest rates.

When you are planning a trip, air travel will usually be the most expensive thing you will need to pay for. In fact, the high cost of air travel prevents many people from flying. However, it does not need to be this way. There are many methods that an average person can use to help them save a lot of money on the cost of their plane tickets. Using these methods can make it possible for anyone to take the vacation of their dreams. You should also look for discounts when you are trying to find things to do in Barcelona. Here are just a few of the ways to save money on air travel.

1. Buy your tickets far in advance

If you are one of the people who insist on waiting until the last minute to do everything, you will probably not be able to afford to buy a plane ticket. This is because the price of buying a plane ticket less than one week before the flight is enormous. However, if you are willing to plan your trip far in advance, the money you will be able to save will be quite significant. The further in advance that you book your flight, the less expensive your ticket will be. Most airlines continue to lower the price of their tickets as far in advance as six months before the flight. Therefore, it is in your best interest to plan your trip as far in advance as possible. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making your plans ahead of time. If you really want to save money on your plane tickets, you will need to do this.

2. Be willing to accept layovers

Most people do not like layovers. They like to make as few stops as possible, taking direct flights whenever they can. This is certainly understandable behavior. However, accepting the minor inconvenience of layovers is another easy way for you to save yourself some cash on the price of your plane tickets. In fact, the more layovers you are willing to accept, the less your ticket will cost. However, you must make sure that your layovers are long enough to allow you to get to your next flight. Otherwise, you will need to go to the trouble of booking a new flight.

3. Be willing to travel at night

Most people want to avoid taking “”red eye”” flights at night because they find it hard to sleep on a plane. Once again, airlines are willing to charge you less if you are willing to fly at night. This is because they have trouble filling these night flights. Flying at night should not be a problem for any person who is looking to save every penny on air travel. Besides, you will be getting to your destination in the same amount of time, whether you fly during the day or at night.

4. Fly on less popular days

Friday through Sunday are the busiest days for air travel. If you are willing to book your flight Monday through Thursday, your flight will be much cheaper than on one of the peak travel days. Once again, this is mainly because airlines have a hard time getting people to book flights on these days.

This article was contributed by Fiona Moriarty of Hipmunk, a complete travel platform that allows you to do everything from comparing charter flights and train rides, to finding the best resort hotels and Airbnb rentals.”

Ever thought about the price of convenience?  We’ve come to the conclusion that convenience has a pretty high price tag. It is so much more convenient to purchase all my groceries in one weekly stop. However, I learned that by doing just that, we were spending a couple hundred dollars more per month in our grocery expenses. We’ve tackled the grocery budget and have seen tremendous results these past 2 months. So I started wondering about other areas in spending where convenience has the potential to run the bill up.

Getting a take-out meal or heading through the drive-thru at dinner time versus cooking a meal at home.

I am pretty good about planning my meals ahead of time and cook virtually all our meals at home (except for the one day per week we go to McDonald’s). I can see how this would be a difficult habit to break though, because it does require a lot of energy and planning to get those meals on the table nightly at 5 p.m. The key for me has been weekly meal planning which includes making the menu and purchasing the ingredients on the weekend, so that during the busy week I have everything I need to cook the meals. It’s just a matter of getting the items cooking at the required time so that everything is done by 5 p.m.

Stops at the 7-11 or Jiffy Mart for a snack or soda following after school activities.
I have to admit I have had trouble with this one, but once I set up a “snack bag” in the van, I don’t make these stops anymore. I make sure I always have some bottled water too.

Purchasing diapers, detergents, shampoos, etc. at the grocery store.
Unless you are grocery shopping at Wal-Mart or Super Target, then the grocery store is not the best place to purchase these types of items. Diapers and other types of baby products are going to be much cheaper at the larger discount stores. This is also true for trash bags, dish detergents, aluminum foil, and baggies.

Buying meats pre-marinated, veggie trays, store bought muffins and cakes.
Marinate your own meat, cut up your own veggies, and bake your muffins and cakes. It just takes a little bit of time, and planning is of the essence. I can throw together some homemade muffins in less than 10 minutes.

Doing all grocery shopping at one store versus comparison shopping at different stores.

This is definitely one area where the price of convenience was making a noticable dent in our budget.
The price worksheet I’ve been doing has been invaluable in this effort. I can see that it is cheaper to shop around to get the best prices. Really scanning those weekly grocery ads helps a lot too. I like finding the Buy 1 Get 1 Free sales and then stocking up on those items.

Making last minute gift purchases.
I have found myself doing this on occasion. I’ve done well with the Valentine gifts though. I purchased a few small items for the kids from the dollar store and will be making Valentine cupcakes on Wednesday. We will all share a special homemade Valentine dinner too.   For children’s birthday parties I try to keep a “gift closet” stocked up. When I find items on clearance that would be great to give as a gift, I purchase it to be put into the gift closet. We usually have several different items on hand that can be used to give as a gift, and it really saves not having to make that last minute (and most likely not frugal) purchase.

What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving? For some people it is spending time with family and friends. For others it is remembering how blessed we really are; no matter what trials we endure there is always something to be thankful for. For some folks, however, the absolute best part of Thanksgiving is the traditional turkey dinner.

You know the dinner I’m talking about: the one with all of the fixings. A traditional turkey dinner includes a gorgeous baked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, rolls, candied yams, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. While your family may have its own version of this dinner, you can’t argue that it’s an important part of your family’s celebration.

Even on a tight budget, you can provide the ideal Thanksgiving dinner for your family. You already know how to cut corners in your day-to-day grocery shopping. You may even be an expert at it by now. The last thing you want to do, however, is skimp on things that will make your dinner a less tasteful version of the real thing. Follow these tips to keep your turkey dinner within a reasonable budget without sacrificing this great meal.

Shop ahead of time.

This means that you will have to have your menu planned ahead of time. This probably isn’t a problem at Thanksgiving, however, since you prepare the same meal every year. Shopping ahead for non-perishable components of your meal will allow you to take advantage of any great sales at your local grocery store. Canned vegetables and stuffing mix will last quite awhile in your pantry stockpile.

Skip the side dishes that no one eats.

As I was growing up, my mom always made green bean casserole and traditional green beans. No one ate the casserole, but she always felt like she “had” to make it. You could save money and preparation time by getting rid of the items that no one enjoys and focusing your efforts on the dishes that really contribute to your meal.

Share the load.

Now, I’m sure you don’t want to farm out responsibility for baking the actual turkey. However, maybe your cousin Suzie makes a mean dish of mashed potatoes. Why not call her and tell her how much you’d love for your turkey to share the table with her special dish? She’ll probably be honored that you love her dish so much.

Scale back on your quantities.

Of course, you want to have plenty of food for everyone. You don’t, however, need to be eating turkey for two weeks after Thanksgiving. A more appropriately-sized bird or side dishes, can help you save money without changing your menu at all